"Aaaaa!!!! Crying": Nominees React After IDA Awards Contenders Announced

Softie, Collective, Gunda, Time, Crip Camp among films nominated for Best Feature Documentary

An exclusive group of nonfiction filmmakers is celebrating after the announcement of the nominations for the 36th annual IDA Awards.

"We are elated by this news!" tweeted the account for Crip Camp, the documentary about the rise of the disability rights movement that scored five nominations Tuesday, including Best Feature Documentary and Best Director for Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht. Crip Camp was also nominated for Best Editing (Eileen Meyer and Andrew Gersh), Best Writing (Newnham and LeBrecht), and the ABC News VideoSource Award, a category that recognizes archival-driven films.

"Celebrating 3 @IDAorg Documentary Awards nominations for #TimeTheMovie," noted the Twitter account for Time, Garrett Bradley's documentary about a woman seeking the release of her long-incarcerated husband. Time will compete for Best Documentary Feature, Best Director (Bradley) and Best Cinematography (Zac Manuel, Justin Zweifach, and Nisa East).
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The nominees present an inspiring and urgent range of stories from around the globe.

​--IDA executive director Simon Kilmurry

The Best Documentary Feature nomination for Softie prompted producer Toni Kamau to tweet, "Aaaaa. Crying... Incredible to be on this list, that's selected by our global peers. Aaaa!" Softie, directed by Sam Soko, tells the story of the Kenyan photojournalist Boniface "Softie" Mwangi, who ran for office with the ambitious goal of changing his country's political culture.

"I have screamed until my lungs are sore," added Soko in his own tweet. 

Aaaaa!!!! Crying. @softiethefilm nominated for best feature at the @IDAorg. Incredible to be on this list, that's selected by our global peers! Aaaa!cc @sokosam @helloayoo @bonifacemwangi @njerikan @IroBram https://t.co/w6u8vGsbzA

— Toni Kamau (@Toni_Producer) November 24, 2020

The list of films receiving multiple nominations includes MLK/FBI, directed by Sam Pollard, a contender for Best Documentary Feature and for Pollard's direction. The documentary about the FBI's persistent harassment of Martin Luther King Jr. also earned a nomination for the ABC News VideoSource Award. Pollard will be honored with the previously-announced Career Achievement Award. He was also nominated Tuesday for his work directing the multi-part documentary series Atlanta's Missing and Murdered.

The Truffle Hunters, a whimsical and poetic film set in Italy about the quest for truffles conducted by wizened men and their dogs, earned nominations for Best Documentary Feature and Best Cinematography for Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, who also directed the film.

The other nominees for Best Documentary Feature are Collective (director/producer Alexander Nanau, producer Bianca Oana); Gunda (director Victor Kossakovsky, producer Anita Rehoff Larsen); The Reason I Jump (director Jerry Rothwell, producers Jeremy Dear, Stevie Lee, and Al Morrow); Reunited (director Mira Jargil, producer Kirstine Barfod), and Welcome to Chechnya (director/producer David France, producers Alice Henty, Joy A. Tomchin, and Askold Kurov).

The IDA announced the awards will take place as a virtual ceremony on Saturday, January 16, 2021.

“The nominees present an inspiring and urgent range of stories from around the globe,"  IDA executive director Simon Kilmurry commented in a statement. “The broad range of subjects and approaches to storytelling underscores that documentary is our most exciting form of cultural expression, a vital art form and a crucial element of democratic dialogue.”

Photos of select IDA Awards nominees

In the Best Documentary Short category, 10 films earned nominations including Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa directed by Barbara Attie, Mike Attie, and Janet Goldwater; All That Perishes at the Edge of Land  directed by Hira Nabi; John Was Trying to Contact Aliens directed by Matthew Killip, and To Calm the Pig Inside directed by Joanna Vasquez Arong.

Best Multi-Part Documentary Series nominees include Asian Americans, directed by Leo S. Chiang, Geeta Gandbhir, and Grace Lee; Atlanta's Missing and Murdered directed by Sam Pollard, Maro Chermayeff, Joshua Bennett, and Jeff Dupre; City So Real directed by Steve James; Hillary directed by Nanette Burstein, and Lenox Hill directed by Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz.

