IDA announces prestigious fall screening series: Rebecca Miller, Joe Berlinger, Brett Morgen, Matthew Heineman films in the mix

L.A. showcase gives major boost to awards season contenders

The International Documentary Association has set the schedule for its annual fall screening series, giving a prominent spot to films with major awards potential.

The series will commence Wednesday, September 13 with Yance Ford's acclaimed film Strong Island, a story of family tragedy and racial injustice involving the director's older brother. As per tradition, the director(s) of each film in the series will participate in a Q&A following the screening of their film. The Landmark Theatre in West Los Angeles will again serve as the host venue.
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Documentary filmmakers are at the forefront of what’s happening in the world, training their cameras on global conflict or the arena of big ideas.

--IDA executive director Simon Kilmurry

Arthur Miller: Writer, Rebecca Miller's portrait of her late father, is among the films selected for the series. It will screen November 9. Her documentary premieres a month earlier at the New York Film Festival.

"Documentary filmmakers are at the forefront of what’s happening in the world, training their cameras on global conflict or the arena of big ideas,” IDA executive Director Simon Kilmurry said in announcing the series. “This year's screenings take us from the battlefields of Syria to the far reaching implications of climate change to the historical underpinnings of our contemporary political situation. And we also have a movie about cats.”

The movie about cats, of course, is Kedi by Turkish director Ceyda Torun, a breakout hit in the U.S. where the film has made more than $2.8 mil. in theatrical release. Torun will be present for the IDA screening on November 6.

"Kedi" murals on display in Brooklyn. The film has made $2.8 mil. in theaters in the U.S., and is available on YouTube Red. Image from kedifilm.com

Matthew Heineman's City of Ghosts, his followup to the Oscar-nominated Cartel Land, will screen September 21. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger screens his film Intent to Destroy -- about the Armenian Genocide -- on September 19. 

​Academy Award-nominated director Brett Morgen will show his film Jane, about renowned primatologist Jane Goodall, October 4. Jane premieres September 10 at the Toronto International Film Festival. 

This is the full list of films in the IDA series, which runs from September 13 through November 16: 

9/13 - Strong Island (director: Yance Ford)

9/14 - Trophy (directors: Christina Clusiau, Shaul Schwarz)

9/18 - Icarus (director: Bryan Fogel)

9/19 - Intent To Destroy (director: Joe Berlinger)

9/21 - City of Ghosts (director: Matthew Heineman)

9/26 - New York Times Op-Docs: 116 Cameras (director: Davina Pardo), Alone (director: Garrett Bradley), The Aria of Cauliflower Brown (director: Tim Grant), Perfectly Normal (director: Joris Debeij), Ten Meter Tower (directors: Maximilien Van Aertryck and Axel Danielson)

9/27 - Swim Team (director: Lara Stolman)

9/28 - God Knows Where I Am (directors: Todd Wider, Jedd Wider)

10/3 - Cries From Syria (director: Evgeny Afineevsky)

10/4 - Jane (director: Brett Morgen)

10/10 - I Called Him Morgan (director: Kasper Collin)

10/12 - Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman (directors: John Hoffman, Susan Froemke, Beth Aala)

10/16 - One Of Us (directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady)

10/17 - The Work (directors: Gethin Aldous, Jairus McLeary)

10/18 - Oklahoma City (director: Barak Goodman)

10/19 - Long Strange Trip (director: Amir Bar-Lev)

10/23 - Finding Oscar (director: Ryan Suffern)

10/24 - Atomic Homefront (director: Rebecca Cammisa)

10/25 - LA 92 (directors: Dan Lindsay, TJ Martin)

11/1 - Dolores (director: Peter Bratt)

11/2 - Abacus: Small Enough To Jail (director: Steve James)

11/6 - Kedi (director: Ceyda Torun)

11/7 - Chasing Coral (director: Jeff Orlowski)

11/8 - Motherland (director: Ramona S. Diaz)

11/9 - Arthur Miller: Writer (director: Rebecca Miller)

11/14 - The Final Year (director: Greg Barker)

11/15 - Unrest (director: Jennifer Brea)

11/16 - Nobody Speak (director: Brian Knappenberger)

The IDA Documentary Screening Series is back! See 2017's most acclaimed docs on the big screen, for free! https://t.co/4GSM7WYuNi

— The IDA (@IDAorg) August 30, 2017