Posted by editor@vimooz.com on November 14, 2009 under Awards, Documentary | 
"Diary of a Times Square Thief" Directed & Written by Klaas Bense
The nominees for the International Documentary Association’s 2009 IDA Documentary Awards competition were announced this week. The winners will be announced December 4th at the Directors Guild in Los Angeles, in a ceremony hosted by This American Life’s Ira Glass.
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Posted by editor@vimooz.com on December 8, 2008 under Awards, Documentary, Uncategorized |
“Man on Wire” and “Waltz With Bashir” (pictured) tied for the top Distinguished Feature award at the International Documentary Association Documentary Awards.
The complete 2008 winners list include:
Feature Documentary
Man on Wire – WINNER (tie)
Director: James Marsh
On August 7, 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center, then the world’s tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken in for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. Man on Wire brings Petit’s extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself, and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as “the artistic crime of the century.”
Waltz with Bashir – WINNER (tie)
Director/Producer: Ari Folman
One night in a bar, an old friend tells director Ari Folman about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early 1980s. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As he delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images.
Short Documentary
La Corona – WINNER
Directors/Producers: Amanda Micheli, Isabel Vega
The contestants are murderers, guerillas and thieves. The runner-up will cry when she doesn’t get the tiara, wiping her tears with a tattooed hand. The winner will be crowned Queen, but she won’t be invited on a press tour as a role model for young girls. Instead, she will be escorted back to her cell. This is a beauty pageant like no other, and it happens every year in the Women’s Penitentiary in Bogotá, Colombia. La Corona is a character-driven documentary that follows four inmates competing for the crown in the annual beauty pageant of the Bogotá women’s prison.
Continuing Series Award
This American Life – Winner
Created By Ira Glass/Chicago Public Radio
Limited Series Award
Sin City Law – WINNER
Denis Poncet, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, Remy Burkel
Sin City Law is an original eight-part documentary series that goes inside four recent criminal trials in Las Vegas, Nevada. The series opens a window onto a world that is only steps away from the famous strip, but rarely glimpsed from inside the casinos and mega-hotels populated by tourists: a world of drugs, gangs, depleted gamblers and wayward club owners, where what happens in Vegas stays deep inside the criminal justice system. The series travels with the public defenders’ and district attorney’s offices to track four separate criminal cases, each of which is covered in two one-hour episodes.
ABCNews VideoSource Award
War Child – WINNER
C. Karim Chrobog, Afshin Molava
War Child chronicles the tragic but ultimately hopeful life of Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier of Sudan’s brutal civil war and emerging international rap star with a message of peace for his country. His story mirrors his homeland: tragedy and terror mingling with hope and restoration. Orphaned, firing a gun that he at age seven could barely hold aloft, trekking through deserts in search of shelter, Jal was adopted by an aid worker. His rise from orphan to soldier to refugee to rap star represents one of the 21st century’s most inspiring and hopeful journeys.
IDA/Alan Ett Music Documentary Award
Young @ Heart – WINNER
Stephen Walker, Sally George
In Northampton, Massachusetts, the Young @ Heart Chorus has six weeks of rehearsal before the opening of their new show, Alive and Well. They have a few numbers to learn, including Sonic Youth’s “Schizophrenia.” Also, the average age of the singers is 80. British filmmaker Stephen Walker catches up with these unique senior citizens, whose chorus has been defying expectations with its unforgettable rock song covers since 1982. Members literally live for the group, stimulated by the challenges of learning unfamiliar songs and fortified by camaraderie through sickness and health.
Pare Lorentz Award
Burning The Future: Coal In America – WINNER
David Novack, Alexis Zoullas
Filmmaker David Novack examines the explosive forces that have set in motion a groundswell of conflict between the coal industry and residents of West Virginia. Confronted by an emerging coal-based US energy policy, local activists watch the nation praise coal without regard to the devastation caused by its extraction. Faced with toxic ground water, the obliteration of 1.4 million acres of mountains, and a government that appeases the industry, our heroes demonstrate a strength of purpose and character in their improbable fight to arouse the nation’s help in protecting their mountains, saving their families and preserving their way of life.
