Dance documentary Mr. Gaga and music documentary Presenting Princess Shaw are among the Audience Choice nominees at this year’s Cinema Eye Honors. The US contest is considered one of the best indicators of where the Oscar documentary race is headed.
The Audience Choice Prize is voted on by the organization that recognizes outstanding accomplishments in nonfiction filmmaking as well as the general public.
The award “goes to those special films that engage, enrage, inspire, entertain and create intimate connections with their audiences,” Cinema Eye writes about the 10 films nominated for the annual Audience Choice Prize.
“Once a sought-after dancer in the company of Martha Graham, [Israeli choreographer Ohad] Naharin has spent the past 25 years pushing the boundaries of physical and political expression at Tel Aviv’s Batsheva Dance Company. Through rich archival footage, intimate rehearsals and eye-popping dance sequences, director Tomer Heymann crafts an affectionate portrait of a cultural maverick and his audacious efforts to bring the joy of movement to people of all ages and physical abilities,” reads the blurb about Mr. Gaga. “The product of an eight-year collaboration between Heymann and his subject, Mr. Gaga is a feast for the senses, celebrating an artist whose exuberant dances capture the thrills and burdens of having a body.”
“Talented but isolated, New Orleans care worker Samantha spends her spare time uploading acapella videos of her original songs to YouTube, to a smattering of viewers. Unknown to her, in a far away kibbutz, Israeli mash up artist Kutiman is composing his next viral sensation – with Samantha as the star. Following them both, director Ido Haar brings us a gratifyingly heartwarming fairy tale from the digital age,” reads the recommendation for Presenting Princess Shaw.
Cinema Eye was founded in 2007 to recognize excellence in artistry and craft in nonfiction filmmaking.
Winners of the 10th Annual Cinema Eye Honors will be announced January 11, 2017 in New York at the Museum of the Moving Image.
Mr. Gaga is also nominated for Best Documentary at the European Film Awards. The awards ceremony will take place on December 10.
