Jehane Noujaim's The Square.
Recent New York Film Festival debut The Square by Jehane Noujaim and 2013 New Directors/New Films titles Stories We Tell by Sarah Polley and Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act Of Killing are among the nominees unveiled today by the International Documentary Association for its 29th annual Documentary Awards. The films three are competing in the Best Feature Award category along with Gabriela Cowperthwaite's Blackfish, which has been recently featured on rotation on CNN as well as Jason Osder's Let The Fire Burn.
The Square centers on a group of Egyptian revolutionaries battle leaders and regimes, risking their lives to build a new society of conscience, while The Act Of Killing challenges former Indonesian death squad leaders to reenact their real-life mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers. Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell examines the layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers by examining the Canadian actress/filmmaker's own families. Blackfish looks at consequences of holding wild orcas in captivity, focusing on Tilikum, a SeaWorld killer whale at the center of the deaths of three individuals. And Let the Fire Burn recalls the 1985 incident in which Philadelphia police dropped two pounds of military explosives on a city row house occupied by the radical group MOVE.
“With over 400 submissions from around the world, this year's Awards represent a thriving global documentary community,” said IDA executive director Michael Lumpkin. “Collectively these incredible stories expand our understanding of our shared human experience and foster an informed compassionate and connected world.”
Winners of the 29th annual IDA Documentary Awards will be announced December 6 at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles.
Best Feature Award
The Act of Killing
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Producers: Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen
Executive Producers: Errol Morris, Werner Herzog, Torstein Grude, André Singer, Joram ten Brink, Bjarte Mørner Tveit
Drafthouse Films
Blackfish
Directors: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Producer: Manuel V. Oteyza
Writers: Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Eli Despres
Executive Producers: Judy Bart, Erica Kahn
Magnolia Pictures
Let The Fire Burn
Director/Producer: Jason Osder
Executive Producer: Andrew Herwitz
The George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs
The Square
Director: Jehane Noujaim
Producer: Karim Amer
Noujaim Films
Stories We Tell
Director/Writer: Sarah Polley
Producer: Anita Lee
Roadside Attractions
Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell.
Humanitas Documentary Award – 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.
Antons Right Here
Director: Evgeniya Blaze
Producers: Konstantin Shavlovsky , Aleksandra Golutova
Writers: Lyubov Arkus
Executive Producers: Sergey Selyanov
INTERCINEMA Agency
Blood Brother
Director: Steve Hoover
Producer: Danny Yourd
Writers: Steve Hoover, Phinehas Hodges, Tyson VanSkiver
Executive Producers: Steve Hoover, Michael Killen, Kathy Dziubek, Jim Kreitzburg, Leigh Blake, John Carlin
Independent Television Service (ITVS)
Let The Fire Burn
Director/Producer: Jason Osder
Executive Producer: Andrew Herwitz
The George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs
The Square
Director: Jehane Noujaim
Producer: Karim Amer
Noujaim Films
Best Short Award
The Eduction of Muhammad Hussein
Directors: Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady
Producers: Heidi Ewing; Rachel Grady; Sadia Shepard; Sara Bernstein (for HBO)
Executive Producers: Sheila Nevins (for HBO)
HBO Documentary Films
The Flogsta Roar
Director/Producer: Johan Palmgren
Writer: Johan Palmgren and Åsa Blanck
Strix
Television AB, Swedish National Television
Nine to Ninety
Director: Alicia Dwyer
Producer: Juli Vizza
Executive Producers: Sally Jo Fifer
Independent
Television Service (ITVS)
SLOMO
Director: Josh Izenberg
Producer: Amanda Micheli
Executive Producer: Neil Izenberg
Big Young Films, Runaway Films
Vultures of Tibet
Director: Russell O. Bush
Producer: Elisabeth Oakham
Executive Producer: Gary Newsom
Bushfilm
Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing.
Best Limited Series Award
180 Days: A Year Inside An American High School
Directors/Producers: Jacquie Jones, Garland McLaurin
Executive Producer: Jacquie Jones
NPBC/PBS
Inside Combat Rescue
Producers: Jared McGilliard, John Collin, Jr.
Executive Producers: Jerry Decker, Ted Duvall, Richard J. Wells.