Garbage Warrior – HONORABLE MENTION
Oliver Hodge, Rachel Wexler, Patrick Wilson
What do beer cans, car tires and water bottles have in common? Not much, unless you’re New Mexico-based renegade architect Michael Reynolds, in which case they are tools of choice for producing thermal mass and energy-independent housing. For 30 years, Reynolds and his green disciples have devoted their time to advancing the art of “Earthship Biotecture” by building self-sufficient, off-the-grid communities where design and function converge in eco-harmony. Shot over three years and in four countries, Garbage Warrior is a timely portrait of a determined visionary, a hero of the 21st century.
IDA/David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award
As We Forgive – WINNER
Laura Waters Hinson
American University
Could you forgive a person who murdered your family? This is the question faced by the subjects of As We Forgive, a documentary about two Rwandan women coming face-to-face with the men who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide. The subjects of As We Forgive speak for a nation still wracked by the grief of a genocide that killed one in eight Rwandans in 1994. Overwhelmed by an enormous backlog of court cases, the government has returned over 50,000 genocide perpetrators back to the very communities they helped to destroy. Without the hope of full justice, Rwanda has turned to a new solution: Reconciliation.
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Posted by editor@vimooz.com on November 24, 2008 under Awards, Documentary |
Winners for the International Documentary Association’s 2008 IDA Documentary Awards competition were announced last week in several major categories, including Limited Series, Continuing Series, Music, and Student, leaving Feature, Short, and Audience Awards for the night of the program, to be held December 5th at the Directors Guild Theater in Los Angeles.
For the second consecutive year, Ira Glass’ THIS AMERICAN LIFE has nabbed the Continuing Series Award. Glass plans to attend IDA’s December 5th honors to accept his award in-person, as he memorably did in 2007. In the Limited Series category, the prize has gone to SIN CITY LAW, Denis Poncet, Jean Xavier De Lestrade, and Remy Burkel’s eight-part episodic chronicling the criminal justice system in Las Vegas.
Now in its second year, the IDA/Alan Ett Music Documentary Award, sponsored by the veteran music industry figure and composer, has honored Stephen Walker’s YOUNG@HEART. HEART also competes against KASSIM THE DREAM, STRANDED: I’VE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED IN THE MOUNTAINS, MAN ON WIRE and WALTZ WITH BASHIR for IDA’s top feature prize. Director Walker will make the trek from his native England to receive the Music Award.
The IDA/Pare Lorentz Award, in homage to the pioneering filmmaker’s legacy, was given to David Novack’s BURNING THE FUTURE: COAL IN AMERICA, a hard look at the coal industry and its efforts to promote “clean coal technology” in the face of true environmental hazards. Earning an Honorable Mention in the category is GARBAGE WARRIOR from filmmaker Oliver Hodge.
The IDA/ABCNEWS VideoSource Award, for best use of archival news footage, has gone to WAR CHILD, the story of a Sudanese child solider who emerges as an international rap star. C. Karim Chrobog’s film also participated in IDA’s DocuWeek Theatrical Showcase earlier this year.
IDA continues to recognize the next generation of documentary filmmakers with its prestigious David L. Wolper Student Filmmaker Award. This year’s prize has been awarded to AS WE FORGIVE, directed by American University student Laura Waters Hinson. The film documents two Rwandan women coming face-to-face with the men who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide.
Winning films from the event will be screened at DocuFest, held the day after the awards, on December 6th, from 10:00 AM to Midnight at the Eastman Kodak Screening Room, 6700 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, California. Most filmmakers will be in attendance for Q&A’s following these films. Ticket information can also be found at www.documentary.org/docufest.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on November 12, 2008 under Awards, Documentary |
The nominees for the International Documentary Association’s 2008 IDA Documentary Awards competition were announced last month, including many of the year’s most buzzed-about titles and festival favorites. Winners will be feted on December 5th at the Directors Guild in Los Angeles, in a ceremony hosted by Academy Award® nominated documentary filmmaker and star Morgan Spurlock.
