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38th IDA Documentary Awards
Shortlists for Best Features and Shorts

This year the IDA Documentary Awards shortlists and nominees are selected by independent committees of 310 documentary makers, curators, critics, and industry experts from 52 countries. We received 806 total submissions in all categories, 40% of which are internationally produced or co-produced projects from 86 countries.

Up to ten nominees in each of the feature and short documentary categories will be selected from the shortlist. Following the nominees announcement on November 11, IDA members will have access to view each of the nominated films and to vote for Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary starting November 18, 2022.

Best Feature Documentary Shortlist

  • 1341 Frames of Love and War (Israel, United States, United Kingdom | Yes Docu | Director/Producer: Ran Tal. | Producer: Sarig Peker)
  • After A Revolution (Libya, Italy, United Kingdom | EYESTEELFILM | Director/Producer: Giovanni Buccomino | Producers: Naziha Arebi, Alessandro Carroli)
  • All that Breathes (India, United States, United Kingdom | Sideshow and Submarine Deluxe in association with HBO Documentary Films | Director/Producer: Shaunak Sen | Producers: Aman Mann, Teddy Leifer)
  • All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (United States | NEON, Participant, HBO | Director/Producer: Laura Poitras | Producers: Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov)
  • Delikado (United States, Philippines, Australia | POV | Director: Karl Malakunas | Producers: Marty Syjuco, Michael Collins, Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, Karl Malakunas)
  • Etilaat Roz (Afghanistan | Director/Producer: Abbas Rezaie | Producer: Zaki Daryabi)
  • Fire of Love (United States, Canada | National Geographic, NEON | Director/Producer: Sara Dosa | Producers: Shane Boris, Ina Fichman)
  • Geographies of Solitude (Canada | Cinema Guild | Director/Producer: Jacquelyn Mills | Producer: Rosalie Chicoine Perreault)
  • Hidden Letters (United States, Norway, China | Fish & Bear Pictures, Independent Lens | Director: Violet Feng, Qing Zhao | Producers: Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas, Jean Tsien, Su Kim)
  • A House Made of Splinters (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine | Director: Simon Lereng Wilmont | Producer: Monica Hellström)
  • Katrina Babies (United States | HBO Documentary Films, HBO Max | Director/Producer: Edward Buckles, Jr. | Producers: Audrey Rosenberg, Rebecca Teitel)
  • Lyra (United Kingdom | Cinephil | Director/Producer: Alison Millar | Producer: Jackie Doyle)
  • Mija (United States | Disney+ | Director: Isabel Castro | Producers: Tabitha Breese, Yesenia Tlahuel)
  • Moonage Daydream (United States | NEON | Director/Producer: Brett Morgen)
  • NAVALNY (United States, Germany, Russian Federation | Warner Bros Pictures, CNN Films, HBO Max | Director: Daniel Roher | Producers: Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Shane Boris)
  • Nelly & Nadine (Sweden, Belgium, Norway | Wolfe Releasing | Director: Magnus Gertten | Producer: Ove Rishøj Jensen)
  • No Simple Way Home (South Sudan, Kenya, South Africa | LBx Africa, STEPS, APO | Director: Akuol de Mabior | Producers: Sam Soko, Don Edkins, Tiny Mungwe)
  • The Pawnshop (Poland | Syndicado | Director/Producer: Lukasz Kowalski | Producer: Anna Mazerant)
  • Sansón and Me (Mexico, United States | Cinema Guild | Director: Rodrigo Reyes | Producer: Su Kim)
  • Singing on the Rooftops (Spain | Inicia Films | Director: Enric Ribes | Producer: Valérie Delpierre)
  • A Story of Bones (United Kingdom | Directors: Joseph Curran, Dominic Aubrey de Vere | Producer: Yvonne Isimeme Ibazebo)
  • The Territory (Brazil, United States | National Geographic | Director/Producer: Alex Pritz | Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Sigrid Dyekjær, Will N. Miller, Gabriel Uchida, Lizzie Gillett)
  • Three Minutes - A Lengthening (Netherlands | Super | Director: Bianca Stigter | Producers: Floor Onrust, Steve McQueen)
  • Waters of Pastaza (Portugal | Syndicado | Director/Producer: Inês T. Alves | Producer: Ico Costa)
  • Young Plato (Ireland, United Kingdom, Belgium | Autlook Film Sales | Directors: Neasa Ní Chianáin, Declan McGrath | Producers: David Rane, Hanne Phlypo, Céline Nusse, Jackie Doyle)

 

