IDA Documentary Awards Reveals Nominations for It's First Virtual Ceremony; Four Pics Vie For Both Best Feature & Director
By Erik Pederson
November 24, 2020 8:00 AM
The International Documentary Association has announced the nominees for its 36th Annual IDA Documentary Awards, and a certain streaming service dominates. Netflix scored a leading 18 noms for the 2020 IDAs, more than three times its nearest rival.
The New York Times garnened seven noms, including four for its Op-Docs, to run second. PBS is third with five, followed by HBO’s four.
The IDA also said today that its 2020 ceremony is going virtual on January 21.
“The nominees present an inspiring and urgent range of stories from around the globe,” said Simon Kilmurry, executive director of the IDA. “The broad range of subjects and approaches to storytelling underscores that documentary is our most exciting form of cultural expression, a vital art form and a crucial element of democratic dialogue.”
Ten films are up for the marquee Best Feature award: Collective (Magnolia Pictures, Participant), Crip Camp (Netflix), Gunda (Neon), MLK/FBI (IFC Films), The Reason I Jump (Kino Lorber), Reunited, Softie, Time (Amazon Studios, Concordia Studio, The New York Times), The Truffle Hunters (Sony Pictures Classics) and Welcome to Chechnya (HBO).
The helmers of five of those films also are up for Best Director: Garrett Bradley (Time), Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw (The Truffle Hunters), Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht (Crip Camp), Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI) and Jerry Rothwell (The Reason I Jump).
On the TV side, five programs will vie for Best Curated Series): ESPN’s 30 for 30, PBS’ American Experience, Thirteen Productions’ American Masters, Illinois Public Media’s Reel Midwest and PBS/World Channel’s Reel South.
The nominees for Best Episodic Series are Cheer (Netflix), Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America (AMC), Last Chance U (Netflix), Seven Worlds, One Planet (BBC America) and We’re Here (HBO).
Up for Best Multi-Part Documentary are Asian Americans (PBS), Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered (HBO), City So Real (National Geographic), Hillary (Hulu) and Lenox Hill (Netflix).
“This is a year that has been one of reflection, looking inwards, and living life differently than we have always known it to be,” said James Costa, co-chair of the Feature Documentary Nominating Committee and IDA Board of Directors’ co-vice president. “Through the art of filmmaking these films gave us an opportunity to truly look and learn through the lenses of others.”
Here is the full list of nominees for the 2020 IDA Documentary Awards:
Best Feature
Collective (Romania / Magnolia Pictures, Participant) Director/Producer: Alexander Nanau Producer: Bianca Oana
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix) Directors/Producers: Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht Producer: Sara Bolder
Gunda (Norway, USA / Neon) Director: Victor Kossakovsky Producer: Anita Rehoff Larsen
MLK/FBI (USA / IFC Films) Director: Sam Pollard Producer: Benjamin Hedin
The Reason I Jump (USA, UK / Kino Lorber) Director: Jerry Rothwell Producers: Jeremy Dear, Stevie Lee, Al Morrow
Reunited (Denmark) Director: Mira Jargil Producer: Kirstine Barfod
Softie (Kenya / POV) Director/Producer: Sam Soko Producer: Toni Kamau
Time (USA / Amazon Studios, Concordia Studio, The New York Times) Director/Producer: Garrett Bradley Producers: Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn
The Truffle Hunters (USA, Italy, Greece / Sony Pictures Classics) Directors/Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
Welcome to Chechnya (USA / HBO) Director/Producer: David France Producers: Alice Henty, Joy A. Tomchin and Askold Kurov
Best Director
Garrett Bradley Time USA / Amazon Studios, Concordia Studio, The New York Times
Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw The Truffle Hunters USA, Italy, Greece / Sony Pictures Classics
Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht Crip Camp USA / Netflix
Sam Pollard MLK/FBI USA / IFC Films
Jerry Rothwell The Reason I Jump USA, UK / Kino Lorber
Best Short
Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa (USA / Topic, Woman Make Movies) Directors/Producers: Barbara Attie, Mike Attie, Janet Goldwater
All That Perishes at the Edge of Land (Pakistan) Director/Producer: Hira Nabi Producer: Till Passow
Huntsville Station (USA / New York Times Op-Docs) Directors/Producers: Jamie Meltzer, Chris Filippone
Hysterical Girl (USA / New York Times Op-Docs) Director: Kate Novack Producer: Andrew Rossi
John Was Trying to Contact Aliens (USA / Netflix) Director/Producer: Matthew Killip