“Innovative storytelling, digital editing and sophisticated audiences have opened up the playing field of what a documentary can be. So, in choosing a master of ceremonies for this year’s event, no one better exemplifies that renegade creative spirit than Morgan Spurlock,” said IDA’s Interim Executive Director Eddie Schmidt. Spurlock, known for SUPERSIZE ME, 30 DAYS, and WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN?, will take a brief sojourn from postproduction on the upcoming FREAKONOMICS to handle hosting duties.
The five nominated films for Distinguished Documentary Achievement in IDA’s feature category are: KASSIM THE DREAM, the powerful story of Ugandan-born World Champion boxer Kassim “The Dream” Ouima, who must confront his difficult past as a child soldier while training for his next world title; MAN ON WIRE, an evocative chronicle of tightrope walker Philippe Petit’s high-wire (and highly illegal) routine between New York’s former Twin Towers, circa 1974; STRANDED: I HAVE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED ON THE MOUNTAINS, the harrowing tale of the famous 1972 Andes plane crash, as told by its survivors today; WALTZ WITH BASHIR, an unprecedented animated documentary examining the consequences of war by unraveling the memories of Ari Folman and other Israeli soldiers who fought in the 1982 Lebanon conflict; and, finally, YOUNG@HEART, a warm and human look at a Massachusetts chorus of senior citizens who perform rock songs with camaraderie and gusto.
The five nominated short films are: KICK LIKE A GIRL, LA CORONA, REDEMPTION STONE, SMILE PINKI, TONGZHI IN LOVE. LA CORONA was nominated for last year’s Best Documentary Short Academy Award®, while SMILE PINKI and TONGZHI IN LOVE currently reside on this year’s Oscar shortlist. KICK LIKE A GIRL played in this year’s IDA Docuweek program.
In the Limited Series category, the four nominees are: CNN PRESENTS: GOD’S WARRIORS, THE JEWISH AMERICANS, THE WAR, and SIN CITY LAW. Continuing Series nominees are NOVA, AMERICAN MASTERS, THIS AMERICAN LIFE and WIDE ANGLE.
Other IDA competition categories include the Alan Ett Music Award (now in its second year), the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, the ABC News Video Source Award, for best use of television news footage as an integral component, as well as the Pare Lorentz Award, presented to the filmmaker whose documentary best represents the activist spirit and lyrical vision of the acclaimed Pare Lorentz. For a complete list of nominees and finalists (in some categories), please see the attached.
In addition to competitive awards for the year’s current crop of outstanding documentaries, IDA also acknowledges exemplary creative contributions to the genre at large. This year’s IDA Career Achievement honoree, to be celebrated during December’s event, was previously announced as ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD and GRIZZLY MAN director Werner Herzog.
Other career awards to be handed out at the ceremony include: the Pioneer Award, to groundbreaking filmmaker Rob Epstein (THE CELLULOID CLOSET; THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK), the Preservation & Scholarship Award, to beloved UCLA professor, author, and filmmaker Marina Goldovskaya (THE PRINCE IS BACK), and the inaugural Avid Excellence in Editing Award, sponsored by Avid Technology the digital editing giant, to master editor and filmmaker Sam Pollard (WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE: A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS; 4 LITTLE GIRLS).
The Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Filmmaker Award will go to helmer Stefan Forbes, whose prescient and provocative BOOGIE MAN: THE LEE ATWATER STORY, is currently in theatrical release.
Tags: 30 DAYS, AMERICAN MASTERS, CNN PRESENTS: GOD'S WARRIORS, IDA Documentary Awards, International Documentary Association, Kassim "The Dream" Ouima, KASSIM THE DREAM, KICK LIKE A GIRL, LA CORONA, Man On Wire, Morgan Spurlock, NOVA, REDEMPTION STONE, Rob Epstein, SIN CITY LAW, SMILE PINKI, STRANDED: I HAVE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED ON THE, SUPERSIZE ME, THE JEWISH AMERICANS, THE WAR, THIS AMERICAN LIFE, TONGZHI IN LOVE, Waltz with Bashir, Werner Herzog, WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN?, WIDE ANGLE, Young@Heart