The 2026 Cinema Eye Honors revealed their nominations, and filmmakers from Women Make Movies’ Production Assistance Program — along with distinguished Program alum — made an extraordinary showing across Feature, Short, Broadcast, and Audience Choice categories. Notably, three of the five nominees for Outstanding Feature are directed by WMM filmmakers.
SEEDS, which was made with the support of our Production Assistance Program, and COVER-UP, directed by program alum Laura Poitras, received a total of five nominations each, the second highest total in the awards this year. Brittany Shyne, director of SEEDS, is the most nominated individual this year, with four of her film’s nominations attributed directly to her. Poitras is now the most nominated individual in Cinema Eye Honors history, with 16 career nominations, including the 3 individual nominations she received this year. Alum Geeta Gandbhir also made history this year with nominations for three separate projects across the Feature Film, Short Film, and Broadcast categories.
WMM PA Program Nominations at a Glance
WMM PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FILM NOMINATIONS
SEEDS — dir. Brittany Shyne
- Outstanding Feature
- Outstanding Direction
- Outstanding Cinematography
- Outstanding Sound Design
- Outstanding Debut
APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS — dir. Petra Costa
- Outstanding Production
- Audience Choice Prize
COEXISTENCE, MY ASS! — dir. Amber Fares
- Audience Choice Prize
WMM PRODUCTION ASSISSTANCE PROGRAM ALUM NOMINATIONS
COVER-UP — co-dir. Alum Laura Poitras
- Outstanding Feature
- Outstanding Direction
- Outstanding Editing
- Outstanding Original Score
- Audience Choice Prize Longlist
- Poitras is now the most nominated individual in Cinema Eye Honors history (16 nominations).
THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR — dir. Alum Geeta Gandbhir
- Outstanding Feature
- Outstanding Direction
- Audience Choice Prize Longlist
- Gandbhir is also recognized this year for:
- THE DEVIL IS BUSY — Short Film category
- HARLEM ICE — Broadcast category
FOLKTALES — dirs. Alum Rachel Grady & Heidi Ewing
- Outstanding Cinematography
- Outstanding Original Score
- Outstanding Sound Design
- Audience Choice Prize Longlist
