Thu, 11/12/2009

Nominees Announced for the 2009 IDA Awards

The nominees for the International Documentary Association’s 2009 IDA Documentary Awards competition were announced today, including many of the year’s most buzzed-about titles and festival favorites. Winners will be feted on December 4th at the Directors Guild in Los Angeles, in a ceremony hosted by This American Life’s Ira Glass.

“As the boundaries of documentary film continue to be fearlessly shattered by the creativity of nonfiction filmmaking, IDA is proud to be honoring not only the best films of the year, but also many of those who have led the way,” said IDA Executive Director Michael Lumpkin. “The future of nonfiction storytelling could not be better represented by our outstanding host, Ira Glass, who continues to inspire and entertain across a number of media platforms.”

The IDA Documentary Awards will also recognize filmmakers and film journalists who displayed conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth -- and put Freedom of Speech above all else, including their own personal safety, in a special “Courage Under Fire” tribute to be presented by Current Media journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee. In March of this year Ling and Lee were reporting on the trafficking of North Korean women who are fleeing poverty and repression only to end up being exploited across the border in neighboring China. Ling and Lee were apprehended by North Korean soldiers while filming along the Tumen river, which separates China and North Korea. They were sentenced to 12 years in a North Korean labor prison for illegal entry and unspecified hostile acts. After 140 days in captivity, Ling and Lee were eventually pardoned, and they returned to the United States following an unannounced visit to North Korea by former US President Bill Clinton on August 4, 2009.

The five nominated films for Distinguished Documentary Achievement in IDA’s feature category are: AFGAN STAR, the timely and moving film following the dramatic stories of four young finalists—two men and two women—as they hazard everything to compete in Afghanistan’s version of American Idol; ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL, the hilarious and unexpectedly moving account of an obscure Canadian metal band’s last-ditch quest for elusive fame and fortune; DIARY OF A TIMES SQUARE THIEF, which documents the search for the writer of a mysterious diary that the filmmaker finds on EBay; FOOD, INC., that lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies; and MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN, the story of Michael Campbell, a tough, humorous 74-year-old fifth-generation white African farmer who withstands land invasions and violence in his stand against Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s land seizure program. MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN participated in IDA’s DocuWeeks program in 2009.

The four nominated short films are: THE DELIAN MODE, an exploration of the life and work of electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire; SALT, a journey with photo-artist Murray Fredericks as he tries to capture the heart of the world's most featureless landscape on Lake Eyre, South Australia; SARI'S MOTHER, a mother’s navigation of Iraq’s health-care system in search of care for her son who is dying of AIDS; and THE SOLITARY LIFE OF CRANES, a visual poem–24 hours in life of a city seen through the eyes of crane operators. SALT and THE SOLITARY LIFE OF CRANES participated in IDA’s DocuWeeks program in 2009.

In the Limited Series category, the five nominees are: THE ALZHEIMER'S PROJECT, ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL, IN THEIR BOOTS, TIME FOR SCHOOL and WE SHALL REMAIN. Continuing Series nominees are AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, ICONOCLASTS and POV.

Other IDA competition categories include the IDA Music Award (now in its third year), the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, the ABC News Video Source Award, for best use of television news footage as an integral component, as well as the Pare Lorentz Award, presented to the filmmaker whose documentary best represents the activist spirit and lyrical vision of the acclaimed Pare Lorentz. For a complete list of nominees and finalists, please see the attached.

In addition to competitive awards for the year’s current crop of outstanding documentaries, IDA also acknowledges exemplary creative contributions to the field at large. IDA announced today that the 2009 Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award will honor Natalia Almada. Born in Mexico, Almada's directing credits include ALL WATER HAS A PERFECT MEMORY, an internationally recognized experimental short, AL OTRO LADO, an award-winning feature documentary about immigration and drug trafficking, and EL GENERAL, her latest feature, which won the U. S. Directing Award: Documentary at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. As previously announced, this year’s IDA Career Achievement honoree, to be celebrated during December’s event, is legendary and innovative filmmaker Errol Morris. Also to be honored are Nicolas Noxon, receiving the Pioneer Award, and attorney Michael Donaldson who is receiving IDA’s Amicus Award.

A departure from recent IDA Documentary Awards, this year’s evening will begin with an 8pm Awards ceremony followed immediately by an Awards Celebration at 10pm. The 2009 IDA Documentary Awards are sponsored by HBO Documentary Films, Planet Green, Sony Pictures Classics, Sundance Channel, ABC News VideoSource, Moxie Pictures, Participant Media, POV, Skywalker Sound, SnagFilms, Kodak, Directors Guild of America, Derby Wine Estates, and The Standard.

Tickets are available for purchase now at www.documentary.org/awards2009.

