Leading nominations in the film categories are “All That Breathes” and “Fire of Love,” each with five. Meanwhile, films like “The Territory” and “Descendant,” which have been recognized by other awards bodies like the Cinema Eye Honors, are nowhere to be found on this year’s IDA Awards’ nominees list. It is somewhat expected, as nominees in each of the Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary categories had been selected from the shortlists previously announced. IDA members will now have access to view each of the nominated films and to vote for Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary starting November 18, 2022.
This year, the IDA Documentary Awards shortlists and nominees were selected by independent committees of 310 documentary makers, curators, critics, and industry experts from 52 countries. IDA received 806 total submissions in all categories, 40% of which are internationally produced or co-produced projects from 86 countries. The 38th IDA Documentary Awards will be held on December 10, 2022, at the Paramount Theater on the Paramount Studios Lot in Los Angeles. See the full list of IDA Awards nominees below.
Best Feature Documentary Nominees
“All that Breathes” (India, United States, United Kingdom | Sideshow and Submarine Deluxe, HBO Documentary Films | Director/Producer: Shaunak Sen | Producers: Aman Mann, Teddy Leifer) “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” (United States | NEON, Participant, HBO | Director/Producer: Laura Poitras | Producers: Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov) “Fire of Love” (United State, Canada | National Geographic, NEON | Director/Producer: Sara Dosa | Producers: Shane Boris, Ina Fichman) “A House Made of Splinters” (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine | Director: Simon Lereng Wilmont | Producer: Monica Hellström) “Katrina Babies” (United States | HBO Documentary Films, HBO Max | Director/Producer: Edward Buckles, Jr. | Producers: Audrey Rosenberg, Rebecca Teitel) “Mija” (United States | Disney+ | Director: Isabel Castro | Producers: Tabitha Breese, Yesenia Tlahuel) “Navalny” (United States, Germany, Russian Federation | Warner Bros Pictures, CNN Films, HBO Max | Director: Daniel Roher | Producers: Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Shane Boris) “No Simple Way Home” (South Sudan, Kenya, South Africa | LBx Africa, STEPS, APO | Director: Akuol de Mabior | Producers: Sam Soko, Don Edkins, Tiny Mungwe)
“The Pawnshop” (Poland | Syndicado | Director/Producer: Lukasz Kowalski | Producer: Anna Mazerant) “Young Plato” (Ireland, United Kingdom, Belgium | Autlook Film Sales | Directors: Neasa Ní Chianáin, Declan McGrath | Producers: David Rane, Hanne Phlypo, Céline Nusse, Jackie Doyle) NatGeo/Neon
Best Director Nominees
Laura Poitras (“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”) | United States | NEON, Participant, HBO. Lukasz Kowalski (“The Pawnshop”) | Poland | Syndicado. Sara Dosa (“Fire of Love”) | United States, Canada | National Geographic, NEON. Shaunak Sen (“All that Breathes”) | India, United States, United Kingdom | Sideshow and Submarine Deluxe, HBO Documentary Films. Simon Lereng Wilmont (“A House Made of Splinters”) | Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine.
