The awards, co-founded by documentary film programmer Thom Powers (Toronto Film Festival) and documentary filmmaker AJ Schnack (Kurt Cobain: About A Son, 2007), were presented for the first time on March 18, 2008, in an entertaining, well-attended ceremony at the IFC Center in New York City.
Cinema Eye Award Winners, 2008
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking:
- Manda Bala (Send A Bullet - Director: Jason Kohn; Producers: Joey Frank, Jared Goldman and Jason Kohn
Also nominated:
- Into Great Silence - Director: Philip Groning; Producers: Philip Groning, Elda Guidineti, Andres Pfaffli & Michael Weber
- Lake of Fire - Director: Tony Kaye; Producer: Tony Kaye
- The Monastery - Mr. Vig & the Nun - Director: Pernilla Rose Gronkjear; Producer: Sigrid Dyekjaer
- No End In Sight - Director: Charles Ferguson; Producers: Jennie Amias, Audrey Marrs, Jessie Vogelson, Alex Gibney
Outstanding Achievement in an International Feature:
- The Monastery - Mr. Vig & the Nun - Director: Pernilla Rose Gronkjear; Producer: Sigrid Dyekjaer
Also nominated:
- Ghosts of Cite Soleil - Director: Asger Leth; Producers: Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor and Mikael Rieks
- Into Great Silence - Director: Philip Groning; Producers: Philip Groning, Elda Guidineti, Andres Pfaffli & Michael Weber
- Manufactured Landscapes - Director: Jennifer Baichwal; Producers: Jennifer Baichwal, Daniel Iron & Nick de Pencier
- Please Vote For Me - Director: Weijun Chen; Producer: Don Edkins
Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature:
- Billy the Kid - Jennifer Vendetti
Also nominated:
- Manda Bala (Send A Bullet) - Jason Kohn
- The Monestary - Mr. Vig & The Nun - Pernille Rose Gronkjaer
- No End In Sight - Charles Ferguson
- A Walk Into The Sea: Danny Williams and The Warhol Factory - Esther B. Robinson
Outstanding Achievement in Direction:
- Taxi To The Dark Side - Alex Gibney
Also nominated:
- Into Great Silence - Philip Groning
- Lake of Fire - Tony Kaye
- Manda Bala - Jason Kohn
- Zoo - Robinson Devor
Outstanding Achievement in Producing:
- Ghosts of Cite Soleil - Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor, Mikael Rieks
Also nominated:
- Blindsight - Sybil Robeson Orr
- Chicago 10 - Brett Morgan & Graydon Carter
- Into Great Silence - Philip Groning, Elda Guidineti, Andres Pfaffli & Michael Weber
- Lake of Fire - Tony Kaye
- Manda Bala - Joey Frank, Jared Goldman & Jason Kohn
Outstanding Achievement in Editing:
- Manda Bala - Doug Abel, Jenny Golden & Andy Grieve
Also nominated:
- Crazy Love - David Zieff
- Flying: Confessions of A Free Women - Niels Pagh Andersen
- Ghosts of Cite Soleil - Adam Nielsen
- Lake of Fire - Peter Goddard
- No End In Sight - Chad Beck and Cindy Lee
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography:
- Manda Bala - Heloisa Passos
Also nominated:
- Into Great Silence - Philip Groning Lake of Fire - Tony Kaye
- Manufactured Landscapes - Peter Mettler
- Zoo - Sean Kirby
Outstanding Achievement in Graphics and Animation:
- Chicago 10 - Animation by Curious Pictures
Also nominated:
- Helvetica - Motions Graphics by Trollback & Co.
- The Prisoner or How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair - Graphic Design by Petra Epperlein
- The Unforeseen - Motion Graphics by Jef Sewell
- Super Amigos - Animation by David Quesnelle
The Audience Choice Award:
- The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters - Director: Seth Gordon
Also nominated:
- Deep Water - Directors: Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell
- In The Shadow of the Moon - Director: David Sington
- Into Great Silence - Director: Philip Groning
- Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten - Director: Julien Temple
- Manufactured Landscapes - Director: Jennifer Baichwal
- No End In Sight - Director: Charles Ferguson
- Sicko - Director: Michael Moore
The 2008 Awards Ceremony
The inaugural awards ceremony at New York's IFC Center gathered leading names in documentary filmmaking. Presenters included award-winning filmmakers Barbara Koppel, Sam Pollard, Alex Gibney, Alan Berliner, Ross Kauffman, Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern, Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger, and Molly Thompson (founder of A&E Indie Films). The attractive Cinema Eye Award is pewter-colored metal and stands about a foot tall. It's a large eye with a crystal lens and metal lashes, perched on a two legs standing on a square metal base. Winners names are inscribed on the bottom of the base.
During the presentation, there were moving tributes to recently deceased St. Claire Bourne and Tony Silver.
The Cinema Eye Awards is sponsored by Indie Pix, a company devoted to expanding the audience for independent film by overcoming the barriers that separate the filmmaker and his fans by providing alternative distribution--mostly by an exclusive Download-to-DVD system.