ABOUT IDA
The IDA is a nonprofit, membership organization based in Los Angeles. The organization was founded in 1982 to promote and celebrate nonfiction filmmakers and is dedicated to increasing public awareness and appreciation of the documentary genre. For more information about IDA visit www.documentary.org or call 213-534-3600.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Amy Grey / Ashley Mariner
Dish Communications
Phone: 818-508-1000
amyg@dishcommunicatons.com / ashleym@dishcommunications.com

2009 International Documentary Association Awards

Host

Ira Glass

Honors

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Errol Morris

PIONEER AWARD

Nicolas Noxon

AMICUS AWARD

Michael C. Donaldson

JACQUELINE DONNET EMERGING FILMMAKER AWARD

Natalia Almada

Feature Documentary Nominees

Afghan Star
Director/Producer: Havana Marking
Executive Producers: Mike Lerner, Martin Herring, Saad Mohseni, Jahid Mohseni
Kaboora Productions: Roast Beef Productions; Red Start Media; Zeitgeist Films in association with HBO Documentary Films

Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Director: Sacha Gervasi
Producer: Rebecca Yeldham
Little Dean's Yard; Ahimsa Films; Abramorama; VH1

Diary of a Times Square Thief
Director/Writer: Klaas Bense
Producers: Janneke Doolard, Hans de Weers, Reinout Oerlemans
Executive Producer: Janneke Doolaard
Eyeworks Film & TV Drama

Food, Inc.
Director/Producer: Robert Kenner
Producer: Elise Pearlstein
Co-Producers: Eric Schlosser, Richard Pearce, Melissa Robledo
Executive Producers: William Pohlad, Robin Schorr, Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann
River Road Entertainment; Participant Media; Magnolia Pictures

Mugabe and the White African
Directors: Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson
Producers: David Pearson, Elizabeth Morgan Hemlock
Executive Producers: Steve Milne, Pauline Burt
Arturi Films in association with Explore Films, Film Agency For Wales and Molinare Productions.

Short Documentary Nominees

The Delian Mode
Director//Producer/Writer: Kara Blake
Producer: Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre
Philtre Films

Salt
Directors: Michael Angus, Murray Fredericks
Producer/Writer: Michael Angus
Jerrycan Films

Sari's Mother
Director/Producer: James Longley
Daylight Factory LLC; HBO Documentary Films

The Solitary Life of Cranes
Director: Eva Weber
Producer: Samantha Zarzosa
Odd Girl Out Productions

Continuing Series Award-Nominees

American Experience
Executive Producer: Mark Samels
Senior Producer: Sharon Grimberg
Coordinating Producer: Susan Mottau
Series Manager: James E. Dunford
Series Producer: Susan Bellows
WGBH; PBS

Episodes Submitted:
A Class Apart (Dirs./Prods.: Carlos Sandoval, Peter Miller; Writer: Carlos Sandoval)
The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Dir./Prod./Writer: David Grubin)
The Polio Crusade (Dir./Prod./Writer: Sarah Colt)
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Dir./Prod./Writer: Barak Goodman)

Iconoclasts
Directors/Producers: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
@radical media; Grey Goose Entertainment; Sundance Channel

Episodes Submitted:
Desmond Tutu & Richard Branson
Stella McCartney & Ed Ruscha
Tony Hawk & John Favreau
Bill Maher & Clive Davis
Venus Williams & Wyclef Jean
Cameron Diaz & Cameron Sinclair

P.O.V.
Executive Director: Simon Kilmurry
Vice President: Cynthia López
American Documentary, Inc.; PBS

Episodes Submitted:
Inheritance (Dir./Prod.: James Moll; Prod.: Christopher Pavlick; Exec. Prods.: Chris Malachowsky, Ryan Malachowsky)
Campaign (Dir./Prod.: Kazuhiro Soda)
Up the Yangtse (Dir.: Yung Chang; Prods.: Mila Aung-Thwin, Germaine Ying-Gee Wong, John Christou; Exec. Prods.: Daniel Cross, Mila Aung-Thwin, Ravida Din, Sally Bochner)

Limited Series Award--Nominees

Architecture School
Director/Executive Producer/Original Concept: Michael Selditch
Original Concept: Stan Bertheaud
Senior Producer: Rob Tate
Producer: Rachel Clift
Executive Producers: Lynne Kirby, Laura Michalchyshyn
Sundance Channel

The Alzheimer's Project
Series Producer: John Hoffman
Executive Producers: Sheila Nevins, Maria Shriver
Directors/Producers: Shari Cookson, Nick Doob, Eamon Harrington, John Watkin, Bill Couturié
Producers: John Hoffman, Susan Froemke, Anne Sandkuhler
HBO Documentary Films; National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health; Alzheimer's Association; Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund; Geoffrey Beene Gives Back Alzheimer's Initiative.