Best Short Documentary Nominees
“ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught)” (United States | Reciprocity Project, Nia Tero, Upstander Project, REI Co-op Studios, L.A. Times Short Docs | Director: Brit Hensel | Producers: Taylor Hensel, Adam Mazo, Kavita Pillay, Tracy Rector) “The Benevolents” (Canada | The New York Times Op-Docs | Director/Producer: Sarah Baril Gaudet) “The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone” (Australia | Netflix | Directors/Producers: Maya Newell | Producers: Sophie Hyde, Matthew Bate, Lisa Sherrard) “Haulout” (United Kingdom | Rise And Shine World Sales, The New Yorker | Directors/Producers: Evgenia Arbugaeva, Maxim Arbugaev) “I Am Trying to Remember” (Czech Republic, Islamic Republic Of Iran | Europe Media Nest s.r.o., The New Yorker | Director: Pegah Ahangarani | Producer: Kaveh Farnam) “In Flow of Words” (Netherlands | The New Yorker, Condé Nast | Director: Eliane Esther Bots | Producer: Manon Bovenkerk) “Love, Barbara” (United States | Women Make Movies | Director/Producer: Brydie O’Connor | Producer: Myriam Schroeter) “Nuisance Bear” (Canada | The New Yorker | Directors/Producers: Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden | Producers: Jack Weisman, Will N. Miller) “The Silent Shore” (France | The New Yorker, Condé Nast Entertainment | Directors/Producers: Nathalie Giraud, Timothée Corteggiani | Producer: Anne Bruneau) “Two-Spirit” (Colombia | The New Yorker | Director: Mónica Taboada-Tapia | Producer: Beto Rosero)
Best TV Feature Documentary or Mini-Series Nominees
“Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes” (United Kingdom | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max | Director/Producer: James Jones | Executive Producer: Darren Kemp) “Dream On” (United States | ESPN | Director: Kristen Lappas | Executive Producers: Marsha Cooke, John Dahl, Rob King, Erin Leyden, Brian Lockhart, Burke Magnus, Carol Stiff)
“Endangered” (United States | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max | Directors/Producers: Rachel Grady, Heidi Ewing | Producers: Alex Takats | Executive Producers: Ronan Farrow, Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller) “Fannie Lou Hamer’s America” (United States | American Documentary, WORLD Channel, PBS | Director: Joy Elaine Davenport | Producer/Executive Producer: Monica Land | Producers: Robert Y. Chang, Hannah Paul | Executive Producers: Selena Lauterer, Erika Dilday, Chris White, Christopher Hastings, Carmen L. Vicencio) “Four Hours at the Capitol” (United Kingdom | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max | Director/Producer: Jamie Roberts | Executive Producers: Dan Reed, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller)
Best Curated Series Nominee
“America ReFramed” (United States | American Documentary, WORLD Channel | Executive Producers: Erika Dilday, Chris White, Christopher Hastings) “American Masters” (United States | THIRTEEN Productions | Executive Producer: Michael Kantor) “Independent Lens” (United States | PBS | Executive Producer: Lois Vossen) “POV” (Canada, Germany, Myanmar | PBS | Executive Producers: Erika Dilday; Chris White) “Reel South” (United States | PBS | Executive Producers: Rachel Raney, Don Godish, Donal Washington, Linda Midgett)
Best Episodic Series Nominees
“America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston” (United States | PBS & Twin Cities PBS (TPT) | Executive Producers: Michael Rosenfeld, David Shadrack Smith, Melissa Wood, Bill Gardner) “Dear…” (United States | Matador Content, Apple TV+ | Executive Producers: Donny Jackson, Lyle Gamm, Jane Cha Cutler, Todd Lubin, Jay Peterson, R.J. Cutler) “Evolve” (Singapore | CuriosityStream | Executive Producers: Donovan Chan, Jocelyn Little, Rob Sixsmith, Thore Vollert) “Origins of Hip Hop” (United States | A&E | Executive Producers: Peter Bittenbender, Slane Hatch, Mark Grande, Brad Abramson, Elaine Frontain Bryant) “Vice” (United States | Showtime | Executive Producers: Beverly Chase, Subrata De)
