In our annual Awards Season coverage, Capital Cinema follows major critics and guild awards in film and tracks their “matchup rates” with the related Oscar category over the past ten years. Get ready for some numbers!
Founded in 2007, the Cinema Eye Honors, recognizing features, short films, and TV series, is one of very few international documentary awards to recognize the entire creative team that goes into making a documentary. With awards for Best Sound Design, Best Editing, and Best Visual Design, the awards could be seen as the equivalent of the “Documentary Oscars.”
While their voting body tends to go with less mainstream and/or more indie selections than some other documentary awards, the Cinema Eye Honors are often useful for predicting the “dark horse” indie favorite documentary which may have a smaller cult following than whatever two films are neck-and-neck in first and second place.
The Cinema Eye Honors took place at the New York Academy of Medicine in East Harlem, Manhattan on January 12, 2024. Their website and Twitter/X have not been updated with the winners as of yet, but the full results of the ceremony have been reported on by AwardsWatch, Deadline, and other film news sources.
Outstanding Nonfiction Feature: 32 Sounds
32 Sounds, Sam Green’s documentary exploring “the elemental power of sound” across space and time, took the top prize at the Cinema Eye Honors last night. This innovative documentary is notable for its sound design, described as a “profound sensory experience,” which also took home a prize at Cinema Eye Honors tonight. It’s likely the technical innovation is something that stands out to Academy voters as well, considering 32 Sounds is Oscar shortlisted.
In fact, 32 Sounds beat out a decent chunk of almost all Oscar shortlisters (the only exception being Kokomo City) at the CEE last night. It’s a bit of a surprise.
So, where does that place 32 Sounds in terms of receiving an Oscar nomination, or even a win? It’s difficult to say. Usually the winners of the three big independent awards—the IDA Award, the Gotham, and the Cinema Eye Honors—are able to maintain a small winning streak at other festivals. But Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Four Daughters, and 32 Sounds have all had relatively short critics season runs with nowhere near as many noinations as some of the other films this season.
In terms of sheer number of nominations, Still: A Michael J. Fox Story and 20 Days in Mariupol take the lead, followed by The Eternal Memory, Beyond Utopia, and American Symphony. This list could very well make up the final slate of nominations. However, there’s a chance that one of the 3 indie award winners, including 32 Sounds, could boot out Beyond Utopia or American Symphony, considering both the IDA and Gotham winners have received an Oscar nomination almost every year over the past 10 years, and neither Beyond Utopia nor American Symphony have picked up any documentary guild awards outside of Critics Choice.
The most important award when it comes to predicting an Oscar win for documentary is the BAFTA, which has lined up with the Oscar decision 6/10 times over the past 10 years, and better yet, 3/3 times over the past 3 years, perhaps indicating a trend. Further complicating things, Still, 20 Days in Mariupol, American Symphony, and Beyond Utopia are the only Oscar shortlisted films longlisted for this year’s BAFTAs. So, there’s a chance the boot-out for that last Oscar nom could be for The Eternal Memory, which is not BAFTA-longlisted.
Also nominated:
- 20 Days in Mariupol
- The Eternal Memory
- Four Daughters
- Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
- Kokomo City
- Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Outstanding Nonfiction Short: Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games
Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games provides “An illuminating look at the influence that hand games played by Black girls has had on the American creative landscape,” according to Tribeca Film. The short, made by ESPN, is available to stream on ESPN+.
Of the other films nominated at Cinema Eye Honors, only Black Girls Play, Between Earth & Sky and Oasis have been shortlisted for the Oscar. Between Earth & Sky was also nominated at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, where it lost to The Last Repair Shop, and Oasis has only been nominated at Cinema Eye Honors so far. Black Girls Play, Between Earth & Sky, Oasis, and The Last Repair Shop also all made the Cinema Eye Honors Shorts List compiling the best short films of the year.
Over the past 10 years, the winner of the Cinema Eye Honor for Outstanding Nonfiction Short has never gone on to win the Oscar for Best Documentary – Short Subject. In the past, it has only been nominated for the Oscar once, for Three Songs for Benazir two years ago. That being said, Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games was backed by ESPN, which may give it a bigger boost for a nomination than some other films on the lineup.
Also nominated:
- Away
- Between Earth & Sky
- Neighbour Abdi
- Oasis
- Will You Look at Me
When are the next awards?
Things are heating up! The Critics Choice Movie Awards will take place tomorrow, January 14. You won’t want to miss them!
The Society of Composers and Lyricists Awards will also take place tomorrow, January 14. One of the most prestigious music guilds, these awards may help you predict both the Best Original Score and Best Original Song Oscar.
Want to know the dates of all the biggest film awards this season? Visit our 2023-2024 Awards Season Calendar. And make sure to follow Capital Cinema’s Awards Season coverage for insight into every category, from Best Picture to Best Live Action Short!
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