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Film and the Arts
2010 Cinema Eye Awards Celebrate Documentaries
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Features
- Published on Saturday, 16 January 2010 15:53
- Written by Laura Blum
Nonfiction film’s finest came out for Cinema Eye's third annual bash, the Cinema Eye Honors, at Manhattan’s glass-curtained Times Center. In an award ceremony itself worthy of a trophy — for Outstanding Achievement in Unscripted Vamping — the organization saluted a dozen top achievements in documentary craft and innovation. Louie Psihoyos' stealth inquest into dolphin abuse, The Cove, swept three medals, including for Outstanding Nonfiction Feature, Outstanding Production and Outstanding Cinematography.
Among the presenters were "goddaddy of American documentary" Albert Maysles, cinematographer and long-incubating director Ellen Kuras, former Cinema Eye winning filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev and animator Bill Plympton. In an 11th-hour swap of rhyming last names, documentarian Doug Block replaced comedian/filmmaker Chris Rock on the presenters lineup.
Veteran doc director Barbara Kopple conferred the Cinema Eye Legacy Award on Ross McElwee, for his 1986 classic, Sherman’s March. That the two-time Oscar laureate is famed for her prodigious amount of coverage whereas McElwee’s feature shoot logged a monkish 25 hours of footage was a gentle irony not lost on the gathered insiders.
Thom Powers, chair of the Cinema Eye Honors Nominations Committee and documentary programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival, held down a chat with McElwee, adducing added evidence of Cinema Eye’s unorthodox take on award do's.
One of the most memorable quotes of the evening came from presenter Peter Davis, whose landmark film, Hearts and Minds, won an Academy Award in 1975. Remembering a time "when the air was clean and sex was dirty," Davis surveyed the past and ongoing importance of nonfiction production.
Cinema Eye co-chairs Esther Robinson and AJ Schnack emceed, entertaining the black velvet and denim crowd with Mad Libs, apologetically earnest quotes and tender disses. "We all know awards are bullshit," copped Schnack in a welcome flash of jovial snark following one especially lengthy ramble.
Agnès Varda took the Cinema Eye for Outstanding Direction. Accepting the statuette on The Beaches of Agnès filmmaker’s behalf was her veteran production designer, Franckie Diago.
Anders Østergaard's smuggled footage expose, Burma VJ, bagged two awards — Outstanding International Feature and Outstanding Achievement in Editing — as did Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher’s October Country, a portrait of an American family that was decorated Outstanding Debut and Original Music Score.
The Audience Choice prize went to September Issue, RJ Cutler's off-wings probe of Vogue magazine. Jessica Oreck's debut feature, Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo, won Cinema Eye Spotlight Award. The newly created Spotlight Award is bestowed as a corrective, to give proper due to a film that has flown under the domestic radar.
Two categories, Original Music Score and the Spotlight Award, were determined by a special jury that included Laurie Anderson and Jason Kohn, respectively.
Nearly 100 feature-length nonfiction films contended for this year’s Cinema Eyes. Documentary programmers from 14 film festivals in North America and Europe picked the nominees.
Committee members included:
Meira Blaustein (Woodstock)
Tom Hall (Sarasota and Newport)
Doug Jones (Los Angeles)
David Kwok (Tribeca)
Caroline Libresco (Sundance)
Janet Pierson (SXSW)
Sky Sitney (Silverdocs)
Sadie Tillery (Full Frame)
Heather Croall (Sheffield)
Ben Fowlie (Camden)
Sean Farnel (Hot Docs)
David Wilson (True/False)
2010 Cinema Eye Honorees:
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
The Cove
Directed by Louie Psihoyos
Produced by Paula DuPré Pesman and Fisher Stevens
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Agnès Varda
The Beaches of Agnès
Outstanding Achievement in International Feature Filmmaking
Burma VJ
Directed by Anders Østergaard
Produced by Lise-Lense Møller
Outstanding Achievement in Debut Feature Filmmaking
October Country
Directed by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher
Outstanding Achievement in Production
Paula DuPré Pesman and Fisher Stevens
The Cove
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Brook Aitken
The Cove
Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Janus Billeskov-Jansen and Thomas Papapetros
Burma VJ
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score
Danny Grody, Donal Mosher, Michael Palmieri, Ted Savarese and Kenric Taylor
October Country
Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Animation (tie)
Bigstar for
Food, Inc.
