The 41st IDA Documentary Awards brings together nominees, honorees, peers in the field, and industry leaders. While Thursday, December 4, is a private event for the nominees to meet each other, Friday, December 5, and Saturday, December 6, will gather everyone together to celebrate this year’s filmmaking and share ideas about how to move forward together in these challenging times.
On Friday, December 5, IDA returns to our former home at the LA Center Studios, a landmark space for film production. There, we will be immersed in Los Angeles history in a beautiful mid-century modern venue with wonderful areas to mix and mingle.
Doors open at 1:00 pm PT
This year’s nominees and colleagues from across the field will meet at LA Center Studios—the mid-century modern campus that originally served as Union Oil’s headquarters, and where IDA’s office used to be—to think together about where documentary stands and where it might be headed.
Through clips and dialogue, we’ll explore the work of this year’s craft category nominees. We’ll also address questions filmmakers share: the evolving use of archival materials, the search for audiences in today’s fractured distribution landscape, and the relationship between directors and producers. Tickets are free—reserve your place.
2:00 pm Panel
The Art of Archival: Moderated by Lisa Remington. Featuring Joshua Altman, Geeta Gandbhir, Brian Knappenberger, Dawn Porter
3:00 pm Panel
- Editing: Moderated by TJ Martin. Featuring Daniel Claridge, Robinson Devor, Julia Loktev, Alex Megaro, Sara Newens, Pablo Proenza, Jason Reid, Michael Taylor
- Reaching New Audiences: Moderated by Jihan Robinson. Featuring Colleen Cassingham, Reid Davenport, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, Andrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman
4:00 pm Panel
- Cinematography: Moderated by Jerry Henry. Featuring Jean Dakar, Richard Ladkani, Grzegorz Piekarski, Natalia Pietsch
- The Director/Producer Relationship: Moderated by Julie Goldman & Roger Ross Williams. Featuring Yoni Golijov, Jessica Hargrave, Laura Poitras, Ryan White
5:00 pm Community Convening
- Contested Space: Hosted by Kirby Dick and Marjan Safinia, on behalf of the IDA's Advocacy Advisory Committee
Fights still worth fighting to protect filmmaker freedoms. Join us for a community convening where we’ll take stock of some of the most urgent challenges facing our field—and explore how collective action can help protect independent film and free expression. Leaders from film, media, and journalism will discuss the path ahead for public media, the pressures on journalism and free speech in an era of rising authoritarianism, and the consequences of media consolidation.
6:30 pm Community Mixer
A time to be together. If you have friends who’d like to connect with the documentary community, bring them along. We’ll have refreshments. Space is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Reserve your spot as soon as you can.
If you have any access needs for this event, please email access@documentary.org.
Space is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Reserve your spot as soon as you can. Tickets are complimentary and available now for everyone. RSVP here. IDA members can access tickets through the member portal.
Learn more about the IDA Documentary Awards at documentary.org/awards2025. Watch the recording of the 2024 IDA Documentary Awards here.