Happy New Year!
IDA begins 1998 with more members than at any time in history. A recent surge in new members has pushed our worldwide membership to over 2,000!
Looking ahead to the new year, this month we will be welcoming returning and new members to the board of directors as well as electing officers for the year.
Member services start off the new year with a four-part seminar series, Documentary from A to Z: Putting It All Together. This is a terrific opportunity to hone production skills with some of the best in the field. Special thanks to IDA members Mel Stuart, Barbara Gregson, Valerie Yaros, Brenda Reiswerg and Marilyn Engle for conducting seminars. Kudos to Stephen Roche for coordinating the series and to Eastman Kodak for hosting all four evenings. During late January, IDA again partners with the UCLA Documentary Salon in a tribute to IDA Career Achievement Awardee Albert Maysles. Mr. Maysles will be in residence for a week, lecturing and screening his work. Among his films which will be shown are the classic Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter and Christa's Running Fence. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to see these films on the big screen and to hear from the master himself.
January also begins a new round of film festivals, and IDA will have a presence at more festivals in 1998 than any previous year. First off, Associate Director Grace Ouchida will again represent IDA at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City. As the year progresses, expect to see IDA representatives at a festival near you in the U.S., Canada and Eu rope . (Remember to let ID know when you have a documentary in a festival—we want all to know of your success!)
1998 is also the year of the 3rd International Documentary Congress, presented jointly by IDA and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This triennial event, from October 28 to 30, will bring documentarians from around the world to Los Angeles to celebrate and assess the state of the art. Planning is now underway and your suggest ions for panel discussions, creative and technical issues, and program participants are welcome; please send your suggestions to Grace, IDA staff liaison for the Congress.
Finally I want to welcome a new IDA Trustee, Dr. Lindsay G. Sharp, Director and President of the Royal Ontario Museum. As our most recent Trustee, Dr. Sharp has already established two "firsts" for IDA. The Royal Ontario Museum is the first museum and the first Canadian institution to join our Board. To Dr. Sharp and the Museum, I want to extend a warm welcome and sincere gratitude for becoming an IDA Trustee. May you all have a prosperous, productive, and creative New Year!
David Haugland
President