The Lost Astronaut (USA / New York Times Op-Docs) Director: Ben Proudfoot Producers: Abby Lynn Kang Davis, Gabriel Berk Godoi
Mizuko (USA, Japan / Topic) Directors/Producers: Kira Dane, Katelyn Rebelo
sống ở đây (USA / University of California, Santa Cruz) Director/Producer: Melanie Ho
To Calm the Pig Inside (Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos) (Philippines) Director/Producer: Joanna Vasquez Arong
Unforgivable (El Salvador) Director/Producer: Marlén Viñayo Producer: Carlos Martínez
Best Curated Series
30 for 30 (USA / ESPN) Executive Producers: John Dahl, Libby Geist, Rob King, Erin Leyden, Connor Schell
American Experience (USA / PBS) Executive Producers: Susan Bellows and Mark Samels
American Masters (USA / THIRTEEN Productions, LLC) Executive Producer: Michael Kantor
Reel Midwest (USA / Illinois Public Media) Executive Producer: Moss Bresnahan
Reel South (USA / PBS, World Channel) Executive Producers: Don Godish and Rachel Raney
Best Episodic Series
Cheer (USA / Netflix) Director/Executive Producer: Greg Whiteley Producers: Adam Leibowitz, Arielle Kilker, Chelsea Yarnell Executive Producers: Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Jasper Thomlinson, Bert Hamelinck
Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America (USA / AMC) Executive Producers: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Shawn Gee, Alex Gibney, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, Shea Serrano, Angie Day, One9, Erik Parker, Isaac Bolden
Last Chance U (USA / Netflix) Director/Executive Producer: Greg Whiteley Executive Producers: Joe LaBracio, James D. Stern, Lucas Smith, Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard
Seven Worlds, One Planet (UK / BBC America) Directors: Fredi Devas, Emma Napper, Giles Badger, Chadden Hunter Executive Producer: Jonny Keeling
We’re Here (USA / HBO) Executive Producers: Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Stephen Warren, Johnnie Ingram, Peter LoGreco, Erin Gamble
Best Multi-Part Documentary
Asian Americans (USA / PBS) Directors: Leo Chiang, Geeta Gandbhir, Grace Lee Producers: Renee Tajima-Peña, Mark Jonathan Harris Executive Producers: Jeff Bieber, Sally Jo Fifer, Stephen Gong, Jean Tsien, Donald Young
Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered (USA / HBO) Directors/Executive Producers: Sam Pollard, Maro Chermayeff, Joshua Bennett, Jeff Dupre Executive Producers: John Legend, Mike Jackson, Ty Stiklorious, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller
City So Real (USA / National Geographic) Director/ Producer: Steve James. Producer: Zak Piper. Executive Producers: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Alex Kotlowitz, Gordon Quinn, Betsy Steinberg, Jolene Pinder
Hillary (USA / Hulu) Director: Nanette Burstein Producers: Isabel San Vargas, Timothy Moran, Chi-Young Park, Tal Ben-David Executive Producers: Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, Nanette Burstein, Sierra Kos, Laurie Girion
Lenox Hill (USA / Netflix) Directors/Executive Producers: Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz. Executive Producer: Josh Braun
Best Short Form Series
Almost Famous (USA / New York Times Op-Docs) Producers: Abby Lynn Kang Davis, Gabriel Berk Godoi and Jeremy Lambert Executive Producer: Adam Ellick Director: Ben Proudfoot
Guardian Documentaries (UK, Iran / The Guardian) Producers: Shanida Scotland, Natasha Dack Ojumu and Nikki Parrott Executive Producers: Charlie Phillips. Lindsay Poulton, Jess Gormley Directors: Irene Baque, Laurence Topham, Sara Khaki, Mohammad Reza Eyni, Rebecca Lloyd-Evans, Laura Dodsworth,
Dan McDougall
Last Call For The Bayou: 5 Stories from Louisiana’s Disappearing Delta (USA / Smithsonian Channel Plus) Producer: Nadia Gill Executive Producer: Gina Hutchinson Director: Dominic Gill
POV Shorts (USA / PBS) Producer: Opal H. Bennett Executive Producers: Justine Nagan and Chris White
Run This City (USA / Quibi) Director: Brent Hodge Producer: Prince Vaughn Executive Producers: Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Archie Gips, Brent Hodge
Best Audio Documentary
Crosses in the Desert / Cruces en el desierto (Chile, USA / Las Raras Podcast) Reporter: Dennis Maxwell Producers: Catalina May, Martín Cruz Executive Producer: Martina Castro
Fiasco: Bush v. Gore (USA / Luminary) Producers: Leon Neyfakh, Andrew Parsons
Girl Taken (UK / British Broadcasting Corporation) Reporter: Sue Mitchell Producer: Richard Hannaford Executive Producer: Philip Sellars
Heavyweight – The Marshes (USA / Gimlet Media) Reporter, Producer and Executive Producer: Jonathan Goldstein Reporter and Producer: Kalila Holt. Producers: Stevie Lane, Jorge Just, BA Parker, Bobby Lord
