The Briefing Room

The International Documentary Association (IDA) has announced that 10 nonfiction films have been selected for consideration in the feature category for the 23rd Annual IDA Distinguished Documentary Achievement Awards Gala Benefit. In this preliminary round, the screening committee viewed the eligible documentaries to arrive at this short list. Jury members will now select the five 2007 nominees from these 10 titles.

The IDA‘s short list includes CRAZY LOVE, MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES, MY KID COULD PAINT THAT, NANKING, OPERATION HOMECOMING: WRITING THE WARTIME EXPERIENCE, SEPTEMBERS, SICKO, TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, A WALK TO BEAUTIFUL, and WAR/DANCE. (See below for more information on the individual films.)

“We received many outstanding entries from every part of the world,” says IDA President diane estelle Vicari. “The tremendous quality of the films submitted was heartening for all of us committed to encouraging the production and distribution of documentaries. It will be a difficult decision to narrow this down to just five nominees.”

The feature film nominations will be announced along with nominees in the series, special recognition and short film categories on October 11.

The winner in the feature film category will be announced live at the 2007 IDA Awards Gala Benefit here at the Directors Guild of America Theater on December 7.

The IDA is a nonprofit, membership organization based in Los Angeles. The organization was founded in 1982 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 Awards Gala Benefit, visit www.documentary.org.
#

[ida]

Short List for Feature Film Category

CRAZY LOVE
Director/Producer: Dan Klores
Producer: Fisher Stevens
Production Companies: Shoot the Moon Productions, Greenstreet Productions
Theatrical Distributor: Magnolia Pictures

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES
Director: Jennifer Baichwal
Producers: Nick De Pencier, Daniel Iron
Production Company: 2064275 Ontario Inc.
Theatrical/Broadcast Distributor: Zeitgeist Films Ltd.

MY KID COULD PAINT THAT
Director/Producer: Amir Bar-Lev
Executive Producer: John Battsek
Production Company: Axis Films, Passion Pictures
Theatrical Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Broadcast Distributor: A&E IndieFilms

NANKING
Directors: Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman
Producers: Ted Leonsis, Michael Jacobs
Production Company: Agape Multimedia Partners, LLC
Theatrical Distributor: THINKFilm
Broadcast Distributor: HBO

OPERATION HOMECOMING: WRITING THE WARTIME EXPERIENCE
Director/Producer: Richard E. Robbins
Executive Producer: Tom Yellin
Production Company: The Documentary Group
Theatrical Distributor: The Documentary Group
Broadcast Distributor: PBS

SEPTEMBERS
Director/Executive Producer: Carlos Bosch
Executive Producer: Tono Folguera
Production Company: Bausan Films S. L.
Theatrical Distributor: Bausan Films S. L., Sagrera S.A.
Broadcast Distributor: Bausan Films S. L., Sagrera S.A.

SICKO
Director: Michael Moore
Producers: Michael Moore, Meghan O‘Hara
Production Company: Dog Eat Dog Films
Theatrical Distributor: Lionsgate Films, The Weinstein Company

TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
Director/Producer: Alex Gibney
Producer: Susannah Shipman
Production Company: X-Ray Productions
Theatrical Distributor: THINKFilm
Broadcast Distributor: Discovery Channel

A WALK TO BEAUTIFUL
Director/Producer: Mary Olive Smith
Executive Producer: Steve Engel
Production Company: Engel Entertainment, Inc.
Broadcast Distributor: PBS/WGBH International/NOVA

WAR/DANCE
Directors: Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine
Producer: Albie Hecht
Production Companies: Fine Films, Shine Global
Theatrical Distributor: THINKFilm
Broadcast Distributor: Sundance Channel
#