The Cinema Eye Honors awards have been presented to the best documentary films since 2008. For a film to receive a nomination for the prize, it must have screened at any of the following film festivals: Sundance, Berlin, True/False, SXSW, Full Frame, Tribeca, Hot Docs, Cannes, Silverdocs, Los Angeles, Toronto, Sheffield and IDFA. Candidates for the Cinema Eye Honours are selected by representatives of major documentary film festivals, and the winners are chosen each year by approx. 200 representatives of the documentary industry invited to vote by Cinema Eye.
This year, Paweł Łoziński's latest film has a good chance of winning the Audience Prize, which will be awarded for the first time. With the announcement of the longlist, that is, from 25 October, an international public vote began, which will award the Audience Choice Prize. It is thanks to you that The Balcony Movie has found its way into the prestigious group of nominated titles.
Can anyone be a film protagonist? Can you fit the entire world in a single frame? Director Paweł Łoziński watches people from his balcony. Both young and old, they walk by smiling, sad, thoughtful, staring at their phones. Residents of the neighbourhood, or casual visitors, ordinary passers-by. The author approaches them, asks questions, talks about their life and how they're doing. Standing there with his camera for over 2 years, he created a place for dialogue, a secular confessional where everyone can stop and tell others about themselves. Every person carries their own riddles and secrets. They can't be easily labelled. Life can't be imagined. The Balcony Movie is a radical return to the early days of cinema, when it was people who approached the camera. Perhaps one just needs to stop and stay a while to see more?
The list of film nominations in all categories can be found here.