Nominees for the 2012 Cinema Eye Honors have just been announced from London, where co-founder and filmmaker A.J. Schnack (“Kurt Cobain About a Son”) followed a tradition in marking this occasion with the organizers of Sheffield Doc/Fest (the nominations used to be announced from the fest, which had been held in the fall until this year). Picked by 23 programmers from film fests around the world, out of 123 eligible documentaries, here are the nominees for the honors, which will be held in NYC on January 11, 2012:

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NON-FICTION FILMMAKING

“The Arbor” (Clio Barnard and Tracy O’Riordan)
“The Interrupters” (Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz)
“Nostalgia for the Light” (Patricio Guzmán and Renate Sachse)
“Position Among the Stars” (Leonard Retel Helmrich and Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich)
“Project Nim” (James Marsh and Simon Chinn)
“Senna” (Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION

“The Arbor” (Clio Barnard)
“Hell and Back Again” (Danfung Dennis)
“The Interrupters” (Steve James)
“Nostalgia for the Light” (Patricio Guzman)
“Position Among the Stars” (Leonard Retel Helmrich)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION

“Cave of Forgotten Dreams” (Erik Nelson and Adrienne Ciuffo)
“Hell and Back Again” (Mike Lerner)
“The Interrupters” (Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz)
“Nostalgia for the Light” (Renate Sachse)
“Pina” (Gian-Piero Ringel and Wim Wenders)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

“Bombay Beach” (Alma Har’el)
“Dragonslayer” (Eric Koretz)
“Hell and Back Again” (Danfung Dennis)
“Nostalgia for the Light” (Freddy González)
“Position Among the Stars” (Leonard Retel Helmrich and Ismail Fahmi Lubish)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING

“The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975” (Hanna Lejonqvist SFK & Göran Hugo Olsson)
“Dragonslayer” (Jennifer Tiexiera and Lizzy Calhoun)
“Life in a Day” (Joe Walker)
“Position Among the Stars” (Jasper Naaijkens)
“Senna” (Gregers Sall and Chris King)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN A DEBUT FEATURE

“The Arbor” (Clio Barnard)
“At the Edge of Russia” (Michal Marczak)
“Bombay Beach” (Alma Har’el)
“Dragonslayer” (Tristan Patterson)
“Hell and Back Again” (Danfung Dennis)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NONFICTION SHORT FILMMAKING

“Diary” (Tim Hetherington)
“Il Capo” (Yuri Ancarani)
“Minka” (Davina Pardo)
“Out of Reach” (Jakub Stożek)
“This Chair is Not Me” (Andy Taylor Smith)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN GRAPHIC DESIGN AND ANIMATION

“Better This World” (Mike Nicholson and Allison Moore)
“Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then” (Brent Green)
“Project Nim” (Kinda Akash)
“Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure” (Raynor Pettge)
“Tabloid” (Rob Feng and Jeremy Landman)
“Women Art Revolution” (Justin Barber and Ryland Jones)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE

“The Arbor” (Harry Escott and Molly Nyman)
“Cave of Forgotten Dreams” (Ernst Reijseger)
“Dragonslayer” (T. Griffin)
“Senna” (Antonio Pinto)
“Tabloid” (John Kusiak)

SPOTLIGHT AWARD

“Family Instinct” (Andris Gauja)
“Last Days Here” (Don Argott and Demien Fenton)
“The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” (Chad Friedrichs)
“Scenes of a Crime” (Blue Hadaegh and Grover Babcock)
“The Tiniest Place” (Tatiana Huezo Sánchez)

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD

“Bill Cunningham New York” (Richard Press)
“The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975” (Göran Hugo Olsson)
“Buck” (Cindy Meehl)
“Cave of Forgotten Dreams” (Werner Herzog)
“Give Up Tomorrow” (Michael Collins)
“The Interrupters” (Steve James)
“Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” (Jon M. Chu)
“Project Nim” (James Marsh)
“Senna” (Asif Kapadia)
“Tabloid” (Errol Morris)

No major frontrunners in any of the categories, as far as I can tell (it’s going to be a tough year for us voters), and no one title received more than four nominations. Those that got that amount include “The Arbor,” “Senna,” “Hell and Back Again,” “Nostalgia for the Light,” “Position Among the Stars” and “Project Nim.” Technically, “Interrupters” director Steve James has the lead on individuals, because he’s named in all four of his film’s nominations.

Biggest surprise? “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never”!! While last year we wondered between this time and the ceremony if Banksy would show up if “Exit Through the Gift Shop” won anything, this year we can excitedly speculate if the young pop star will appear and acknowledge that Audience Choice nomination. Or, maybe he’ll at least send a speech if his film wins? Of course, Bansky was his film’s director and that doc was up for the bigger honors. Still, it’d give the Cinema Eye Honors some big, deserved attention if Bieber recognized them, that’s for sure.

For more information on the Cinema Eye Honors, each of these nominees and most importantly to see the original artwork drawn up as icons for each film, visit the awards’ website.