National Geographic Channel
Inside Man
Producers: Kristen Vaurio, Lisa Kalikow, Shannon Gibson, Suzanne Hillinger, Lara Benario
Writers: Jeremy Chilnick, Morgan Spurlock
Executive Producers: Jeremy Chilnick, Matthew Galkin, Morgan Spurlock
CNN
Viewfinder: Latin America
Directors: Manuel Contreras, Russ Finkelstein, Alfonso Gastiaburo, Juan Pablo Rojas, Paola Gosalvez, Luciana Freitas Silva, Susanna Lira, Fernanda Polacow and Juliana Borges
Producers: Rodrigo Vazquez, Patricia Boero
Writer: Ingrid Falck
Executive Producers: Flora Gregory
Series Producer: Jean Garner
Al Jazeera English
Witness
Directors: David Frankham, Abdallah Omeish
Producers: Ike Martin, Allison Kunzman, Youree Henley, Julie Herrin, Josiah Hooper
Co-Producer: Ra'uf Glasgow
Executive Producers: Michael Mann, David Frankham
Blue Light Productions and Little Puppet Productions with HBO Entertainment and HBO Documentary Films
Best Continuing Series Award
30 For 30
Producers: Libby Geist, Andy Billman, Kyle Godwin, Brian D'Ostilio, Jenna Anthony, Erin Leyden, Deirdre Fenton
Executive Producers: Connor Schell, John Dahl, Bill Simmons
ESPN
Curiosity
Producers: Geoff Deehan, Christine Weber
Executive Producers: Erik Nelson, Simon Dickson, Sanjay Singhal, Dave Harding, Mike Masland
Discovery Channel
Independent Lens
Producer: Lois Vossen
Executive Producers: Sally Jo Fifer
Independent Television Service (ITVS) in association with PBS
POV
Executive Producer: Simon Kilmurry
Co-Executive Producer: Cynthia López
VP of Programming & Production: Chris White
Series Producer: Andrew Catauro
American Documentary | POV in association with PBS
Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel
Producer: Joe Perskie
Executive Producers: Rick Bernstein
HBO Sports
David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award – 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.
Between Land And Sea
Directors/Producers/Writers: Sarah Berkovich, J. Christian Jensen
Stanford University
My Sister Sarah
Directors/Producer: Elizabeth Chatelain
University of Texas at Austin
OME: Tales From A Vanishing Homeland
Director/Producer: Raul O. Paz Pastrana
Producer: Emily Parkey
School of Visual Arts
SODIQ
Directors/Producers/Writer: Adeyemi Michael
National Film & Television School, UK
Why We Race
Directors: Kiley Vorndran, Ryan Westra, Andrew Evers, Ben Fischinger
Producer: Kiley Vorndran
Chapman University / Dodge College of Film and Media Arts
Pare Lorentz Award – The Pare Lorentz Award recognizes films that demonstrates exemplary filmmaking while focusing on the appropriate use of the natural environment, justice for all and the illumination of pressing social problems.
A Place At the Table
Directors/Producers: Lori Silverbush and Kristi Jacobson
Producers: Julie Goldman, Ryan Harrington
Magnolia Pictures
The Pare Lorentz Committee acknowledges A River Changes Course (director Kalyanee Mam) with a Special Mention.
ABCNews Videosource Award – This award is given each year for the best use of news footage as an integral component in a documentary.
All The President's Men Revisited
Director/Producer: Peter Schnall
Executive Producers: Robert Redford, Andy Lack, Laura Michalchyshyn
Writers: Chana Gazit, Patrick Prentice
PARTISAN PICTURES in Association with SUNDANCE PRODUCTIONS
Free Angela and All Political Prisoners
Director/Producer/Writer: Shola Lynch
Producers: Sidra Smith, Carole Lambert, Carine Ruszniewski
Overbrook Entertainment
Let The Fire Burn
Director/Producer: Jason Osder
Executive Producer: Andrew Herwitz
The George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs
The Trials of Muhammad Ali
Director: Bill Siegel
Producers: Bill Siegel, Rachel Pikelny
Executive Producers: Justine Nagan, Gordon Quinn, Leon Gast, Kat White
Independent Television Service (ITVS), Kino Lorber
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks
Director/Producer/Writer: Alex Gibney
Producer: Marc Shmuger
Focus World