Nominees for the Heterodox Award, the Filmmaker-sponsored Cinema Eye award given to a narrative film that imaginatively incorporates non-fiction strategies and aesthetics, were announced today by Cinema Eye Honors. The five nominated films are: Paolo and Vittorio Taviani’s Caesar Must Die (Cesare deve morire), Craig Zobel’s Compliance, Jem Cohen’s Museum Hours, Pablo Larraín’s No, and Terence Nance’s An Oversimplification of Her Beauty. Said Scott Macaulay, Editor of Filmmaker Magazine, “In the third year of the Heterodox Award, our nominated filmmakers explore the interstices of documentary and fiction in fascinating and diverse ways, from situating their characters within the confines of …

The backlash against the Academy’s recent changes to its nomination policies for documentary films  contrasted with the casual atmosphere of last night’s Cinema Eye Honors. In an intimate theater at the Museum of the Moving Image, the pillars of the documentary community gathered to celebrate the breadth and diversity of their craft. In attendance were Frederick Wiseman, Al Maysles, Steve James, Alex Gibney, Michael Moore, Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky and many more. Founder and co-host AJ Schnack spoke of the Cinema Eyes evolution prior to the awards: “Some things about Cinema Eye are the same as they were that first time that we gathered …

I’ll be writing more about this award and the films in the days ahead, but, for the moment, here is a press releasing announcing a new award Filmmaker is very happy to be sponsoring at Cinema Eye this year. New York – The Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking announced today the five nominees for the first annual Cinema Eye Heterodox Award, sponsored by Filmmaker Magazine. The Cinema Eye Heterodox Award marks a new award category created to honor a narrative film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies, content and/or modes of production. These films illuminate the formal possibilities of nonfiction …