The Cinema Eye Honors, an Oscar bellwether that often predicts the Best Documentary Feature race, has unveiled its 2025 nominations.
Leading the pack is “Sugarcane,” Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie’s documentary about abuse in an Indian residential school in Canada. The film earned rave reviews out of Sundance, and here earned six nominations. It’s followed by two hits from the 2024 Berlin Film Festival: “Dahomey,” Mati Diop’s exploration of the artifacts of colonial Africa, and Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor’s Israel-Palestine conflict documentary “No Other Land,” which each received five nominations. Two portraits of major 20th-century artists, Carla Gutiérrez’s “Frida” and Gary Hustwit’s “Eno,” also received five nominations a piece.
The 18th annual Cinema Eye Honors will take place on Thursday, January 9 at the New York Academy of Medicine in East Harlem. Keep reading for a complete list of nominees.
Nonfiction Feature
“Black Box Diaries”
Shiori Ito, Eric Nyari, Hanna Aqvilin, Ema Ryan Yamazaki, Yuta Okamura, Yuichiro Otsuka, Mark Degli Antoni and Andrew Tracy
“Dahomey”
Mati Diop, Eve Robin, Judith Lou Levy, Gabriel Gonzalez, Joséphine Drouin Viallard and Nicholas Becker
“Daughters”
Natalie Rae, Angela Patton, Lisa Mazzotta, Justin Benoliel, James Cunningham, Mindy Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, Laura Choi Raycroft, Adrian Aurelius, Philip Nicolai Flindt, Michael Cambio Fernandez and Kelsey Lu
“Look Into My Eyes”
Lana Wilson, Kyle Martin, Hannah Buck and Stephen Maing
“No Other Land”
Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor, Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning, Julius Pollux Rothlaender and Bård Harazi Farbu
“Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”
Johan Grimonpre, Daan Milius, Rémi Grellety, Jonathan Wannyn, Rik Chaubet, Ranko Pauković and Alek Bunic Goosse
“Sugarcane”
Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie, Kellen Quinn, Christopher LaMarca, Nathan Punwar, Maya Daisy Hawke, Mali Obomsawin, Martin Czembor, Andrea Bella, Michael Feuser and Ed Archie Noisecat
Direction
Mati Diop, “Dahomey”
Gary Hustwit, “Eno”
Lana Wilson, “Look Into My Eyes”
Elizabeth Lo, “Mistress Dispeller”
Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, “No Other Land”
Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, “Sugarcane”
Stephen Maing and Brett Story, “Union”
Production
Shane Boris, Odessa Rae and Talal Derki, “Hollywoodgate”
Emma D. Miller, Elizabeth Lo and Maggie Li, “Mistress Dispeller”
Fabien Greenberg and Bård Kjøge Rønning, “No Other Land”
Paula DuPre’ Pesmen, Aniela Sidorska, Camilla Mazzaferro and Olivia Ahnemann, “Porcelain War”
Emily Kassie and Kellen Quinn, “Sugarcane”
Mars Verrone and Samantha Curley, “Union”
Editing
Maya Tippet and Marley McDonald, “Eno”
Alexandra Strauss, “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found”
Carla Gutiérrez, “Frida”
Charlotte Tourres, “Intercepted”
Hannah Buck, “Look Into My Eyes”
Rik Chaubet, “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”
Cinematography
Joséphine Drouin Viallard, “Dahomey”
Elizabeth Lo, “Mistress Dispeller”
Satya Rai Nagpual, “Nocturnes”
Andrey Stefanov, “Porcelain War”
Christopher LaMarca, “Sugarcane”
Olivier Sarbil, “Viktor”
Original Score
Wally Badarou and Dean Blunt, “Dahomey”
Alexeï Aïgui, “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found”
Victor Hernández Stumpfhauser, “Frida”
Nainita Dasai, “Nocturnes”
Uno Helmersson, “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin”
Mali Obomsawin, “Sugarcane”
Sound Design
Nicolas Becker, “Dahomey”
Nas Parkash and Patrick Fripp, “Eno”
Alex Lane, “Intercepted”
Tom Paul, Shreyank Nanjappa and Sukanto Mazumder, “Nocturnes”
Ranko Pauković and Alek Bunic Goosse, “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”
Peter Albrechtsen, Nicolas Becker and Heikki Kossi, “Viktor”
Visual Design
Brendan Dawes, “Eno”
Sofía Inés Cázares and Renata Galindo, “Frida”
Howard Baker, “Piece by Piece”
Brendan Bellomo and BluBlu Studios, “Porcelain War”
Agniia Galdanova, “Queendom”
Rasmus Tukia and Ada Wikdahl, “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin”
Debut Feature
“Black Box Diaries,” Directed by Shiori Ito
“Daughters,” Directed by Natalie Rae and Angela Patton
“Frida,” Directed by Carla Gutiérrez
“Grand Theft Hamlet,” Directed by Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane
“Hollywoodgate,” Directed by Ibrahim Nash’at
“No Other Land,” Directed by Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor
Audience Choice Prize Nominees
“Copa 71,” Directed by James Erskine and Rachel Ramsay
“Daughters,” Directed by Natalie Rae and Angela Patton
“Frida,” Directed by Carla Gutiérrez
“Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa,” Directed by Lucy Walker
“Porcelain War,” Directed by Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev
“The Remarkable Life of Ibelin,” Directed by Benjamin Ree
“Skywalkers: A Love Story,” Directed by Jeff Zimbalist
