IDA announces Best Doc nominees: films on Amy Winehouse, Nina Simone and Marlon Brando in running11/4/2015
Prestigious awards will be presented December 5; comedian Tig Notaro to host
This is turning out to be the year of the celebrity documentary. The International Documentary Association announced its nominees Wednesday and half of the contenders in the feature category are about famed artists: Amy, Asif Kapadia's documentary about the late Amy Winehouse; What Happened, Miss Simone? Liz Garbus' film about the legendary singer and Civil Rights activist Nina Simone, and Listen to Me Marlon, the Stevan Riley-directed doc about Marlon Brando.
The remaining three films competing in the feature category are The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson; The Look of Silence by Joshua Oppenheimer, and Chad Gracia's documentary The Russian Woodpecker, which follows eccentric Ukrainian artist Fedor Alexandrovich on his quixotic quest to figure out the hidden cause behind the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
"The quality of the films vying for recognition left the IDA with an unprecedented six feature nominees,” IDA Board President Marjan Safinia said in a news release accompanying the announcement.
In the documentary short category, five films will compete: Body Team 12 directed by David Darg [and executive-produced by Olivia Wilde and Paul Allen], about teams charged with collecting the bodies of Ebola victims in Liberia; Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah, a documentary about the making of a documentary -- Lanzmann's acclaimed Shoah; The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul directed by Kitty Green; Paulina Skibińska’s short Object, and Last Day of Freedom directed by Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman.
In addition to its nomination in the feature category, The Russian Woodpecker will be recognized for Best Cinematography.
Artem Ryzhykov is the cinematographer responsible for the remarkable imagery in Woodpecker.
Gracia told nonfictionfilm.com his DP used Soviet-era lenses to capture many of the stirring shots, which include a haunting image of an abandoned schoolroom near Chernobyl littered with child-sized gas masks. Ryzhykov used drones to catch the ghostly grandeur of the Duga, the gigantic radio antenna near Chernobyl that is key to Alexandrovich's theory about the real cause of the nuclear explosion. Director Matthew Heineman, who embedded himself with narco-traffickers in Mexico for his documentary Cartel Land, will receive the IDA's Courage Under Fire Award "in recognition of conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth." The IDA added, "This award is presented to documentary filmmakers by their peers for putting freedom of speech – represented in the crafts of documentary filmmaking and journalism – above all else, even their own personal safety." Shortly before the film's theatrical release in July, Heineman told Nonfictionfilm.com he witnessed gun battles, tense standoffs between Mexican authorities and heavily-armed so-called Autodefensas, as well as clandestine meth operations in the nine months he spent filming Cartel Land: I think [my life] felt in danger at all times. I think it’d be crazy if I didn’t or I’d be inhuman. I’m not a war reporter. I’ve never been in situations like this before. So it’s a frightening film to me.
Armed members of the Autodefensas rally in Michoacán. Photo courtesy "Cartel Land a film by Matthew Heineman"
Comedian Tig Notaro, herself the subject of the recent documentary Tig, will host the IDA Awards. The ceremony will take place on the Paramount Studios lot in Hollywood.
Full list of nominees: 31st Annual IDA Awards NomineesBest Feature AwardAmy Director: Asif Kapadia Producer: James Gay-Rees A24 The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution Director: Stanley Nelson Producer: Laurens Grant PBS DISTRIBUTION Listen to Me Marlon Director: Stevan Riley Producers: John Battsek, R.J. Cutler, and George Chignell SHOWTIME DOCUMENTARY FILMS The Look of Silence Director: Joshua Oppenheimer Producer: Signe Byrge Sørensen DRAFTHOUSE FILMS AND PARTICIPANT MEDIA The Russian Woodpecker Director: Chad Gracia Producers: Ram Devineni and Mike Lerner FILMBUFF What Happened, Miss Simone? Director: Liz Garbus Producers: Amy Hobby, Jayson Jackson, and Justin Wilkes NETFLIX Best Short AwardBody Team 12 Director: David Darg Producer: Bryn Mooser RYOT FILMS AND VULCAN PRODUCTIONS Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah Director: Adam Benzine HBO The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul Director: Kitty Green Producer: Philippa Campey KURZFILMAGENTUR HAMBURG (GERMANY) Last Day of Freedom Directors: Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman Object Director: Paulina Skibińska