An image from "All That Perishes at the Edge of Land," directed by Hira Nabi. Photo courtesy Sundance Film Festival

The full list of IDA Awards nominations:

2020 IDA Documentary Awards Best Feature Nominees

Collective (Romania / Magnolia Pictures, Participant. Director/Producer: Alexander Nanau. Producer: Bianca Oana)
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix. Directors/Producers: Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht. Producer: Sara Bolder)
Gunda (Norway, USA / NEON. Director: Victor Kossakovsky. Producer: Anita Rehoff Larsen)
MLK/FBI (USA / IFC Films. Director: Sam Pollard. Producer: Benjamin Hedin)
The Reason I Jump (USA, UK / Kino Lorber. Director: Jerry Rothwell. Producers: Jeremy Dear, Stevie Lee, Al Morrow)
Reunited (Denmark. Director: Mira Jargil. Producer: Kirstine Barfod)
Softie (Kenya / POV. Director/Producer: Sam Soko. Producer: Toni Kamau)
Time (USA / Amazon Studios, Concordia Studio, The New York Times. Director/Producer: Garrett Bradley. Producers: Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn) 
The Truffle Hunters (USA, Italy, Greece / Sony Pictures Classics. Directors/Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw)
Welcome to Chechnya (USA / HBO. Director/Producer: David France. Producers: Alice Henty, Joy A. Tomchin, and Askold Kurov)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Best Director Nominees

Garrett Bradley (Time, USA / Amazon Studios, Concordia Studio, The New York Times)
Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw (The Truffle Hunters, USA, Italy, Greece / Sony Pictures Classics)
Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht (Crip Camp, USA / Netflix)
Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI, USA / IFC Films)
Jerry Rothwell (The Reason I Jump, USA, UK / Kino Lorber)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Best Short Nominees

Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa (USA / TOPIC, Woman Make Movies. Directors/Producers: Barbara Attie, Mike Attie, Janet Goldwater)
All That Perishes at the Edge of Land (Pakistan. Director/Producer: Hira Nabi. Producer: Till Passow)
Huntsville Station (USA / New York Times Op-Docs. Directors/Producers: Jamie Meltzer, Chris Filippone)
Hysterical Girl (USA / New York Times Op-Docs. Director: Kate Novack. Producer: Andrew Rossi)
John Was Trying to Contact Aliens (USA / Netflix. Director/Producer: Matthew Killip)
The Lost Astronaut (USA / New York Times Op-Docs. Director: Ben Proudfoot. Producers: Abby Lynn Kang Davis, Gabriel Berk Godoi)
Mizuko (USA, Japan / TOPIC. Directors/Producers: Kira Dane, Katelyn Rebelo)
sống ở đây (USA / University of California, Santa Cruz. Director/Producer: Melanie Ho)
To Calm the Pig Inside (Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos) (Philippines. Director/Producer: Joanna Vasquez Arong) 
Unforgivable (El Salvador. Director/Producer: Marlén Viñayo. Producer: Carlos Martínez)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Best Curated Series Nominees

30 for 30 (USA / ESPN. Executive Producers: John Dahl, Libby Geist, Rob King, Erin Leyden, Connor Schell)
American Experience (USA / PBS. Executive Producers: Susan Bellows and Mark Samels)
American Masters (USA / THIRTEEN Productions, LLC. Executive Producer: Michael Kantor.)
Reel Midwest (USA / Illinois Public Media. Executive Producer: Moss Bresnahan)
Reel South (USA / PBS, World Channel. Executive Producers: Don Godish and Rachel Raney)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Best Episodic Series Nominees

Cheer (USA / Netflix. Director and Executive Producer: Greg Whiteley. Producers: Adam Leibowitz, Arielle Kilker, Chelsea Yarnell. Executive Producers: Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Jasper Thomlinson, Bert Hamelinck)
Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America (USA / AMC. Executive Producers: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Shawn Gee, Alex Gibney, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, Shea Serrano, Angie Day, One9, Erik Parker, Isaac Bolden)
Last Chance U (USA / Netflix. Director and Executive Producer: Greg Whiteley. Executive Producers: Joe LaBracio, James D. Stern, Lucas Smith, Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard)
Seven Planets, One World (United Kingdom / BBC America. Directors: Fredi Devas, Emma Napper, Giles Badger, Chadden Hunter. Executive Producer: Jonny Keeling)
We’re Here (USA / HBO. Executive Producers: Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Stephen Warren, Johnnie Ingram, Peter LoGreco, Erin Gamble)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Best Multi-Part Documentary Nominees

