Excerpt from Variety
The Steven Bognar-Julia Reichert documentary “American Factory,” “Apollo 11,” “For Sama” and “The Edge of Democracy” have scored multiple nominations for the International Documentary Awards.
“Advocate,” “Honeyland,” “Midnight Family,” “One Child Nation,” “Sea of Shadows,” and “The Biggest Little Farm” also received nods. The 35th Annual IDA Documentary Awards will be held on Dec. 7 at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.
For the first time, the IDA will present an award for best director and all of the nominated films have female directors.
“The IDA Documentary Awards recognizes excellence in nonfiction storytelling across a range of forms, and all of this year’s nominees and winners illustrate that documentary storytelling is one of the most vital art forms today,” said Simon Kilmurry, executive director of the IDA.
The IDA also announced that its Courage Under Fire Award will be presented to Waad Al-Kateab for the film “For Sama,” recounting her life in Aleppo, Syria. It won the Documentary Feature Competition’s Grand Jury and Audience Awards at SXSW.
“With the addition of the Best Director Award, the IDA is making an important statement,” Kilmurry said. “We felt the need to more clearly acknowledge the creativity and bold directorial vision that is behind many of the films we are privileged to consider. We hope that this award recognizes the fact that documentary directing is a vital and unique art form."
