Last night in New York, the documentary community was out in force for the annual Cinema Eye Honors Awards, and we were pleased to see lots of Dogwoof titles go home with gongs!
The Act of Killing went home with the nights most prestigious prize, Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking, and also won the prize for Outstanding Achievement in Production.
Meanwhile Cutie and the Boxer won 3 awards: Outstanding Debut, Outstanding Original Score and Outstanding Graphics and Animation.
Leviathan also picked up the award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography.
The Act of Killing
In this chilling and inventive documentary, executive produced by Werner Herzog, Errol Morris and André Singer, the unrepentant former members of Indonesian death squads are challenged to re-enact some of their many murders in the style of the American movies they love. In the 1960’s Anwar Congo was a leader in Indonesia’s pro-regime paramilitary the Pancasila Youth who, along with his band of dedicated followers, was amongst those who participated in the murder and torture more than a million alleged Communists, ethnic Chinese and intellectuals. Proud of their deeds and completely unpunished, Anwar and his pals are delighted when the film’s director ask them to re-enact these murders for their documentary – in any genre they desire. Initially Anwar and his friends enthusiastically take up the challenge using hired actors, making elaborate sets and costumes and even using pyrotechnic, but eventually as the movie violence is played out and reconstructed, Anwar finally begins to feel unease and remorse.
For more information visit www.TheActofKilling.co.uk
Cutie and the Boxer
Cutie and the Boxer is a candid New York love story about life and art that explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of renowned “boxing” painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife and artist Noriko. As a rowdy young Neo-Dadaist artist in Tokyo, Ushio yearned for international recognition, so in 1969 he set sail for New York City. When 19-year-old Noriko moved to New York to study art, she fell in love with Ushio, ultimately abandoning her education to become the wife and assistant to an unruly, alcoholic husband. Over the course of their marriage, the roles have shifted. Now 80, Ushio is obsessed with establishing his artistic legacy, while Noriko is at last being recognized for her own art - a series of drawings entitled “Cutie and Bullie”, depicting her challenging past with Ushio. Spanning four decades, the film is a moving portrait of a couple wrestling with the eternal themes of sacrifice, love and aging, against a background of lives dedicated to art.
For more information head to Cutieandtheboxer.co.uk
Leviathan
Leviathan is a thrilling, immersive documentary that takes you deep inside the dangerous world of commercial fishing. Set aboard a hulking fishing vessel as it navigates the treacherous waves off the New England coast-the very waters that once inspired Moby Dick- the film captures the harsh, unforgiving world of the fishermen in starkly haunting, yet beautiful detail. Employing an arsenal of cameras that pass freely from film crew to ship crew, and swoop from below sea level to astonishing bird’s-eye views, Leviathan is unlike anything you have ever seen; a purely visceral, cinematic experience.
Find out more at dogwoof.com/leviathan