Best Short Documentary Shortlist

  • ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught) (United States | Reciprocity Project, Nia Tero, Upstander Project, REI Co-op Studios, L.A. Times Short Docs | Director: Brit Hensel | Producers: Taylor Hensel, Adam Mazo, Kavita Pillay, Tracy Rector)
  • And Then They Burn the Sea (Qatar | Square Eyes | Director: Majid Al-Remaihi | Producer: Basel Owies, Ali Kechen)
  • Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices From A Plantation Prison (United States | MTV Documentary Films | Director: Cinque Northern | Producer: Catherine Gund)
  • Beirut Dreams in Color (Lebanon, United States, United Kingdom | The Guardian | Director: Michael Collins | Producers: Marty Syjuco, James Costa, Sarah Kaskas)
  • The Benevolents (Canada | The New York Times Op-Docs | Director/Producer: Sarah Baril Gaudet)
  • Bounty (United States | Upstander Project | Directors: Dawn Neptune Adams, Maulian Dana | Directors/Producers: Adam Mazo, Tracy Rector, Ben Pender-Cudlip)
  • Coming Home (United States | POV Shorts | Directors/Producers: Naim Naif, Margot Bowman | Producer: Meghan Doherty)
  • The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone (Australia | Netflix | Directors/Producers: Maya Newell | Producers: Sophie Hyde, Matthew Bate, Lisa Sherrard)
  • The Elephant Whisperers (United States | Netflix | Director: Kartiki Gonsalves | Producers: Guneet Monga, Achin Jain)
  • Fatima In Kabul (Canada, Afghanistan | CBC - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/CBC Distribution | Director/Producer: Brishkay Ahmed)
  • Haulout (United Kingdom | Rise And Shine World Sales, The New Yorker | Directors/Producers: Evgenia Arbugaeva, Maxim Arbugaev)
  • Heart Valley (United Kingdom | The New Yorker, Condé Nast | Director/Producer: Christian Cargill | Producers: Lily Wakeley, Kiran Sidhu)
  • Hold Your Breath: The Ice Dive (United Kingdom, United States | Netflix | Director: Ian Derry. Producers: Mike Brett, Jo-Jo Ellison, Steve Jamison)
  • Holding Moses (United States | The New Yorker | Directors/Producers: Rivkah Beth Medow, Jen Rainin)
  • Holy Cowboys (India, United States, United Kingdom | Director/Producer: Varun Chopra. Producer: Anna Hashmi)
  • I Am Trying to Remember (Czech Republic, Islamic Republic Of Iran | Europe Media Nest s.r.o., The New Yorker | Director: Pegah Ahangarani | Producer: Kaveh Farnam)
  • In Flow of Words (Netherlands | The New Yorker, Condé Nast | Director: Eliane Esther Bots | Producer: Manon Bovenkerk)
  • The Joys And Sorrows Of Young Yuguo (United States, United Kingdom, Romania | Netflix | Director: Ilinca Călugăreanu | Producer: Mara Adina)
  • Love, Barbara (United States | Women Make Movies | Director/Producer: Brydie O'Connor | Producer: Myriam Schroeter)
  • MINK! (United States | The New York Times Op-Docs | Director: Ben Proudfoot | Producer: Rachel Greenwald)
  • not even for a moment do things stand still (United States | The New York Times Op-Docs | Director/Producer: Jamie Meltzer | Producers: Annie Marr, Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg)
  • Nuisance Bear (Canada | The New Yorker | Director/Producer: Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden | Producers: Jack Weisman, Will N. Miller)
  • The Silent Shore (France | The New Yorker, Condé Nast Entertainment | Directors/Producers: Nathalie Giraud, Timothée Corteggiani | Producer: Anne Bruneau)
  • Two-Spirit (Colombia | The New Yorker | Director: Mónica Taboada-Tapia | Producer: Beto Rosero)

Additional IDA Awards will be presented in the following categories: Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best TV Feature Documentary or Mini-Series, Best Short Form Series, Best Stand-Alone Audio Documentary, Best Multi-Part Audio Documentary or Series, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, Best Music Documentary, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Writing, Best Music Score, ABC News VideoSource Award, and the Pare Lorentz Award.

This year, for the first time, the IDA Documentary Awards shortlists and nominees are selected by independent committees of 310 documentary makers, curators, critics, and industry experts from 52 countries - the largest and most diverse representation ever. 192 (61.9%) of the committee members identified as women and/or nonbinary, 220 (71%) members identified as BIPOC, 51 (16.5%) members identified as LGBTQIA+ and 13 (4.2%) members identified as disabled.

We received 322 feature documentary submissions, 158 (49.2%) are internationally produced or co-produced projects. In total, 68 countries are represented by the Feature Documentary submissions for the 2022 awards.

The feature documentary shortlist consists of 25 films. 21 films (84%) are internationally produced or co-produced projects representing 29 countries. Of the demographics collected, 50% of directors and 46.7% of producers are first-time feature documentary filmmakers. 41.2% of directors and 56.3% of producers are women and/or nonbinary, 31.6% of directors and 56.3% of producers identify as BIPOC, and 10% of directors and 9.1% of producers are LGBTQIA+.

We received 138 short documentary submissions. Of the 138 short documentaries, 66 (47.8%) are internationally produced or co-produced projects. In total, 40 countries are represented by short documentary submissions for the 2022 awards.

The short documentary shortlist consists of 24 films. 15 films (62.5%) are internationally produced or co-produced projects representing 13 countries. Of the demographics collected, 37.5% of directors and 26.3% of producers are first-time short documentary filmmakers. 56% of directors and 64% of producers are women and/or nonbinary, 56% of directors and 47.2% of producers identify as BIPOC, and 22.2% of directors and 25% of producers are LGBTQIA+.

Of the shortlisted feature and short documentaries, there are 6 distributed by The New Yorker, 4 distributed by HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max, 4 distributed by Netflix, 4 distributed by NEON, 3 distributed by The New York Times Op-Docs, 2 distributed by POV/POV Shorts, and 2 distributed by National Geographic.