In Their Boots
Executive Producer: Richard Ray Perez
Line Producer: Sandi Williams
Producers: Amanda Spain, Abe Greenwald
Brave New Foundation

Time for School
Executive Producer: Pamela Hogan
Producer/Writer: Oren Rudavsky
Producer: Tamara Rosenberg
Wide Angle; WNET Thirteen; PBS

We Shall Remain
Executive Producers: Mark Samels, Sharon Grimberg
Directors/Producers/Writers: Ric Burns, Dustin Craig, Sarah Colt
Director/Producer: Stanley Nelson
Director: Chris Eyre
Producer/Writer: Mark Zwonitzer
Producer: Rob Rapley
Writers: Anne Makepeace, Marcia Smith
American Experience; WGBH; Native American Public Television

ABCNews VideoSource Award--Finalists

Earth Days
Director/Producer/Writer: Robert Stone
Executive Producer: Mark Samels
American Experience Films; Zeitgeist Films

Sergio
Director: Greg Barker
Producers: John Battsek, Julie Goldman
Executive Producers: Samantha Power, Sheila Nevins, Nick Fraser
HBO Documentary Films; BBC Storyville

Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech
Director/Producer: Liz Garbus
Producers: Rory Kennedy, Jed Rothstein
Executive Producers: Sheila Nevins, Nancy Abraham
Moxie Firecracker Films; HBO Documentary Films

Soundtrack for a Revolution
Directors/Producers/Writers: Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman
Producers: Joslyn Barnes, Jim Czarnecki, Dylan Nelson
Executive Producers: Danny Glover, Gina Harrell, Mark E. Downie, Marc Henry Johnson
Louverture Films; Freedom Song Productions; Goldcrest Films International; Wild Bunch

Studs Terkel
Director: Eric Simonson
Producers: Josh Veselka, Lisa Heller
Executive Producers: Sheila Nevins, Linda Ellerbee, Rolf Tessem
Lucky Duck Productions, Inc.; HBO Documentary Films

Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House
Director/Producer: Rory Kennedy
Producers: Liz Garbus, Jack Youngelson
Executive Producer: Sheila Nevins
Moxie Firecracker Films; HBO Documentary Films

Valentino: The Last Emperor
Director/Producer: Matt Tyrnauer
Producer: Matt Kapp
Executive Producer: Carter Burden
Acolyte Films; Truly Indie; Vitagraph Films

Wounded Knee
Director/Producer: Stanley Nelson
Executive Producers: Sharon Grimberg, Mark Samels
Writer: Marcia Smith
Firelight Media; American Experience; WGBH; Native American Public Television

IDA Music Documentary Award - Nominees

Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Director: Sacha Gervasi
Producer: Rebecca Yeldham
Little Dean's Yard; Ahimsa Films; Abramorama; VH1

Archaeology of Memory: Villa Grimaldi
Directors/Producers: Quique Cruz, Marilyn Mulford
Interfaze Productions

The Audition
Director/Producer: Susan Froemke
Producer: Douglas Graves
Metropolitan Opera

It Might Get Loud
Director/Producer: Davis Guggenheim
Producers: Thomas Tull, Lesley Chilcott, Peter Afterman
Executive Producers: Bert Ellis, Mike Mailis
Steel Curtain Pictures; Sony Pictures Classics

Tibet in Song
Director/Producer/Writer: Ngawang Choephel
Executive Producer: Anne Corcos
Guge Productions; Tashi Sholpa Productions

Pare Lorentz Award-Finalists

The Cove
Director: Louis Psihoyos
Producers: Fisher Stevens, Paula DuPre Pesmen
Co-Producer: Olivia Ahnemann
Executive Producer: Jim Clark
Oceanic Preservation Society; Diamond Dogs; Skyfish Films; Roadside Attractions; Lionsgate

Earth Days
Director/Producer/Writer: Robert Stone
Executive Producer: Mark Samels
American Experience Films; Zeitgeist Films

The Final Inch
Director/Producer: Irene Taylor Brodsky
Producer: Tom Grant
Vermilion Pictures; Google.org; HBO Documentary Films

The Last Mermaids
Director/Producer: Liz Chae
Executive Producers: Kenneth K. Chae, Nam Im Yoon
Chae Films; Columbia University

Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love
Director/Producer/Writer: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Co-Producers: Sarah Price, Scott Duncan, Hugo Berkeley, Gwyn Welles
Executive Producers: Jennifer Millstone, Patrick R. Morris, Edward Tyler Nahem, Kathryn Tucker, Jack Turner, Miklos C. Vasarhelyi
Groovy Griot; 57^th & Irving Productions; Shadow Distribution

IDA/David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award-Nominees

Arresting Ana
Director/Producer: Lucie Schwartz
University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

Famous 4A
Director/Producer: Mike Attie
Stanford University

The First Kid to Learn English from Mexico
Director/Producer: Peter Jordan
Localfilms; Stanford University

The Last Mermaids
Director/Producer: Liz Chae
Executive Producers: Kenneth K. Chae, Nam Im Yoon
Chae Films; Columbia University

My Name is Sydney
Director/Producer: Melanie Levy
Stanford University