Watchers of the Sky

Watchers of the Sky is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Edet Belzberg.[1][2] The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014 in the U.S. Documentary Competition.[3] It won the two awards at the festival.[4][5] It went on to win the Jonathan Daniels Award at the Monadnock International Film Festival[6] and the Ostrovsky Award for Best Documentary Film at the Jerusalem Film Festival.[7]

Watchers of the Sky
Promotional poster
Directed byEdet Belzberg
Produced byEdet Belzberg
Amelia Green-Dove
Kerry Propper
Taylor Krauss
Music byDougie Bowne
CinematographyMai Iskander
Jerry Risius
Nelson Walker III
Sam Cullman
Edet Belzberg
Taylor Krauss
Edited byJenny Golden
Karen Sim
Production
company
Propeller Films
The Unofficial Man
Distributed byMusic Box Films
Release date
  • January 20, 2014 (2014-01-20) (Sundance)
  • October 10, 2014 (2014-10-10) (United States)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

After its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Music Box Films acquired the US distribution rights. The film was released in October 2014.[8][9][10] Films We Like released it in Canada[11] and Madman Entertainment released it in New Zealand and Australia.[12]

Plot

The film depicts the journey of lawyer Raphael Lemkin and his efforts in lobbying the United Nations to establish the Genocide Convention. The movie also focuses on four people inspired by Lemkin: Samantha Power, United States Ambassador to the United Nations; Benjamin B. Ferencz, Chief Prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen trial at Nuremberg; Luis Moreno Ocampo, first Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court; and Emmanuel Uwurukundo, head of operations for refugee camps in Chad set up by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the War in Darfur. The film is based on Power's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, A Problem from Hell.

The film discusses several instances of genocide throughout history, including the Armenian Genocide, the Rwandan genocide, the War in Darfur, and the Holocaust, among others. It features an extensive interview with former journalist and United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, as well as discussions with former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo.[13][14]

Reception

The film received positive response from critics. Dennis Harvey, in his review for Variety, wrote that "Edet Belzberg's sweeping survey of global genocide is an impressive and artful cinematic thesis of palpable substance."[15] Duane Byrge of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film positive review and said that "An exhaustive, complex look at genocide with a sobering and historically predictable prognosis."[16] Steve Greene from Indiewire, in his review, wrote that "As a documentary, "Watchers of the Sky” shows how even capturing that progress is a monumental task in itself."[17] Amber Wilkinson, in her review for Eye for Film, gave the film four stars out of four and said that "There is quite a lot of onscreen reading to be done as well as watching, but the passages of Lemkin that Belzberg chooses are always well-illustrated either by the animation or archival footage."[18] Entertainment Weekly called it "fiery" and "essential" and Joshua Brunsting of Criterioncast.com named it one of 2014's best and said it was "a tour-de-force."[19][20]

Accolades
Watchers of the Sky, won the Editing Award: U.S. Documentary and
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement for Use of Animation at 2014 Sundance Film Festival

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2014 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary Edet Belzberg Nominated
Editing Award: U.S. Documentary Jenny Golden and Karen Sim Won[4][5]
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement for Use of Animation Edet Belzberg Won[4][5]
2016 Cinema for Peace Cinema for Peace Award for Justice Edet Belzberg Won[21]

References
  1. "Interview with Watchers of the Sky Director Edet Belzberg". Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  2. "2014 Edet Belzberg: "Watchers of the Sky"". Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  3. "Sundance 2014: U.S. Documentary Competition". Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  4. "Sundance: 'Whiplash' & 'Rich Hill' Win Grand Jury Awards; Dramatic Directing Goes To Cutter Hodierne For 'Fishing Without Nets'". Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  5. "'Whiplash' Owns the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Awards Netting Two Top Prizes". Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  6. http://www.moniff.org/moniff-announces-2014-jonathan-daniels-award-recipient.html
  7. http://jff.org.il/?CategoryID=1166&ArticleID=1584
  8. "Music Box Films Acquires Sundance Doc 'Watchers of the Sky'". Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  9. "Berlin: Sundance Winner 'Watchers of the Sky' Gets U.S. Distribution'". Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  10. "Berlin: Music Box Films Picks Up Doc 'Watchers of the Sky' for U.S." Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  11. http://www.filmswelike.com/films/watchersofthesky/
  12. http://www.madman.com.au/catalogue/view/30459/watchers-of-the-sky
  13. "Watchers of the Sky | Film Review | Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
  14. "'Watchers of the Sky' and the Full Cruelty of Consciousness". PopMatters. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
  15. "Sundance Film Review: 'Watchers of the Sky'". Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  16. "Watchers of the Sky: Sundance Review". Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  17. "Sundance Review: 'Watchers of the Sky' Explores the Challenge of Chronicling Genocide". Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  18. "Watchers Of The Sky". Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  19. http://criterioncast.com/reviews/theatrical/joshua-reviews-edet-belzbergs-watchers-of-the-sky-theatrical-review
  20. https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133_20862958,00.html
  21. "Cinema for Peace Foundation"
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