Watchers of the Sky

{{Infobox film

| name = Watchers of the Sky

| image = Watchers of the Sky poster.jpg

| caption = Promotional poster

| director = Edet Belzberg

| producer = Edet Belzberg
Amelia Green-Dove
Kerry Propper
Taylor Krauss

| writer =

| starring =

| music = Dougie Bowne

| cinematography = Mai Iskander
Jerry Risius
Nelson Walker III
Sam Cullman
Edet Belzberg
Taylor Krauss

| editing = Jenny Golden
Karen Sim

| studio = Propeller Films
The Unofficial Man

| distributor = Music Box Films

| released = {{film date|2014|1|20|Sundance|2014|10|10|United States}}

| runtime = 120 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Watchers of the Sky is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Edet Belzberg.{{cite web|title=Interview with Watchers of the Sky Director Edet Belzberg|date=22 January 2014|url=http://filmmakermagazine.com/83783-interview-with-watchers-of-the-sky-director-edet-belzberg/|accessdate=12 April 2014}}{{cite web|title=2014 Edet Belzberg: "Watchers of the Sky"|url=http://www.sundance.org/video/meet-the-artists-2014-Edet-Belzberg/|accessdate=12 April 2014}} The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014 in the U.S. Documentary Competition.{{cite web|title=Sundance 2014: U.S. Documentary Competition|date=10 January 2014|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-2014-us-documentary-competition|accessdate=12 April 2014}} It won the two awards at the festival.{{cite web |title=Sundance: 'Whiplash' & 'Rich Hill' Win Grand Jury Awards; Dramatic Directing Goes To Cutter Hodierne For 'Fishing Without Nets'|date=26 January 2014|url=https://deadline.com/2014/01/sundance-film-festival-winners-2014-awards-list-671058/|access-date=12 April 2014}}{{cite web |title='Whiplash' Owns the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Awards Netting Two Top Prizes|date=26 January 2014|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/the-2014-sundance-film-festival-winners-as-they-come-in|accessdate=12 April 2014}} It went on to win the Jonathan Daniels Award at the Monadnock International Film Festival{{cite web |url=http://www.moniff.org/moniff-announces-2014-jonathan-daniels-award-recipient.html |title=MONIFF Announces 2014 Jonathan Daniels Award Recipient {{!}} MONIFF |website=www.moniff.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218184436/http://www.moniff.org/moniff-announces-2014-jonathan-daniels-award-recipient.html |archive-date=2014-12-18}} and the Ostrovsky Award for Best Documentary Film at the Jerusalem Film Festival.{{Cite web|url=http://jff.org.il/?CategoryID=1166&ArticleID=1584|title = פסטיבל - עמוד בית}}

After its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Music Box Films acquired the US distribution rights. The film was released in October 2014.{{cite web|title=Music Box Films Acquires Sundance Doc 'Watchers of the Sky'|date=11 February 2014|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/music-box-films-acquires-watchers-of-the-sky|accessdate=12 April 2014}}{{cite web|title=Berlin: Sundance Winner 'Watchers of the Sky' Gets U.S. Distribution'|date=11 February 2014|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/berlin-sundance-winner-watchers-of-the-sky-gets-u-s-distribution-1201098021/|accessdate=12 April 2014}}{{cite web|title=Berlin: Music Box Films Picks Up Doc 'Watchers of the Sky' for U.S.|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=11 February 2014|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/berlin-music-box-films-picks-679341|accessdate=12 April 2014}} Films We Like released it in Canada{{cite web |url=http://www.filmswelike.com/films/watchersofthesky/ |title=Watchers of the Sky |website=www.filmswelike.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113013714/http://www.filmswelike.com/films/watchersofthesky/ |archive-date=2014-11-13}} and Madman Entertainment released it in New Zealand and Australia.{{Cite web|url=http://www.madman.com.au/catalogue/view/30459/watchers-of-the-sky|title = Watchers of the Sky - Digital}}

Synopsis

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.{{Cite web|title = Watchers of the Sky {{!}} Film Review {{!}} Slant Magazine|url = https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/watchers-of-the-sky|website = Slant Magazine|accessdate = 2015-11-22|language = en-US}}{{Cite web|title = 'Watchers of the Sky' and the Full Cruelty of Consciousness|url = https://www.popmatters.com/review/187147-watchers-of-the-sky-defining-genocide/|website = PopMatters|accessdate = 2015-11-22}}

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."{{cite web|title=Sundance Film Review: 'Watchers of the Sky'|date=29 January 2014|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/sundance-film-review-watchers-of-the-sky-1201074876/|accessdate=12 April 2014}} 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."{{cite web|title=Watchers of the Sky: Sundance Review|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=25 January 2014|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/watchers-sky-sundance-review-673854|accessdate=12 April 2014}} 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."{{cite web|title=Sundance Review: 'Watchers of the Sky' Explores the Challenge of Chronicling Genocide|date=26 January 2014|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-review-in-both-form-and-content-watchers-of-the-sky-shows-both-the-enormity-and-difficulty-of-tackling-genocide|accessdate=12 April 2014}} 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."{{cite web|title=Watchers Of The Sky|url=http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/watchers-of-the-sky-2013-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson|accessdate=12 April 2014}} 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." The film did also receive the Cinema for Peace Award for Justice in 2016.{{Cite web|url=http://criterioncast.com/reviews/theatrical/joshua-reviews-edet-belzbergs-watchers-of-the-sky-theatrical-review|title=Joshua Reviews Edet Belzberg's Watchers of the Sky [Theatrical Review]|date=17 October 2014}}{{cite magazine| url = https://ew.com/article/2014/10/16/watchers-sky/| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141020153719/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133_20862958,00.html| archive-date = 2014-10-20| title = Watchers of the Sky Review {{!}} Movie Reviews and News {{!}} Fall Movies - Calendar, Trailers, Movie Photos, Movie Clips, Movie Guide| magazine = Entertainment Weekly}}

Accolades

{{multiple image

| align = right

| image1 = "Watchers in the Sky" Wins Documentary Editing Award (12186663276).jpg

| width1 = 120

| alt1 =

| caption1 = Watchers of the Sky, won the Editing Award: U.S. Documentary and

| image2 = "Watchers of the Sky" Wins the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Use of Animation (12186654296).jpg

| width2 = 120

| alt2 =

| caption2 = U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement for Use of Animation at 2014 Sundance Film Festival

| footer =

}}

class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:1em auto;"
Year ! Award ! Category ! Recipient ! Result
rowspan="3"\| 2014 \| rowspan="3"\| Sundance Film Festival \| U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary \| Edet Belzberg \| {{nom}}
Editing Award: U.S. Documentary \| Jenny Golden and Karen Sim \| {{won}}
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement for Use of Animation \| Edet Belzberg \| {{won}}

class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:1em auto;"

Year

! Award

! Category

! Recipient

! Result

rowspan="3"| 2014

| rowspan="3"| Sundance Film Festival

| U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary

| Edet Belzberg

| {{nom}}

Editing Award: U.S. Documentary