“Sugarcane,” Directed by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui
“Will and Harper,” Directed by Josh Greenbaum
Shorts List Semifinalists (nominees to be announced in December)
“Contractions”
Directed by Lynne Sachs | NY Times Op-Docs
“Eternal Father”
Directed by Ömer Sami | New Yorker
“I Am Ready, Warden”
Directed by Smriti Mundhra | MTV Documentary Films
“Incident”
Directed by Bill Morrison | New Yorker
“Instruments of a Beating Heart”
Directed by Ema Ryan Yamazaki | NY Times Op-Docs
“Love in the Time of Migration”
Directed by Erin Semine Kökdil and Chelsea Abbas | LA Times Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World
Directed by Julio Palacio | Netflix
“The Medallion”
Directed by Ruth Hunduma | New Yorker
“A Move”
Directed by Elahe Esmaili | NY Times Op-Docs
“The Only Girl in the Orchestra”
Directed by Molly O’Brien | Netflix
“A Swim Lesson”
Directed by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack | POV
Unforgettables Honorees
Shiori Ito, “Black Box Diaries”
Brian Eno, “Eno”
Lhakpa Sherpa, “Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa”
Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham, “No Other Land”
Patrice Jetter, “Patrice: The Movie”
Jenna Marvin, “Queendom”
Chris Smalls, “Union”
Harper Steele, “Will and Harper”
Spotlight
“Black Snow,” Directed by Alina Simone
“Homegrown,” Directed by Michel Premo
“A New Kind of Wilderness,” Directed by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
“A Photographic Memory,” Directed by Rachel Elizabeth Seed
“Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other,” Directed by Jacob Perlmutter and Manon Ouimet
Heterodox
“Caught by the Tides,” Directed by Jia Zhang-ke
“Kneecap,” Directed by Rich Peppiatt
“My First Film,” Directed by Zia Anger
“Pavements,” Directed by Alex Ross Perry
“Sing Sing,” Directed by Greg Kwedar
“Songs from the Hole,” Directed by Contessa Gayles
Broadcast Film
“Bread & Roses”
Directed by Sahra Mani | Apple TV+
“Girls State”
Directed by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss | Apple TV+
“Great Photo, Lovely Life: Facing a Family’s Secrets”
Directed by Amanda Mustard and Rachel Beth Anderson | HBO
“The Lady Bird Diaries”
Directed by Dawn Porter | Hulu
“Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play.”
Directed by Jeremy O. Harris | HBO
“Spermworld”
Directed by Lance Oppenheim | FX
Nonfiction Series
“America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders”
Directed by Greg Whiteley and Chelsea Yarnell | Netflix
“Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court”
Directed by Dawn Porter | Showtime
“The Enfield Poltergeist”
Directed by Jerry Rothwell | Apple TV+
“The Luckiest Guy in the World”
Directed by Steve James | ESPN
“Ren Faire”
Directed by Lance Oppenheim | HBO
“Telemarketers”
Directed by Adam Bhala Lough and Sam Lipman-Stern | HBO
Anthology Series
“Conan O’Brien Must Go”
Executive Producers Conan O’Brien and Jeff Ross | HBO
“De La Calle”
Executive Producers Nick Barili, Jared Andrukanis, Picky Talarico, Lydia Tenaglia, Christopher Collins, Amanda Culkowski, Bruce Gillmer and Craig H. Shepherd | Paramount+
“God Save Texas”
Executive Producers Lawrence Wright, Alex Gibney, Richard Linklater, Peter Berg, Michael Lombardo, Elizabeth Rogers, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller | HBO
“High on the Hog” Season 2
Executive Producers Roger Ross Williams, Geoff Martz, Craig Piligian, Sarba Das, Fabienne Toback, Karis Jagger, Jessica B. Harris, Stephen Satterfield and Michele Barnwell | Netflix
“How To with John Wilson” Season 3
Executive Producers John Wilson, Nathan Fielder, Michael Koman and Clark Reinking | HBO
“Photographer”
Executive Producers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhely, Jimmy Chin, Pagan Harleman, Betsy Forhan, Anna Barnes and Chris Kugelman | National Geographic
Broadcast Editing
“Girls State”
Edited by Amy Foote | Apple TV+
“The Greatest Night in Pop”
Edited by Nic Zimmerman, Will Znidaric and David Brodie | Netflix
“Ren Faire”
Edited by Max Allman and Nicholas Nazmi | HBO
“The Saint of Second Chances”
Edited by Alan Lowe, Jeff Malmberg and Miles Wilkerson | Netflix
“Telemarketers”
Edited by Christopher Passig | HBO
“Time Bomb Y2K”
Edited by Marley McDonald and Maya Mumma | HBO
Broadcast Cinematography
“America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders”
Director of Photography Jonathan Nicholas | Netflix
“The Enfield Poltergeist”
Directors of Photography Ruben Woodin Deschamps, Carmen Pellon Brussosa and David Katznelson | Apple TV+
“Girls State”
Directors of Photography Martina Radwan, Daniel Carter, Laela Kilbourn, Erynn Patrick Lamont, Laura Hudock, Thorsten Thielow | Apple TV+
“Photographer”
Director of Photography Michael Crommett, Rita Baghdadi, Peter Hutchens, Melissa Langer and Pauline Maroun | National Geographic
“Ren Faire”
Director of Photography Nate Hurtsellers | HBO
“You Were My First Boyfriend”
Director of Photography Brennan Vance and J. Bennett | HBO