Somebody (USA / iHeartRadio) Reporters and Producers: Alison Flowers, Bill Healy Reporters: Sam Stecklow, Ellen Glover, Annie Nguyen, Kahari Blackburn, Rajiv Sinclair, Henri Adams, Matilda Vojak, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Frances McDonald, Diana Akmajian, Andrew Fan and Maddie Anderson Producers: Shapearl Wells, Sarah Geis Executive Producers: Jamie Kalven, Maria Zuckerman, Christy Gressman, Leital Molad
Best Music Documentary
Beastie Boys Story (USA / Apple TV+) Director/Producer: Spike Jonze Producers: Jason Baum and Amanda Adelson
Billie (UK / Greenwich Entertainment) Director: James Erskine
Crock of Gold (USA / Magnolia Pictures) Director/Producer: Julien Temple Producers: Johnny Depp, Stephen Deuters, Stephen Malit
Los Hermanos / The Brothers (USA / PatchWorks Films, PBS) Directors/Producers: Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider
Universe (USA) Directors: Sam Osborn and Nicholas Capezzera Producers: Esther Dere and Leah Natasha Thomas
David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award
Bananas (UK / National Film and Television School) Director/Producer: Sara Montoya Sepúlveda
Isle of Us (UK / National Film and Television School) Director: Laura Wadha
Na Luta Delas (Brazil / UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism) Directors/Producers: Orion Rose Kelly and Pedro Cota
People Like Me (USA / University of California Santa Cruz) Director/Producer: Marrok Sedgwick
Susana (USA / Stanford University) Director: Laura Gamse Producer: James Davis
Trees (UK / National Film and Television School) Director: Rosie Morris Producer: Jesse Romain
Best Cinematography
Acasă, My Home (Romania, Germany, Finland / Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber, Manifest Film, HBO Europe) Cinematographers: Radu Ciorniciuc and Mircea Topoleanu
Boys State (USA / Apple, A24) Director of Photography: Thorsten Thielow
The Earth is Blue as an Orange (Ukraine, Lithuania) Cinematographer: Viacheslav Tsvietkov
The Truffle Hunters (USA, Italy, Greece / Sony Pictures Classics) Cinematographers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
Time (USA / Amazon Studios, Concordia Studio, The New York Times) Cinematographers: Zac Manuel, Justin Zweifach, Nisa East
Best Editing
Boys State (USA / Apple, A24) Editor: Jeff Gilbert
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix) Editors: Eileen Meyer and Andrew Gersh
Disclosure (USA / Netflix) Editor: Stacy Goldate
Dick Johnson is Dead (USA / Netflix) Editor: Nels Bangerter
Through the Night (USA / ITVS, POV) Editor: Malika Zouhali-Worrall
Best Writing
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix) Writers: Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht
Dick Johnson is Dead (USA / Netflix) Writers: Nels Bangerter and Kirsten Johnson
I Am Not Alone (USA / Netflix) Writer: Garin Hovannisian
My Octopus Teacher (USA / Netflix) Writers: Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed
Socks on Fire (USA) Writers: Max Allman, Bo McGuire
Best Music Score
Dancing with the Birds (USA / Netflix) Composer: David Mitcham
David Attenborough: Life On Our Planet (USA, UK / Netflix) Composer: Steven Price
Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice (USA / Netflix) Composer: Chapavich Temnitikul)
My Octopus Teacher (USA / Netflix) Composer: Kevin Smuts
Rising Phoenix (USA / Netflix) Composer: Daniel Pemberton
ABC News VideoSource Award
#Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump (USA / Dark Star) Director/Producer: Dan Partland Producer: Art Horan
Bully. Coward. Victim.: The Story of Roy Cohn (USA / HBO) Director: Ivy Meeropol Producers: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix) Directors/Producers: Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht Producer: Sara Bolder
Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections (USA / HBO) Director: Sarah Teale Directors/Producers: Simon Ardizzone and Russell Michaels Producers: Michael Hirschorn and Jessica Antonini
MLK/FBI (USA / IFC Films) Director: Sam Pollard Producer: Benjamin Hedin
The First Rainbow Coalition (USA / Independent Lens, PBS, Latino Public Broadcasting, ITVS) Director/Producer: Ray Santisteban
Pare Lorentz Award
WINNER My Octopus Teacher (USA / Netflix) Director: Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed Producer: Craig Foster
HONORABLE MENTION Crip Camp (USA / Netflix) Directors/Producers: Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht Producer: Sara Bolder
Honorary Awards
Amicus Award Regina K. Scully
Career Achievement Award Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI)
Courage Under Fire Award David France, David Isteev and Olga Baranova (Welcome to Chechnya)
Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award Garrett Bradley (Time)
Pioneer Award Firelight Media
Truth to Power Award Maria Ressa and Rappler (A Thousand Cuts)
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