The IDA will announce final nominees for Best Feature and Best Short on November 24 The outlook for documentary awards season has come into sharper focus with the announcement of the IDA Documentary Awards shortlists. Thirty feature documentaries made the shortlist, including early favorites Crip Camp, Boys State (winner of the top prize for U.S. documentary at the Sundance Film Festival), and TIME, Garrett Bradley's film that won the directing prize at Sundance. Numerous documentaries with an international dimension made the shortlist, among them Collective, the story of a deadly nightclub fire in Bucharest, Romania and its equally tragic aftermath. Alexander Nanau's film has already won a slew of awards, including prizes at the Zurich Film Festival, Sofia International Film Festival and the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival. Gunda, a film without dialogue that examines the routines of a sow and her piglets on a farm, made the list. The Norwegian production, directed by Viktor Kosakovskiy, is executive produced by actor and animal rights advocate Joaquin Phoenix. The range of stories and of makers is as diverse as we have ever had. Gianfranco Rosi's Notturno, The Truffle Hunters, The Mole Agent and Once Upon a Time in Venezuela are among the other films with an international focus to make the shortlist. So too did Softie, the first Kenyan film to be accepted at Sundance. Sam Soko's documentary centers on Boniface "Softie" Mwangi, a candidate for office in Kenya who is determined to change his country's political culture despite long odds and little money. “It is exciting to see the IDA Awards Shortlist include so many films from around the globe,” Simon Kilmurry, the IDA's executive director, noted in a statement. “The range of stories and of makers is as diverse as we have ever had. It reflects the broad range of approaches to documentary filmmaking and some of the most urgent issues of the day.” "I have many fears of losing him." Softie's Boniface Mwangi risks all to fight for better Kenya |
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. |