November 5, 2012 - 19:43 AMT
"Searching for Sugar Man" doc lands nod for Cinema Eye Honors top award

"Searching for Sugar Man" secured its second major documentary-award nomination landing a nod for the Cinema Eye Honors' top award 11 days after earning the same from the International Documentary Association, TheWrap said.

The film about the resurrection of '70s rocker Rodriguez was the only film to be nominated for best documentary by both the Cinema Eye Honors and the IDA, the two major organizations that honor non-fiction filmmaking.

Other nominees in the Cinema Eye category of Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking are "5 Broken Cameras," "Detropia," "The Imposter," "Marina Abramovich: The Artist Is Present" and "Only the Young."

"Sugar Man" and "The Imposter" topped all films with five nominations each, while "Detropia," "Only the Young," "Room 237" and "Vivan las Antipodas!" each received four.

The Cinema Eye nominations were announced at a reception at the AFI Fest in Hollywood, the first time the six-year-old organization has made the announcement in Los Angeles.

Over its first five years, the Cinema Eye Honors twice gave its top honor to the film that went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. James Marsh's "Man on Wire" won in 2009, and Louie Psihoyos' "The Cove" the following year.

Last year's Cinema Eye winner was Banksy's "Exit Through the Gift Shop," which was nominated for an Oscar but did not win.

The Cinema Eye Honors were launched in 2007 by filmmaker and journalist A.J. Schnack and documentary programmer Thom Powers, who wanted to create documentary awards that would honor the entire creative team and all facets of nonfiction filmmaking.

The 2013 ceremony will take place on January 9, 2013 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York.