and
Francis Hanneman, Darren Pasemko, Kent Hugo, Omar Majeed, Brett Gaylor + The Open Source Cinema Community for
RIP: A Remix Manifesto
Spotlight Award
Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
Directed by Jessica Oreck
Audience Choice Prize
The September Issue
Directed by RJ Cutler
Legacy Award
Sherman’s March
Directed by Ross McElwee
For more information on both the awards and Cinema Eye go to: http://www.cinemaeyehonors.com
Rooftop Films Seeks Support
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Features
- Published on Friday, 04 September 2009 22:18
- Written by fftraveler staff
Bringing independent film to the diverse communities of New York City is central to its mission, which is why the 2009 Summer Series has gone ahead as planned despite major budget cuts behind the scenes. In fact, this has been a banner year for Rooftop – more premieres than ever before, groundbreaking partnerships with organizations like International Film Festival Rotterdam and Reel 13, and record audiences. By the end of the season, it will have presented more than 40 nights of incredible films in incredible locations.
Understanding that the economic crisis has affected audiences as well, buying tickets to a Rooftop show probably seems harder than it did a year ago. At this critical moment, though, it must ask for additional contributions to ensure that it can continue with programs in the coming years.
To read more about the programs donations will support, visit the website at http://www.rooftopfilms.com/.
"Mr. Melvin" Combines Two Troma Classics Into One Strange Film
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Previews
- Published on Thursday, 06 November 2025 15:13
- Written by Brad Balfour
One of the strangest cult classics is about to get stranger. Make that TWO of the strangest cult classics! Touted as the true vision of shlock-auteur Lloyd Kaufman, Mr. Melvin takes The Toxic Avenger Parts II & III and combines them into one new film. The idyllic, crime-free tranquility of the Tromaville citizens’ lives is shattered when Apocalypse Inc. settles down in their town. To make matters worse, the corrupt corporation has poisoned Tromaville’s only hero, the Toxic Avenger, against them. However, if Toxie can confront the monster he’s become, it may not be too late to save his town—and his soul. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Troma President and Co-founder Lloyd Kaufman.
A fixture of video stores and dark basements, the films of Troma Entertainment has equally thrilled and repulsed audiences for decades, with titles including Class of Nuke ‘Em High, Surf Nazis Must Die, Poultrygeist, and their post-modern prometheus, The Toxic Avenger, which also recently had a remake starring Peter Dinklage.
To learn more, go to: https://movingimage.org/event/mr-melvin/
Mr. Melvin with Lloyd Kaufman in person
November 7, 2025
Redstone Theater, Museum of the Moving Image
36-01 35th Ave
Astoria, NY 1110
Metrograph Presents Leaving the Factory: Morrissey After Warhol
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Previews
- Published on Thursday, 21 August 2025 21:59
- Written by Brad Balfour
Paul Morrissey (1938 - 2024) shocked, delighted, and disgusted audiences for decades with his “Warhol” films, and leaving a mark as a reactionary auteur. Now the Metrograph theater (7 Ludlow Street) pays tribute to the films made in the 1980s and distancing himself from the Warhol brand.
Leaving the Factory: Morrissey After Warhol runs September 5th to the 14th (with select encore screenings) featuring five films, all screened in 35mm. These are rare and raw films such as Forty Deuce (starring a young Kevin Bacon) based on Alan Bowne’s off-Broadway play about desperate hustlers. The anti-biopic Beethoven’s Nephew, paints a less than flattering picture of the legendary composer in this shot in Vienna period piece. Madame Wang’s is a satire of 1980s LA as an agent of the East German Stasi becomes mired with Los Angeles squatters. Mixed Blood is a an East Village turf war as gangs battle across Alphabet City. Spike of Bensonhurst is about a down on his luck boxer who’s run out of his neighborhood for chasing after the daughter of mafia boss Ernest Borgnine and now hides out in the Red Hook slums.
To learn more, go to: https://metrograph.com/category/morrissey/
Leaving the Factory: Morrissey After Warhol
September 5 - 14, 2025 with select encore screenings to follow
Metrograph
7 Ludlow Street
New York, NY 10002
