Winners Announced in Four Categories for 2007 International Documentary Association Awards
The International Documentary Association
(IDA) has announced four of the winning documentaries to be honored at the
2007 IDA Distinguished Documentary Achievement Award Gala Benefit. WHEN THE
LEVEES BROKE: A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS has earned the Pare Lorentz Award.
SPUTNIK MANIA earned the IDA/ABCNEWS VideoSource Award. In the television
categories, THIS AMERICAN LIFE won the Continuing Series Award and THE SUPREME
COURT won the Limited Series Award. The winners will be honored on December
7 at the Directors Guild of America Theatre.
“These documentaries were chosen by a jury of peers out of hundreds of
exceptional films and television programs submitted from around the world,”
says IDA Board President diane estelle Vicari. “This extraordinary group of
filmmakers has earned the admiration of our members.”
The Pare Lorentz Award is given to the film that best represents the activist
spirit and lyrical vision of the legendary filmmaker. Director Spike Lee’s
WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE is an intimate portrait of New Orleans following
Hurricane Katrina and the floods. The HBO documentary tells the personal
stories of those who endured the ordeal and survived to share both tragic and
triumphant tales.
“It took incredible determination to capture these heartbreaking stories in
the days and weeks following the failure of the levees,” says IDA Executive
Director Sandra Ruch. “This film gives us an in-depth, unbiased account of
the challenges that the people of New Orleans were, and are, facing. It also
highlights the rich culture and soul of the city as well as its unique,
resilient residents.”
The Continuing Series (four individual programs that best represent the
series) winner, Showtime’s THIS AMERICAN LIFE, was created by Ira
Glass/Chicago Public Radio and directed by Chris Wilcha. Inspired by the
Chicago public radio show of the same name, the 30-minute program looks at
stories culled from all over the country. Episodes have chronicled the plight
of an elementary school student who tries to solve a common childhood problem;
a rancher who resuscitates a beloved pet that later turns on him; and a group
of people who team-up to give an unknown rock band the greatest night of its
life.
The Limited Series (series of episodes with a specific continuing theme)
winner, THE SUPREME COURT, was directed by Thomas Lennon, produced by Mark
Zwoniter, and executive produced by Jody Sheff. The four-part PBS series
focuses on the history, impact, and drama of America’s highest court.
The IDA ABCNEWS VideoSource Award winner is given to the documentary that best
utilizes television news footage as an integral component of the work. SPUTNIK
MANIA was directed by David Hoffman, produced by Eric Reid, and executive
produced by Jay Walker. The film tells the story of the Soviet Union’s launch
of Sputnik 50 years ago, and what happened in America in the year that
followed.
The winners in the Feature, Short and Alan Ett Music Documentary categories
will be announced live during the IDA Awards Gala Benefit. A list of the films
nominated in these categories is available at the IDA Web site at
www.documentary.org.
The IDA is a nonprofit, membership organization based in Los Angeles. The
organization, now in its 25th year, was founded to promote and celebrate
nonfiction filmmakers and is dedicated to increasing public awareness and
appreciation of the documentary genre. For more information about the IDA and
2007 IDA Awards Gala Benefit, visit the IDA Web site.
Media Contact: Sally Christgau / Satosha Patterson
760-438-5250 (voice); 760-438-5230 (fax)
sallyc@ccspr.com / satoshap@ccspr.com
(EDITORS NOTE: A more detailed list of the winners and nominees is below.)
[ida]
IDA PARE LORENTZ NOMINEES
AMERICAN/SANDINISTA
Jason Blalock, director/producer
University of California at Berkeley
GOOD MORNING DANGME
Takaya Kawasaki, director/producer
New York University
MADE IN LA
Almudena Carracedo, director/producer
Robert Bahar, producer
Semilla Verde Productions, PBS/P.O.V.
OPERATION HOMECOMING: WRITING THE WARTIME EXPERIENCE
Richard E. Robbins, director/producer
Tom Yellin, executive producer
The Documentary Group, PBS
RHAPSODY OF THE ABSURD (RAPSODIA DO ABSURDO)
Cláudia Nunes, director/executive producer
RIBBON OF SAND
John Grabowska, director/producer
Harpers Ferry Center, PBS
STANDING SILENT NATION
Suree Towfighnia, director
Courtney Herman, producer
Prairie Dust Films, PBS/P.O.V.
