The Cinema Eye Honors Award (CEHA) winners have been announced representing the best in documentary filmmaking for 2025. Here are this year’s winners…
Feature
2000 Meters to Andriivka – Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson-Rath, Alex Babenko and Sam Slater
Afternoons of Solitude – Albert Serra, Montse Triola, Luis Ferrón, Pedro Palacios, Artur Tort, Mac Verdaguer and Jordi Ribas
Come See Me in the Good Light – Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen, Brandon Somerhalder, Berenice Chávez, Blake Neely, Dave Richards, Brent Kiser, Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley
Cover-Up – Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus, Yoni Golijov, Olivia Streisand, Mia Cioffi Henry, Amy Foote, Peter Bowman, Maya Shenfeld and Seymour Hersh
The Perfect Neighbor – Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu, Sam Bisbee, Viridiana Lieberman, Laura Heinzinger and Felipe Messeder
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk – Sepideh Farsi, Javad Djavahery, Fatma Hassona, Cinna Peyghamy and Pierre Carrasco
Seeds – Brittany Shyne, Danielle Varga, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, Malika Zouhali-Worrall, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Daniel Timmons, Ben Kruse and Willie Head Jr.
Direction
Mstyslav Chernov – 2000 Meters to Andriivka
Albert Serra – Afternoons of Solitude
Ryan White – Come See Me in the Good Light
Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus – Cover-Up
Geeta Gandbhir – The Perfect Neighbor
David Osit – Predators
Brittany Shyne – Seeds
Editing
Michelle Mizner – 2000 Meters to Andriivka
Amy Foote, Peter Bowman and Laura Poitras – Cover-Up
Alexander Kashcheev – I Am Not Everything I Want to Be
Julia Loktev and Michael Taylor – My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow
Alexandra Strauss – Orwell: 2+2=5
Viridiana Lieberman – The Perfect Neighbor
Stephan Krumbiegel, Olaf Voigtländer and Alfredo Castro – Riefenstahl
Production
Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath – 2000 Meters to Andriivka
Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman – The Alabama Solution (TIE)
James Jones – Antidote
Petra Costa and Alessandra Orofino – Apocalypse in the Tropics (TIE)
Helle Faber – Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Julia Loktev – My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow
Cinematography
Artur Tort – Afternoons of Solitude
Ben Bernhard – Architecton
Brandon Somerhalder – Come See Me in the Good Light
Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo and Tor Edvin Eliassen – Folktales
Brittany Shyne – Seeds
Jean Dakar – The Tale of Silyan
Original Music Score
Sam Slater – 2000 Meters to Andriivka
Blake Neely – Come See Me in the Good Light
Maya Shenfeld – Cover-Up
Kris Bowers – The Eyes of Ghana
Todd Griffin – Folktales
Alexeï Aïgui – Orwell: 2+2=5
Sound Design
Alexander Dudarev – Architecton
James LeBrecht, Greg Francis and Nina Hartstone – Deaf President Now!
Andreas Lindberg Svensson – Folktales
Bonnie Wild – Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
Sean Ono Lennon, Sam Gannon and Simon Hilton – One to One: John and Yoko
Daniel Timmons and Ben Kruse – Seeds
Visual Design
Nominees To Be Determined – Ghost Boy
Nominees To Be Determined – In Waves and War
Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Josh Shaffner – It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley
Norn Jordan – The New Yorker at 100
Joseph Midthun – Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted
Nominees To Be Determined – Zodiac Killer Project
Debut
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore – Directed By Shoshannah Stern
Monk in Pieces – Directed By Billy Shebar and David C. Roberts
Remaining Native – Directed By Paige Bethmann
Seeds – Directed By Brittany Shyne
The Shepherd and the Bear – Directed By Max Keegan
Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted – Directed By Isaac Gale and Ryan Olson
Spotlight Award
Always – Directed By Deming Chen
The Encampments – Directed By Michael T Workman and Kei Pritsker
Flophouse America – Directed By Monica Strømdahl
Sanatorium – Directed By Gar O’Rourke
To the West, in Zapata – Directed By David Bim
Audience Choice Prize
Apocalypse in the Tropics – Directed By Petra Costa
Coexistence, My Ass! – Directed By Amber Fares
Come See Me in the Good Light – Directed By Ryan White
The Eyes of Ghana – Directed By Ben Proudfoot
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley – Directed By Amy Berg
The Librarians – Directed By Kim A. Snyder
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore – Directed By Shoshannah Stern
Mr. Nobody Against Putin – Directed By David Borenstein
Prime Minister – Directed By Michelle Walsh and Lindsay Utz
The Tale of Silyan – Directed By Tamara Kotevska
Audience Choice Prize Longlist
Cover-Up – Directed By Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus
Cutting Through Rocks – Directed By Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni
Deaf President Now! – Directed By Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim
Folktales – Directed By Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
Orwell: 2+2=5 – Directed By Raoul Peck
The Perfect Neighbor – Directed By Geeta Gandbhir
Unforgettables Honorees
Noam Shuster-Eliassi – Coexistence, My Ass!
Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley – Come See Me in the Good Light
Seymour Hersh – Cover-Up
Sara Shahverdi – Cutting Through Rocks
Pavel Talankin – Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Jacinda Ardern – Prime Minister
Fatma Hassona – Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
Shorts List
All The Empty Rooms – Directed by Joshua Seftel
Am I the skinniest person you’ve ever seen? – Directed by Eisha Marjara
Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud – Directed by Brent Renaud and Craig Renaud
Crying Glacier – Directed by Lutz Stautner
The Devil is Busy – Directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Christalyn Hampton
The Long Valley – Directed by Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck and Robert Machoian
Mama Micra – Directed by Rebecca Blöcher
perfectly a strangeness – Directed by Alison McAlpine
We Were The Scenery – Directed by Christopher Radcliff
Who Loves The Sun – Directed by Arshia Shakiba
Broadcast Film
Deaf President Now! – Directed by Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim (Apple TV+)
Democracy Noir – Directed by Connie Field (SWR / ARTE / DR)
Enigma – Directed by Zackary Drucker (HBO | Max)
My Mom Jayne – Directed by Mariska Hargitay (HBO | Max)
Pee-wee as Himself – Directed by Matt Wolf (HBO | Max)
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) – Directed by Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson (Hulu, Onyx Collective)
Nonfiction Series
Chimp Crazy – Directed by Eric Goode (HBO | Max)
Couples Therapy – Directed by Pax Wassermann and Bennett Elliott (Paramount+)
Dallas, 2019 – Directed by Darius Clark Monroe (PBS/Independent Lens)
The Sing Sing Chronicles – Directed by Dawn Porter (MSNBC)
Social Studies – Directed by Lauren Greenfield (FX on Hulu)
The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth – Directed by Juliette Eisner (National Geographic)
Anthology Series
Conan O’Brien Must Go – Executive Producers Conan O’Brien and Jeff Ross (HBO | Max)
Harlem Ice – Executive Producers Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Robin Roberts, Geeta Gandbhir, Meredith Kaulfers and Alisa Payne (Disney+)
Omnivore – Executive Producers René Redzepi, Ben Liebmann, Chris Rice, Matt Goulding, Collin Orcutt and Mateo Willis (Apple TV+)
Our Oceans – Executive Producers Jonathan Smith and James Honeyborne (Netflix)
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night – Executive Producers Morgan Neville, Caitrin Rogers and Juaquin Cambron (Peacock)
Tucci In Italy – Executive Producers Stanley Tucci, Lottie Birmingham, Amanda Lyon and Simon Raikes (National Geographic)
Broadcast Editing
Deaf President Now! – Edited by Michael Harte (Apple TV+)
My Mom Jayne – Edited by JD Marlow (HBO | Max)
Pee-wee as Himself – Edited by Damian Rodriguez (HBO | Max)
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) – Edited by Joshua L. Pearson (Hulu)
Social Studies – Edited by Alyse Ardell Spiegel, Helen Kearns, Catherine Bull and Charles Little II (FX on Hulu)
Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos – Edited by Andy Grieve (HBO | Max)
Broadcast Cinematography
Chef’s Table: Legends – Director of Photography Will Basanta (Netflix)
Dallas, 2019 – Director of Photography Christine Ng (PBS/Independent Lens)
No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski – Director of Photography Steve Lidgerwood (National Geographic)
Omnivore – Director of Photography Tom Elliott, Sy Turnbull and Jurgen Lisse (Apple TV+)
Our Oceans – Director of Photography Roger Munns, Roger Horrocks, Justin Maguire, Ryan Tidman and Jamie McPherson (Netflix)
Social Studies – Director of Photography Bryan Donnell, Jenna Rosher and Jerry Risius (FX on Hulu)
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