Asian Americans (USA / PBS. Directors: Leo Chiang, Geeta Gandbhir, Grace Lee. Producers: Renee Tajima-Peña, Mark Jonathan Harris. Executive Producers: Jeff Bieber, Sally Jo Fifer, Stephen Gong, Jean Tsien, Donald Young)
Atlanta's Missing and Murdered (USA / HBO. Directors and Executive Producers: Sam Pollard, Maro Chermayeff, Joshua Bennett, Jeff Dupre. Executive Producers: John Legend, Mike Jackson, Ty Stiklorious, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller)
City So Real (USA / National Geographic. Director and Producer: Steve James. Producer: Zak Piper. Executive Producers: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Alex Kotlowitz, Gordon Quinn, Betsy Steinberg, Jolene Pinder)
Hillary (USA / Hulu. Director: Nanette Burstein. Producers: Isabel San Vargas, Timothy Moran, Chi-Young Park, Tal Ben-David. Executive Producers: Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, Nanette Burstein, Sierra Kos, Laurie Girion)
Lenox Hill (USA / Netflix. Directors and Executive Producers: Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz. Executive Producer: Josh Braun)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Best Short Form Series Nominees

Almost Famous (USA / New York Times Op-Docs. Producers: Abby Lynn Kang Davis, Gabriel Berk Godoi and Jeremy Lambert. Executive Producer: Adam Ellick. Director: Ben Proudfoot)
Guardian Documentaries (United Kingdom, Iran / The Guardian. Producers: Shanida Scotland, Natasha Dack Ojumu and Nikki Parrott. Executive Producers: Charlie Phillips. Lindsay Poulton, Jess Gormley. Directors: Irene Baque, Laurence Topham, Sara Khaki, Mohammad Reza Eyni, Rebecca Lloyd-Evans, Laura Dodsworth, Dan McDougall)
Last Call For The Bayou: 5 Stories from Louisiana's Disappearing Delta (USA / Smithsonian Channel Plus. Producer: Nadia Gill. Executive Producer: Gina Hutchinson. Director: Dominic Gill)
POV Shorts (USA / PBS. Executive Producers: Justine Nagan and Chris White)
Run This City (USA / Quibi. Director: Brent Hodge. Producer: Prince Vaughn. Executive Producers: Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Archie Gips, Brent Hodge)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Best Audio Documentary Nominees

Crosses in the Desert / Cruces en el desierto (Chile, USA / Las Raras Podcast. Reporter: Dennis Maxwell. Producers: Catalina May, Martín Cruz. Executive Producer: Martina Castro)  
Fiasco: Bush v. Gore (USA / Luminary. Producers: Leon Neyfakh, Andrew Parsons)
Girl Taken (United Kingdom / British Broadcasting Corporation. Reporter: Sue Mitchell. Producer: Richard Hannaford. Executive Producer: Philip Sellars) 
Heavyweight - The Marshes (USA / Gimlet Media. Reporter, Producer and Executive Producer: Jonathan Goldstein. Reporter and Producer: Kalila Holt. Producers: Stevie Lane, Jorge Just, BA Parker, Bobby Lord)
Somebody (USA / iHeartRadio. Reporters and Producers: Alison Flowers, Bill Healy. Reporters: Sam Stecklow, Ellen Glover, Annie Nguyen, Kahari Blackburn, Rajiv Sinclair, Henri Adams, Matilda Vojak, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Frances McDonald, Diana Akmajian, Andrew Fan and Maddie Anderson. Producers: Shapearl Wells, Sarah Geis. Executive Producers: Jamie Kalven, Maria Zuckerman, Christy Gressman, Leital Molad)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Best Music Documentary Nominees

Beastie Boys Story (USA / Apple TV+. Director/Producer: Spike Jonze. Producers: Jason Baum and Amanda Adelson)
Billie (United Kingdom / Greenwich Entertainment. Director: James Erskine)
Crock of Gold (USA / Magnolia Pictures. Director/Producer: Julien Temple. Producers: Johnny Depp, Stephen Deuters, Stephen Malit)
Los Hermanos / The Brothers (USA / PatchWorks Films, PBS. Directors/Producers: Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider)
Universe (USA. Directors: Sam Osborn and Nicholas Capezzera. Producers: Esther Dere and Leah Natasha Thomas)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award Nominees