MUNK STUDIO AND POLISH FILMMAKERS ASSOCIATION Best Curated Series Award30 for 30 Executive Producers John Dahl and Connor Schell ESPN America ReFramed Executive Producers: Chris Hastings and Simon Kilmurry WORLD CHANNEL Independent Lens Executive Producers: Sally Jo Fifer and Lois Vossen ITVS/PBS POV Executive Producers: Simon Kilmurry and Chris White POV, PBS Storyville Series Editor: Nick Fraser Executive Producer: Kate Townsend BBC TV, BBC WORLD NEWS Best Limited Series AwardBlood Brothers Executive Producers: Kees Schaap and Anja van Oostrom VARA TELEVISION (THE NETHERLANDS) Hard Earned Executive Producers: Steve James, Justine Nagan, and Gordon Quinn Series Producer: Maggie Bowman AL JAZEERA AMERICA AND KARTEMQUIN FILMS The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst Executive Producer: Jason Blum Co-Executive Producer: Zac Stuart-Pontier Produced by: Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling HBO Life Story Executive Producer: Mike Gunton DISCOVERY Rebel Architecture Executive Producer: Flora Gregory Series Producer: Dan Davies AL JAZEERA ENGLISH Best Episodic Series AwardChef’s Table Executive Producers: David Gelb, Andrew Fried, and Brian McGinn NETFLIX Morgan Spurlock Inside Man Executive Producers: Jeremy Chilnick, Matthew Galkin, and Morgan Spurlock CNN AND WARRIOR POETS NOVA Senior Executive Producer: Paula Apsell Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Cort PBS The Seventies Executive Producers: Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Mark Herzog CNN, PLAYTONE, AND HERZOG & COMPANY This is Life with Lisa Ling Executive Producers: Amy Bucher, Lisa Ling, and David Shadrack Smith CNN AND PART2 PICTURES Best Short Form Series AwardDo Not Track Executive Producer: Hugues Sweeney NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA, UPIAN, ARTE, AND BR Highrise: Universe Within Executive Producers: Anita Lee and Silva Basmajian NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA The New York Times Op-Docs Executive Producer: Jason Spingarn-Koff THE NEW YORK TIMES POV Interactive Documentaries Executive Producer: Simon Kilmurry and Adnaan Wasey POV AND PBS WE THE ECONOMY: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss Executive Producers: Paul G. Allen and Morgan Spurlock VULCAN PRODUCTIONS AND CINELAN David L. Wolper Student Documentary AwardThis award recognizes exceptional achievement in non-fiction film and video production at the university level and brings greater public and industry awareness to the work of students in the documentary field. The Archipelago Director: Benjamin Huguet THE NATIONAL FILM AND TELEVISION SCHOOL The Blue Wall Director: Michael Milano UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY El Cacao Director: Michelle Aguilar University of California Santa Cruz In Attla’s Tracks Director: Catharine Axley STANFORD UNIVERSITY Looking at the Stars Director: Alexandre Peralta UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Pare Lorentz AwardThe Pare Lorentz Award recognizes films that demonstrate exemplary filmmaking while focusing on the appropriate use of the natural environment, justice for all and the illumination of pressing social problems. How to Change the World Director: Jerry Rothwell ABC News VideoSource AwardThis award is given each year for the best use of news footage as an integral component in a documentary. (T)ERROR Directors: Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe INDEPENDENT LENS ALONG WITH BBC Best of Enemies Directors: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville MAGNOLIA PICTURES AND INDEPENDENT LENS Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll Director: John Pirozzi ARGOT PICTURES Night Will Fall Director: André Singer HBO What Happened, Miss Simone? Director: Liz Garbus NETFLIX Creative Recognition Award WinnersThe Creative Recognition category recognizes special achievement in cinematography, editing, music and writing in films entered in the Feature Category. Best CinematographyThe Russian Woodpecker Cinematography by: Artem Ryzhykov Best EditingKurt Cobain: Montage of Heck Edited by: Joe Beshenkovsky and Brett Morgen Best WritingListen to Me Marlon Written by: Stevan Riley Co-Writer: Peter Ettedgui Best MusicBest of Enemies Original Score by: Jonathan Kirkscey Awards VotingIDA members decide the winners in the Best Feature category and in the Best Short category of the IDA Documentary Awards. Current IDA members who meet our judging requirements will be able to view the nominated films and cast their votes online from anywhere in the world. Begin the voting process now! Not an IDA member? Join the IDA today. |
AuthorMatthew Carey is a documentary filmmaker and journalist. His work has appeared on Deadline.com, CNN, CNN.com, TheWrap.com, NBCNews.com and in Documentary magazine. |