‘Hale County This Morning, This Evening’ Tops 2019 Cinema Eye Honors

By Variety Staff

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – RaMell Ross’s debut feature, “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” took the top prize at the Cinema Eye Honors Thursday night in New York, winning outstanding nonfiction feature.

Bing Liu’s much-lauded skateboarding doc “Minding the Gap,” which tied the Cinema Eye record for most noms with seven, took home three trophies, including outstanding achievement in direction, editing, and debut. “Free Solo” also won three awards, with “Shirkers” nabbing two honors.

“Hale County’s” win marks the second for producer Joslyn Barnes, who also won last year for “Strong Island.” “Free Solo’s” three wins landed Jimmy Chin the title of most awarded individual in Cinema Eye history, with five awards including his two for 2015’s “Meru.”

See the full list of winners below.

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking

“Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross

Outstanding Achievement in Direction

Bing Liu, “Minding the Gap”

Outstanding Achievement in Editing

Joshua Altman and Bing Liu, “Minding the Gap”

Outstanding Achievement in Production

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill, “Free Solo”

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography

Jimmy Chin, Clair Popkin and Mikey Schaeffer, “Free Solo”

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score

Ishai Adair, “Shirkers”

Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation

Lucas Celler and Sandi Tan, “Shirkers”

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film

“Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu

Audience Choice Prize

“Free Solo,” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Film for Broadcast

“Baltimore Rising,” Sonja Sohn, HBO

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Film for Broadcast

“America to Me,” Steve James, STARZ

Spotlight Award

“The Distant Barking of Dogs,” Simon Lereng Wilmont

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking

“My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes,” Charlie Tyrell

Heterodox Award

“American Animals,” Bart Layton

Legacy Award

“Eyes On the Prize,” Executive Producer Henry Hampton; Series Producer/Writer/Director Judith Vecchione, Series Producer Jon Else; Director/Writer/Producers Orlando Bagwell, Sheila Curran Bernard, Callie Crossley, James A. DeVinney, Madison D. Lacy, Thomas Ott, Samuel D. Pollard, Terry Kay Rockefeller, Jacqueline Shearer and Paul Stekler