The Cinema Eye Honors Award (CEHA), the organization that recognizes outstanding artistic achievement in nonfiction and documentary films and series, launched its 19th annual celebrations today with its first awards announcements for 2026. Among the announcements were the 16 films on the Audience Choice Prize Longlist, the unveiling of this year’s Unforgettables Honorees, nominees in five Broadcast categories, and the annual Shorts List — spotlighting 10 of the year’s top documentary short films.
Cinema Eye announced its first Honorees of the season, their annual list of the Unforgettables -the on-camera collaborators from seven feature documentaries. The year’s winners are: Noam Shuster-Eliassi from Amber Fares’ Coexistence, My Ass!, Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley from Ryan White’s Come See Me in the Good Light, Seymour Hersh from Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus’ Cover-Up, Sara Shahverdi from Sara Khaki and Mohammedreza Eyni’s Cutting Through Rocks, Pasha Talankin from David Borenstein’s Mr. Nobody Against Putin, Jacinda Ardern from Michelle Walsh and Lindsey Utz’s Prime Minister, and Fatma Hassouna from Sepideh Farsi’s Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.
The honors for Andrea Gibson and Fatma Hassouna are both posthumous. Gibson, an American poet and activist, died in July after a battle with cancer (that is depicted in the film). Hassouna, a Palestinian photojournalist and artist, was killed alongside ten family members in an Israeli airstrike in April.
In today’s Broadcast Film and Series announcements, FX on Hulu’s Social Studies, by director Lauren Greenfield, led with three nominations – Nonfiction Series, Broadcast Cinematography, and Broadcast Editing. HBO/Max led all broadcasters/streamers with eight nominations, including two nods apiece for Mariska Hargitay’s My Mom Jayne and Matt Wolf’s Pee-Wee as Himself. Other double nominees included Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson’s Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), Darius Clark Monroe’s Dallas, 2019, and Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim’s Deaf President Now!
Deaf President Now! is also one of 16 films named to Cinema Eye’s annual Audience Choice Prize Longlist, where documentary fans and viewers from around the world cast their votes to determine this year’s ten nominees and ultimately the prize winner. The Longlist includes many of this year’s most acclaimed and talked about documentaries, including Apocalypse in the Tropics, Coexistence, My Ass!, Cutting Through Rocks, The Eyes of Ghana, Folktales, It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, The Librarians, Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, Orwell: 2+2=5, The Perfect Neighbor and The Tale of Silyan.
The Audience Choice Prize is often a key harbinger for future documentary awards, including the Best Documentary Oscar. This year’s Oscar winner, No Other Land, was on the Longlist, and the previous six Oscar winners were all Audience Choice nominees.
Initial voting to determine this year’s nominees will open on Tuesday, October 28.
Finally, Cinema Eye also announced the ten films on this year’s Shorts List, the organization’s annual list of semi-finalists for its Nonfiction Short Film Honor. Of those ten films, six will be announced as the official nominees. For the third year in a row, Cinema Eye will screen all of the Shorts List films in both Los Angeles and New York, with a series of screenings at Vidiots in LA in early December and in New York at DCTV on Sunday, November 30.
Last year, four of the nominees (and the eventual winner) for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film were part of the Cinema Eye Shorts List. Cinema Eye will return to the historic New York Academy of Medicine in East Harlem for its 19th Annual Awards Ceremony, to be held on Thursday, January 8, 2026. Cinema Eye Week, which includes a number ofevents and activities for Cinema Eye nominees and honorees, kicks off on Monday, January 5.
Today’s announcements were made at the 8th Annual Cinema Eye Fall Lunch in Downtown Los Angeles. The event was hosted by Apple Original Films, HBO Documentary Films, Hulu, and Netflix.
Key Dates for the 2025 Cinema Eye Honors
Tuesday, October 28: Voting Opens for Audience Choice First Round Voting
Monday, November 3: Voting Closes for Audience Choice First Round Voting
Thursday, November 13: Full Cinema Eye Honors Nominations Announced
Sunday, November 30: Shorts List Screenings, DCTV, New York
Early December TBD: Shorts List Screenings, Vidiots, Los Angeles
Monday, January 5, 2026: Cinema Eye Week begins in New York City
Thursday, January 8, 2026: 19th Annual Cinema Eye Honors Awards Ceremony, New York Academy of Medicine, East Harlem, New York
A full list of this year’s announcements and nominees follows.
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
Pasha Talankin – Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Jacinda Ardern – Prime Minister
Fatma Hassouna – Put Your Soul On Your Hand and Walk
Audience Choice Prize Longlist
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
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
The Eyes of Ghana – Directed By Ben Proudfoot
Folktales – Directed By Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
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
Orwell: 2+2=5 – Directed By Raoul Peck
The Perfect Neighbor – Directed By Geeta Gandbhir
Prime Minister – Directed By Michelle Walsh and Lindsay Utz
The Tale of Silyan – Directed By Tamara Kotevska
Broadcast Film Nominees
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)
Nonfiction Series Nominees
Chimp Crazy – Directed by Eric Goode (HBO | Max)
Couples Therapy – Directed by Pax Wassermann (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 Nominees
Conan O’Brien Must Go – Executive Producers Conan O’Brien and Jeff Ross (HBO | Max)
Harlem Ice – Executive Producers Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Robin Roberts, and Geeta Gandbhir (Disney+)
Omnivore – Executive Producers René Redzepi, Ben Liebmann, Chris Rice, Matt Goulding, Collin Orcutt and Mateo Willis (Apple TV+)
Our Oceans 0 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 Nominees
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 Nominees
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 Elliot, 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)
Shorts List
All The Empty Room – 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
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