Bananas (United Kingdom / National Film and Television School. Director/Producer: Sara Montoya Sepúlveda)
Isle of Us (United Kingdom / National Film and Television School. Director: Laura Wadha)
Na Luta Delas (Brazil / UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Directors/Producers: Orion Rose Kelly and Pedro Cota)
People Like Me (USA / University of California Santa Cruz. Director/Producer: Marrok Sedgwick)
Susana (USA / Stanford University. Director: Laura Gamse. Producer: James Davis)
Trees (United Kingdom / National Film and Television School. Director: Rosie Morris. Producer: Jesse Romain)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Best Cinematography Award Nominees

Acasă, My Home (Romania, Germany, Finland / Manifest Film, HBO Europe. Cinematographers: Radu Ciorniciuc and Mircea Topoleanu)
Boys State (USA / Apple, A24. Director of Photography: Thorsten Thielow)
The Earth is Blue as an Orange (Ukraine, Lithuania. Cinematographer: Viacheslav Tsvietkov)
The Truffle Hunters (USA, Italy, Greece / Sony Pictures Classics. Cinematographers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw)
Time (USA / Amazon Studios, Concordia Studio, The New York Times. Cinematographers: Zac Manuel, Justin Zweifach, Nisa East) 


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Best Editing Award Nominees

Boys State (USA / Apple, A24. Editor: Jeff Gilbert)
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix. Editors: Eileen Meyer and Andrew Gersh)
Disclosure (USA / Netflix. Editor: Stacy Goldate)
Dick Johnson is Dead (USA / Netflix. Editor: Nels Bangerter)
Through the Night (USA / ITVS, POV. Editor: Malika Zouhali-Worrall)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Best Writing Award Nominees

Crip Camp (USA / Netflix. Writers: Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht)
Dick Johnson is Dead (USA / Netflix. Writers: Nels Bangerter and Kirsten Johnson)
I Am Not Alone (USA / Netflix. Writer: Garin Hovannisian)
My Octopus Teacher (USA / Netflix. Writers: Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed)
Socks on Fire (USA. Writers: Max Allman, Bo McGuire)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Best Music Score Award Nominees

Dancing with the Birds (USA / Netflix. Composer: David Mitcham)
David Attenborough: Life On Our Planet (USA, United Kingdom / Netflix. Composer: Steven Price)
Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice (USA / Netflix. Composer: Chapavich Temnitikul)
My Octopus Teacher (USA / Netflix. Composer: Kevin Smuts)
Rising Phoenix (USA / Netflix. Composer: Daniel Pemberton)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards ABC News VideoSource Award Nominees

#Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump (USA / Dark Star. Director/Producer: Dan Partland. Producer: Art Horan)
Bully. Coward. Victim.: The Story of Roy Cohn (USA / HBO. Director: Ivy Meeropol. Producers: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn)
Crip Camp (USA / Netflix. Directors/Producers: Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht. Producer: Sara Bolder)
Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America's Elections (USA / HBO. Director: Sarah Teale. Directors/Producers: Simon Ardizzone and Russell Michaels. Producers: Michael Hirschorn and Jessica Antonini)
MLK/FBI (USA / IFC Films. Director: Sam Pollard. Producer: Benjamin Hedin)
The First Rainbow Coalition (USA / Independent Lens, PBS, Latino Public Broadcasting, ITVS. Director/Producer: Ray Santisteban)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Pare Lorentz Award Winner

WINNER: My Octopus Teacher (USA / Netflix. Director: Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed. Producer: Craig Foster)
HONORABLE MENTION: Crip Camp (USA / Netflix. Directors/Producers: Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht. Producer: Sara Bolder)


2020 IDA Documentary Awards Honorary Awards Recipients

Amicus Award: Regina K. Scully
Career Achievement Award: Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI)
Courage Under Fire Award: David France, David Isteev, and Olga Baranova (Welcome to Chechnya)
Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award: Garrett Bradley (Time)
Pioneer Award: Firelight Media
Truth to Power Award: Maria Ressa and Rappler (A Thousand Cuts)