Comedian Maz Jobrani To Host 2017 International Documentary Association Awards

The International Documentary Association has announced the host for the 2017 IDA Documentary Awards. Iranian-American comedian Maz Jobrani will host the 33rd edition of the annual ceremony which takes place Saturday, December 9 at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles.

“I’m very happy to be hosting the IDA awards,” Jobrani said. “My sister was a documentary filmmaker and her love of the medium made me appreciate and admire what documentary filmmakers to do make this a better world for all of us!”

Jobrani was a founding member of The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, which aired on Comedy Central in 2007. He currently stars in the CBS sitcom SUPERIOR DONUTS, opposite Jermaine Fowler, David Koechner, Katey Sagal and Judd Hirsch. Maz’s first original NETFLIX standup special was “Immigrant” and he has had three solo specials on SHOWTIME including: “Brown and Friendly”, “I Come in Peace”, and “I’m Not a Terrorist, But I’ve Played One on TV”. He is a regular panelist on NPR’s WAIT WAIT DONT TELL ME. His LA Times Best Selling Book, I’M NOT A TERRORIST BUT I’VE PLAYED ONE ON TV, was published by Simon & Schuster. Maz executive produced EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE, a documentary about his sister’s battle with breast cancer.

This year’s IDA Documentary Awards will honor Lourdes Portillo with the Career Achievement Award, Abigail Disney with the Amicus Award, and Yance Ford with the Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award. The Courage Under Fire Award will be presented to the filmmaking teams and subjects behind four films about Syria: “City of Ghosts”, "Cries from Syria", "Hell on Earth", and "Last Men in Aleppo".

The nominees for Best Feature are: “City of Ghosts”, “Dina”, “Faces Places”, “LA 92” and “Strong Island”. The nominees for Best Short are: “Edith+Eddie”, “The Fight”, “Heaven Is A Traffic Jam On The 405”, “Long Shot”, “Mr. Connolly Has ALS”, and “The Rabbit Hunt”. The winners in both categories will be determined by the votes of IDA members.

For ticket information, voting registration and the full list of IDA Documentary Awards nominees, visit www.documentary.org/awards