Directors, producers the subjects of nominated films such at Man on Wire, The Garden, The Final Inch, The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306 and The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) mixed and mingled before and after the night's main program at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
(L-R): Thavisouk Phrasavath (co-director, The Betrayal
(Nerakhoon)), Ellen Kuras
(director, The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)), James Marsh (director, Man on Wire), Simon Chinn (producer, Man on Wire), Scott Hamilton Kennedy (director/producer, The Garden), Tia Lessin (director/producer, Trouble the Water), Carl Deal (director/producer, Trouble the Water). Copyright AP Images for IDA 2009.
(L-R): Irene Taylor Brodsky (director, The Final Inch), Singeli Agnew (associate producer, The Conscience of Nhen En), Adam
Pertofsky (director, The Witness),
Margaret Hyde (producer, The Witness).
Copyright AP Images for IDA 2009.
"I love focusing it in on just the documentaries. Sometimes it's difficult for us to get the love," said The Garden director Scott Hamilton Kennedy. "Thanks for the IDA to continuing to support short form, long form, American, international documentaries and giving us all a chance to come up here and maybe give a taste of our speech that only a couple of us will get to give on Sunday."
Most filmmakers talked about the exciting times since getting the nomination last month.
"This event is a great way to kick off the weekend. Ever since the nominations were announced, it's been a great blur," said Carl Deal, director/producer of Trouble the Water.
"Sure, it's exhausting, but if you hear me complaining about that feel free to give me a slap in the face," added Kennedy, whose film focuses on a group of South Central Los Angeles farmers who struggle to save their community garden.
(L-R): Philippe Petit (star, Man on Wire), Lily Tomlin (host). Copyright AP Images for IDA 2009.
Inside the event, each film was spotlighted with a clip viewing and speech from the movie's filmmakers. Host Lily Tomlin started the night off by calling documentaries her "favorite form of truth." Between the jokes she even teared up after watching a funny, yet sad clip from Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World.
If there were an award for best speech of the night, it would have gone to Philippe Petit, the subject and star of Man on Wire about his unauthorized high-wire walk across the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center in 1974.
(L-R): Simon Chinn (producer, Man on Wire), Philippe Petit (star, Man on Wire), James Marsh (director, Man on Wire). Copyright AP Images for IDA 2009.
"All that I had to say, I said on the wire," he said. "I come from a distant planet and I will soon go back. But I was thinking about walking and when you came on stage," he added in reference to Tomlin's entrance. "I thought, 'How humble, because you took the three-feet walk, you could have taken the 80-feet walk.' So all evening I'm thinking about balance, so I would like to try." He then adjusted a slightly askew IDA sign hanging form the podium before complimenting his collaborators. "Also, the power of cinema, because I was in the front row and my palms were wet. So good work, the two of you."
See all of the nominated films at DocuDay New York and DocuDay Los Angeles (followed by filmmaker Q&As when available) this weekend. Get more info about both days here.
Read about all of the nominated docs, see trailers and more on our 27th Annual Nominees Reception page.
See our video interviews with the filmmakers and attendees:
Philippe Petit
Lily Tomlin
Plus, what would nominees do with an Oscar?
Read other coverage of the night's event on these great sites: indieWIRE, Matt Dentler's Blog, Spout, AJ Schnack.
All photos Copyright AP Images for IDA 2009.