"Waltz With Bashir" sweeps the board at Cinema Eye Honors in New York

  • Industry's only award ceremony for nonfiction films now in its second year
  • "Man on Wire" receives three Honors, including 'Outstanding Achievement in Non-Fiction Filmaking'
  • Yung Chang's film about contemporary China, "Up the Yangtze", gets Audience Choice Award
New York, US - 30 March, 2009 - The Second Annual Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking were held last night at the Times Center in New York. Over 350 guests from the independent film community, including directors, producers and distributors, as well as over 40 members of the film trade and general press, attended the event – the only one of its kind to specifically recognize nonfiction film. The event's Founding Sponsor, IndiePix, the internet-based distributor of independent films, along with award-winning Producer AJ Schnack and Thom Powers, Documentary Programmer of the Toronto International Film Festival, worked together to ensure the ceremony – and after party – was bigger and better than its debut in 2008.

Ari Folman's "Waltz With Bashir", an animated documentary depicting the horrors of the 1982 Lebanon war, was the big winner of the night beating off 20 other nominees to receive four out of the ten awards – Graphic Design and Animation, Music Composition, International Feature and Outstanding Direction. The Audience Choice Award – the only prize to be chosen by members of the film-going public – was presented to Yung Chang for "Up the Yangtze", a film about contemporary China as seen through the eyes of Chinese workers who are employed on a luxury "Farewell to the Three Gorges" cruise boat. A full list of award winners can be found below.

Of the 110 eligible films, which were released in 2008, 26 were nominated for the awards by a panel of documentary programmers from 15 different film festivals in North America and across Europe. Over 200 documentary professionals – including filmmakers, distributors and journalists – were invited to cast their votes on the final winners.

Bob Alexander, President of IndiePix and Founding Sponsor of the Cinema Eye Honors, said: "We have worked hard to ensure that the Cinema Eye Honors have now become one of the most important dates in the nonfiction industry's calendar. The exposure that independent productions are now receiving has really cemented their success and the extraordinary support that filmmakers are offered from the film-watching public has made it a very strong industry.

"This year's nominees were an extremely strong list of films, from top filmmakers, produced to very high standards. The awards were created in order to recognize the people behind the camera and those working hard in the studios – whether for musical composition or cinematography. And along with that recognition there was a sense that the community is now setting ever higher standards for its work. We're delighted to have been able to help raise awareness of independent productions over the past six years and also showcase some of its greatest filmmaking talent," concluded Bob Alexander.

For more information please visit the www.cinemaeyehonors.com

Winners of the 2009 Cinema Eye Honors:

Debut Feature:  Up The Yangtze (Yung Chang)

Graphic Design and Animation: Waltz with Bashir (Yoni Goodman & David Polansky)

Music Composition: Waltz with Bashir (Max Richter)

Outstanding Editing: Man on Wire (Jinx Godfrey)

Outstanding Cinematography: Encounter at the End of the World (Peter Zeitlinger)

Audience Choice Award: Up the Yangtze (Yung Chang)

Outstanding Production: Man on Wire (Simon Chinn)

International Feature: Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman)

Outstanding Direction: Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman)
                   
Outstanding Achievement in Non-Fiction Filmaking: Man on Wire (Dir: James Marsh; Prod: Simon Chinn)


About IndiePix
IndiePix is a New York-based distributor that delivers a highly-curated collection of the best Independent Films from around the world. Offering a hand-picked catalog of over 3,000 independent film gems - art-house, foreign, and documentary – the IndiePix team selects the best titles from the international festival circuit. Avenues for distribution include IndiePix' patented Download-to-Own technology, delivery of DVD by mail, retail and theatrical.

The company is committed to supporting the Independent Film industry through its production arm, IndiePix Studios, and its unique business model that returns the highest share of sales straight to the filmmaker.

For more information, please visit www.indiepixfilms.com
 
Sally Plourde
Head of Marketing, IndiePix
Tel: 212-684-2333
Email: sally@indiepix.net

Louise Sambells
IBA – PR for IndiePix
Tel:+44(0)1780 721433
Email: lsambells@iba-americas.com

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