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Covering the latest quick bites from IDA and the world of documentary.

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Black-and-white image of a young Black girl listening to the radio with her eyes closed. From Garrett Bradley’s ‘America.’ Courtesy of Museum of Modern Art
Screen Time: Week of October, 25 2021
Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home. It’s the season for scary movies! Even as real life continues to be scarier than...
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Allison Hanes, a woman with light skin and long black hair, sits in a small boat on a river. An older man with brown skin and dark hair sits behind her. Image courtesy of Hanes.
IDA Member Spotlight: Allison Carden Hanes
Allison Carden Hanes is a primatologist and an environmental filmmaker. Her work focuses on human-wildlife conflict, community-based conservation, ecotourism, deforestation, and Indigenous rights. Her...
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Filipino-American musician Arnel Pineda performing in a concert. He is wearing a black shirt and leather pants. Image from Ramona Diaz’s ‘Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey.’ Courtesy of Amazon Prime.
Screen Time: Week of October 18, 2021
Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home. October is Filipino American History Month. Here at IDA we’re forever in awe of...
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Three filmmakers from 'Writing with Fire' standing outdoors, smiling, looking at footage on a camera.
Meet the 2021 IDA Documentary Screening Series Grantees
Completing and promoting a film under "normal" circumstances is difficult enough, but imagine the impossibility of pulling this off in the midst of a pandemic! That’s exactly what our IDA Documentary...
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Karen Dalton is a white woman in a white sweater and blue jeans. She is playing a guitar and smoking a cigarette. Image from Richard Peete and Robert Yapkowitz’s ‘Karen Dalton: In My Own Time.’ Courtesy of The 2050 Group.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of October 11, 2021
Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary...
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A picture of a person with light skin from chin down moving their hands. Another light skinned hand holding a microphone is facing this person.
6 Tips for Documentary Filmmakers on How to Better Serve Participants with Gender-Based Trauma
It is no secret that documentary filmmaking has a complicated legacy when it comes to supporting the survivors of gender-based violence. Even with the best intentions, many filmmakers fall into...
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David Kato, a Black man with a bald head sits in front of a yellow house. His mother, Lydia Mulumba Nalongo, an older Black woman sits behind him eating. A still from 'Call Me Kutchu,' courtesy of the filmmakers.
LGBTQ Documentaries that Take a Deeper Look at Coming Out
The act of “coming out” as a member of the LGBTQ community is often the defining moment of films about queer and trans people. Yet many of these films still struggle to capture the nuances of this...
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Animated image of Amin, an Afghan man with a dark beard and short hair. He islieing on a patterned rug. From Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s documentary ‘Flee.’ Image courtesy of TIFF.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of October 4, 2021
Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary...
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Notebook with the text Sep 15-Oct 15 Hispanic Heritage Month written in black text.
Documentaries to Watch for National Hispanic Heritage Month
Between September and October 15, we celebrate the culture and contributions of the vast and diverse Hispanic communities that call the US their home, while honoring their stories. These stories of...
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Two female laundry workers are wearing floral aprons and standing against a wooden wall. From Lynne Sachs’ ‘The Washing Society.’ Courtesy of The Criterion Channel.
Screen Time: Week of September 27, 2021
Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home. At IDA, we deeply mourn the passing of Melvin Van Peebles, the “the godfather of...
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