The International Documentary Association presented its 2013 awards last night, and here’s a slightly annotated list of the winners.
BEST FEATURE
Jehane Noujaim’s The Square. IDA: “The first major film acquisition by Netflix, The Square follows a group of Egyptian activists as they battle leaders and regimes, and risk their lives to build a new society of conscience.” Variety‘s Dave McNary notes that Noujaim dedicated the award to her “fellow Egyptians” and adds: “The Square won the Audience Award for World Cinema in the documentary category at Sundance and—after Noujaim updated the film with new footage—won the People’s Choice Award in the doc category at the Toronto Film Festival. It was also nommed Nov. 26 for a Spirit Award.”
Also nominated: Joshua Oppenheimer‘s The Act of Killing, Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Blackfish, Jason Osder’s Let the Fire Burn, and Sarah Polley‘s Stories We Tell.
BEST SHORT
Josh Izenberg’s Slomo. IDA: “An inspirational portrait of neurologist turned rollerblader, Dr. John Kitchin, Slomo has been an audience favorite at festivals around the world garnering a number of audience and jury awards.”
Also nominated: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s The Education of Mohammad Hussein, Johan Palmgren’s The Flogstar Roar, Alicia Dwyer’s Nine to Ninety, and Russell O. Bush’s Vultures of Tibet.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Julian Schwanitz for Pablo’s Winter. Director: Chico Pereira.
BEST EDITING
Nels Bangerter for Let the Fire Burn. Director: Jason Osder.
BEST MUSIC
Jeremy Turner for Narco Cultura. Director: Shaul Schwartz.
BEST WRITING
How to Make Money Selling Drugs. Writer/Director: Matthew Cooke.
SERIES
IDA: “The Best Continuing Series Award went to the PBS series Independent Lens. Now in its 12th season, the weekly series features original documentary films made by some of the best independent filmmakers working today. The Best Limited Series Award went to the CNN Original Series Inside Man, hosted by Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock.”
DAVID L. WOLPER STUDENT DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Elizabeth Chatelain’s My Sister Sarah.
“This award recognizes exceptional achievement in non-fiction film and video production at the university level and brings greater public and industry awareness to the work of students in the documentary field.” Also nominated: Sarah Berkovich and J. Christian Jensen’s Between Land and Sea, Raul O. Paz Pastrana’s Ome: Tales from a Vanishing Homeland, Adeyemi Michael’s Sodiq, and Kiley Vorndran, Ryan Westra, Andrew Evers, and Ben Fischinger’s Why We Race.
HUMANITAS DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Steve Hoover’s Blood Brother.
“This award is given to a film that explores the hopes and fears of human beings who are very different in culture, race, lifestyle, political loyalties and religious beliefs in order to break down the walls of ignorance which separate us.” Also nominated: Lyubov Arkus’s Anton’s Right Here, Jason Osder’s Let the Fire Burn, and Jehane Noujaim’s The Square.
ABCNEWS VIDEOSOURCE AWARD
Bill Siegel’s The Trials of Muhammad Ali.
“This award is given each year for the best use of news footage as an integral component in a documentary.” Also nominated: Peter Schnall’s All the Presidents Men Revisited, Shola Lynch’s Free Angela and All Political Prisoners, Jason Osder’s Let the Fire Burn, and Alex Gibney’s We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks.
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED AWARDS
Career Achievement Award: Alex Gibney.
IDA Amicus Award: Geralyn Dreyfous.
Courage Under Fire Award: Laura Poitras.
Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award: Zachary Heinzerling.
Lists and Awards 2013 Index. For news and tips throughout the day every day, follow @KeyframeDaily on Twitter and/or the RSS feed. Get Keyframe Daily in your inbox by signing in at fandor.com/daily.