A WALK TO BEAUTIFUL
Mary Olive Smith, director/producer
Steve Engel, executive producer
Engel Entertainment, Inc., PBS/WGBH International/NOVA
*WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE: A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS
Spike Lee, director/producer
Sam Pollard, producer
Jacqueline Glover, supervising producer
Sheila Nevins, executive producer
40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks/HBO Documentary Films, HBO
WHITE LIGHT/ BLACK RAIN
Steven Okazaki, director/producer
Farallon Films/ HBO Documentary Films, HBO
IDA CONTINUING SERIES NOMINEES
30 DAYS
Morgan Spurlock, RJ Cutler, Ben Silverman, H.T. Owens, executive producers
Keith Hoffman, Max Swedlow, supervising producers
Actual Reality, Reveille, FX Networks
Episodes Submitted: “Atheist/Christian,” “Immigration,” “Jail,”
“Outsourcing”
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
Mark Samels, executive producer
Sharon Grimberg, series producer
PBS
Episodes Submitted: “Alexander Hamilton” (Muffie Meyer, dir.), “The Gold
Rush” (Randall MacLowry, dir.), “New Orleans” (Stephen Ives, dir.), “Summer
of Love” (Gail Dolgin, Vicente Franco, dirs.)
AMERICAN MASTERS
Susan Lacy, executive producer
Prudence Glass, series producer
Julie Sacks, series supervising producer
Thirteen/WNET New York, PBS
Episodes Submitted: “Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film” (Ric Burns,
dir./prod., Donald Rosenfeld, Daniel Wolf, prods.), “John Ford/John Wayne:
The Filmmaker and the Legend” (Sam Pollard, dir., Ken Browser, prod.),
“Novel Reflections on the American Dream” (Michael Epstein, dir./prod.,
Julie Sacks, prod.), “Woody Guthrie: Ain’t Got No Home” (Peter Frumkin,
dir./prod., Susan Levene, prod.)
*THIS AMERICAN LIFE
Created By Ira Glass/Chicago Public Radio
Chris Wilcha, director
Diane Cooke, Jane Feltes, Sarah Koenig, Lisa Pollak, Alissa Shipp, Nancy
Updike, producers
Julie Snyder, Alex Blumberg, Ira Glass, Banks Tarver, Ken Druckerman,
Christine Vachon,
Jocelyn Hayes, executive producers
Left/Right, Killer Films, Chicago Public Radio, Showtime
Episodes Submitted: “Reality Check,” “Growth Spurt,” “The Cameraman,”
“God’s Close-Up”
WIDE ANGLE: SEASON FIVE
Pamela Hogan, Andy Halper, series producers
Stephen Segaller, executive producer
Thirteen/WNET New York, PBS
Episodes Submitted: “18 with a Bullet” (Ricardo Pollack, dir./prod.), “Back
to School” (Judy Katz, prod./writer), “Class of 2006” (Gini Reticker,
dir./prod./writer.; Charlotte Mangin, prod.), “Democracy in the Rough” (Fred
de Sam Lazaro, prod./writer)
IDA LIMITED SERIES NOMINEES
ADDICTION
Jon Alpert, Joe Berlinger, Kate Davis, Susan Froemke, Liz Garbus, Chris
Hegedus, David
Heilbroner, Eugene Jarecki, Ellen Goosenberg Kent, Barbara Kopple, Albert
Maysles, D.A.
Pennebaker, Alan Raymond, Susan Raymond, Bruce Sinofsky, Jessica Yu, directors
John Hoffman, Susan Froemke, producers
Sheila Nevins, executive producer
HBO Documentary Films, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National
Institute on Drug
Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, HBO
COMING OUT STORIES
Karen Goodman, Kirk Simon, directors/producers
Lauren Lazin, Eileen Opatut, executive producers
Simon & Goodman Picture Company, LOGO, a Viacom company
THE HILL
Ivy Meeropol, director/producer
Elizabeth Holder, Xan Parker, producers
Lynne Kirby, executive producer
Roland Park Films, Sundance Channel
*THE SUPREME COURT
Thomas Lennon, director
Mark Zwoniter, series producer
Jody Sheff, executive producer
Hidden Hill Productions for Thirteen/WNET New York, PBS
IDA ABCNEWS VIDEOSOURCE AWARD
AMERICAN/SANDINISTA
Jason Blalock, director/producer
University of California at Berkeley
HALF-LIFE: A JOURNEY TO CHERNOBYL
Phil Grabsky, David Bickerstaff, directors
Phil Grabsky, producer
Seventh Art Productions
MY KID COULD PAINT THAT
Amir Bar-Lev, director/producer
John Battsek, executive producer
Axis Films, Passion Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, A&E IndieFilms
NANKING
Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman, directors
Ted Leonsis, Michael Jacobs, producers
Agape Multimedia Partners, LLC; THINKFilm; HBO
RHAPSODY OF THE ABSURD (RAPSODIA DO ABSURDO)
Cláudia Nunes, director/executive producer
*SPUTNIK MANIA
David Hoffman, director
Eric Reid, producer
Jay Walker, executive producer
Varied Directions International
STEAL A PENCIL FOR ME
Michele Ohayon, director/producer
Theo Van De Sande, producer
Diamond Lane Films Inc., Red Envelope Entertainment
WHITE LIGHT/ BLACK RAIN
Steven Okazaki, director/producer
Farallon Films/ HBO Documentary Films, HBO
* Indicates winner
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