Cinema Eye Honors: 'Strong Island' wins best doc and more

Yance Ford also wins for direction and first feature; Jane, Last Men in Aleppo claim trophies 

The Cinema Eye Honors has bestowed its biggest prizes on Yance Ford for his searingly personal documentary Strong Island.

At a ceremony in New York Thursday night, Ford's film was named outstanding feature documentary, as well as Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film. In addition, Ford won best director over a half-dozen other filmmakers, including Agnès Varda and artist JR of Faces Places, Matthew Heineman of City of Ghosts and Frederick Wiseman of Ex Libris: The New York Public Library.

Strong Island tells the story of the racially-charged killing of Ford's older brother, William Ford Jr., who was gunned down 25 years ago by a white man who faced no charges despite shooting an unarmed man. Last month it made the Oscar documentary shortlist.

Brett Morgen's Jane earned multiple Cinema Eye Honors as well, including the Audience Choice Prize and best score for composer Philip Glass.

Last Men in Aleppo, Feras Fayyad's documentary on courageous White Helmets civil defense workers in Aleppo, Syria, won Outstanding Achievement in Production.

Winners of the Cinema Eye Honors are determined by a group of several hundred festival programmers, filmmakers, critics, distributors and others immersed in the documentary world.

Below is the full list of nominees, with the winner indicated in bold:

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
“City of Ghosts”
“Ex Libris: The New York Public Library”
“Faces Places”
“Last Men in Aleppo”
“Quest”
“Strong Island” (winner)

Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Kitty Green, “Casting JonBenet”
Matthew Heineman, “City of Ghosts”
Yuri Ancarani, “The Challenge”
Frederick Wiseman, “Ex Libris: The New York Public Library”
Agnès Varda and JR, “Faces Places”
Yance Ford, “Strong Island” (winner)

Audience Choice Prize
“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail”
“City of Ghosts”
“Chasing Coral”
“Faces Places”
“Jane” (winner)
“Kedi”
“Quest”
“Step”
“Whose Streets?”
“The Work”

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film
“Brimstone and Glory”
“Communion”
“Machines”
“Rat Film”
“Strong Island” (winner)

Outstanding Achievement in Editing
“Dawson City: Frozen Time”
“Jane”
“LA92”
“Long Strange Trip”
“Quest” (winner)
“The Reagan Show”

Outstanding Achievement in Production
“Brimstone and Glory”
“City of Ghosts”
“Human Flow”
“Last Men in Aleppo” (winner)
“Risk”

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score
“Brimstone and Glory”
“The Challenge”
“Dawson City: Frozen Time”
“Jane” (winner)
“Rat Film”
“Strong Island”

Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation
“78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene”
“Chasing Coral”
“Citizen Jane: Battle for the City”
“Let There Be Light”
“Long Strange Trip” (winner)

Outstanding Achievement in Broadcast Nonfiction Filmmaking
“13th”
“Abortion: Stories Women Tell”
“Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds”
“Five Came Back”
“The Keepers” (winner)
“Solitary: Inside Red Onion State Prison”

Spotlight Award
“Donkeyote”
“An Insignificant Man”
“Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle” (winner)
“Plastic China”
“Stranger in Paradise”
“Taste of Cement”
​
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking
“Edith+Eddie”
“Heroin(e)”
“Little Potato”
“Polonaise”
“The Rabbit Hunt” (winner)
“Ten Meter Tower”