Latest in International Documentary Association

One of the most important institutions in documentary film is under new leadership. The International Documentary Association (IDA) announced the appointment Wednesday of Richard Ray "Rick" Perez as its new executive director, effective immediately. He replaces Simon Kilmurry, who had served as the IDA's executive…

Crip Camp, the Netflix documentary about a unique summer camp for disabled kids and its role propelling the disability rights movement, won Best Feature at the International Documentary Association's IDA Awards, in something of an upset. The film directed by Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht (the latter attended the…

The International Documentary Association has announced the nominees for its 36th Annual IDA Documentary Awards, and a certain streaming service dominates. Netflix scored a leading 18 noms for the 2020 IDAs, more than three times its nearest rival. The New York Times garnered seven noms, including four for its…

Simon Kilmurry, executive director of the International Documentary Association since 2015, will step down in mid-2021, the organization said. The IDA Board of Directors has launched a committee chaired by co-VPs James Costa and Lauren Lexton to search for a replacement following the move, which was announced…

The International Documentary Association has named Brenda Robinson as its new President of its Board of Directors. She makes history as the organization’s first Black president. An entertainment attorney, Robinson joined IDA's Board of Directors in 2018. She succeeds Kevin Iwashina, whose board term ends in December…

The documentary community is rallying around Syrian-born filmmaker Feras Fayyad, director of Oscar-shortlisted film The Cave, after he was denied a visa to enter the United States. The International Documentary Association wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Friday, urging him to let Fayyad into the country to…

For Sama, Waad al-Kateab’s striking documentary about the start of the protests against the Assad regime in Syria, won the Best Feature prize at the International Documentary Association’s IDA Awards. Al-Kateab shot hundreds of hours of footage over a course of the five-year siege that offered an unflinching view of…

Two organizations representing documentary filmmakers are challenging new State Department “extreme vetting” rules that require visa applicants to disclose all social media handles they have used in the past five years. “We feel these new policies infringe upon foreign filmmakers' freedom of expression, and they also…

Spiral Farm, the coming-of-age drama from writer-director Alec Tibaldi and starring Piper De Palma in her feature film debut, has been acquired by Indican Pictures. The pic, which bowed this year at Slamdance, will now hit theaters in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago beginning December 13, with a digital release…

The International Documentary Association has revealed the honorees for their 35th annual IDA Documentary Awards honorees. The ceremony is set for December 7 and will take place at the Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. Academy Award and Primetime Emmy winning filmmaker Freida Lee Mock (Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision…

Deadline has launched a new feature documentary screening series, For The Love of Docs, to be presented by Hulu. The slate of 10 documentaries, which represent the best of the brand, will screen each week at the Landmark Theatre in Los Angeles beginning September 17 through December 10. The screenings will be…

The 34th Annual IDA Documentary Awards were handed out Saturday night at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles with Bing Liu's Minding The Gap taking top honors in the Best Feature category. Hosted by actress and producer Ricki Lake, the ceremony also honored Floyd Russ's Zion as Best Short as well as Netflix’s Wild Wil…