Best Multi-Part Documentary Nominees
“Children of the Underground” (United States | FX | Directors/Executive Producers: Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Ted Gesing | Producers: Grace Fardella, Giona Jefferson | Executive Producers: Dan Cogan, Liz Garbus, Jon Bardin, Kate Barry) “Hostages” (United States | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max | Directors: Abbas Motlagh | Directors/Producers: Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre, Sam Pollard, Joshua Bennett | Producers: Saralena Weinfield | Executive Producers: Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez) “Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey” (United States | Netflix | Director/Producer: Grace McNally | Director/Executive Producer: Rachel Dretzin | Executive Producers: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Miura Kite, Zachary Herrmann, Alison Dammann)
“Meltdown: Three Mile Island” (United States | Netflix | Director/Executive Producer: Kief Davidson | Producer: William Wheeler | Executive Producers: Carla Santos Shamberg, Michael Shamberg, Dan Levinson, Robert Fernandez) “We Need to Talk About Cosby” (United States | SHOWTIME Documentary Films, Boardwalk Pictures Production, WKB Industries | Director/Executive Producer: W. Kamau Bell | Executive Producers: Katie A. King, Andrew Fried, Sarina Roma, Jordan Wynn, Dane Lillegard, Vinnie Malhotra)
Best Short-Form Series Nominees
“Couples Therapy” (United States | Showtime | Producers: Matthew Parker, Carly Hugo, Maya Seidler | Executive Producers: Eli B. Despres, Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg, Vinnie Malhotra) “Not So Pretty” (United States | HBO Max | Producers: Alexandra Marske, Kat Nguyen | Executive Producers: Kirby Dick, Tara Long, Amy Ziering) “POV Shorts” (United States | PBS | Producer: Opal H. Bennett | Executive Producers: Erika Dilday, Chris White) “Reciprocity Project” (Venezuela, Colombia | Producer: Taylor Hensel, Adam Mazo, Kavita Pillay | Producer/Executive Producer: Tracy Rector | Executive Producer: Nani Sahra Walker) “Witness” (Mexico, Mongolia, United Kingdom | Al Jazeera English | Producers: Emma Norton, Joe Hamilton | Executive Producers: Fiona Lawson-Baker, Ingrid Falck)
Best Stand-Alone Audio Documentary Nominees
“Documenting a Death by Euthanasia” (United States | The New York Times | Host/Reporter: Lynsey Addario | Sound Engineers: Corey Schreppel, Marion Lozano | Producer: Sayre Quevedo) “Jorge, Gina y Dante” (Mexico | CUIR: Historias Disidentes, Esto no es radio | Host/Reporter: Dante Ureta | Host/Reporter/Sound Engineer/Producer: Erick Yáñez) “‘Limbo’ from Latino USA, Futuro Media, and PRX” (United States, Spain | Futuro Media, PRX | Host/Reporter: Miguel Macias | Sound Engineers: Stephanie Lebow; Julia Caruso | Producers: Sophia Paliza-Carre, Marta Martinez, Andrea Lopez-Cruzado) “Replaying The Day through the Sewol Ferry Archives” (Republic of Korea | KBS | Host/Reporter: Park DaeSik | Sound Engineer: Kang WooSeok | Producer: Lee Eunmi) “Weekend World” (United States | VICE News Reports | Host/Reporter: Lynsey Addario | Sound Engineers: Corey Schreppel, Marion Lozano | Producers: Sayre Quevedo)
Best Multi-Part Audio Documentary or Series Nominees
“Class Action” (United States | Host/Reporter: Katie Phang | Sound Engineer/Producer: Lisa Gray | Producer: Kevin Huffman) “Imperfect Paradise: The Forgotten Revolutionary” (United States | LAist Studios | Host: Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | Sound Engineer: E. Scott Kelly | Producer(s): Natalie Chudnovsky, James Chow, Francisco Aviles Pino, Antonia Ceredijido, Leo G) “Heavyweight” (United States | Spotify | Host: Jonathan Goldstein | Reporters/Producers: Stevie Lane, Kalila Holt, Mona Madgavkar)
“Southlake” (United States | NBC News | Hosts/Reporters: Mike Hixenbaugh, Antonia Hylton | Sound Engineers: Bryson Barnes, Seth Samuel | Producers: Frannie Kelley, Reid Cherlin) “Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s” (Canada | Spotify | Host: Connie Walker | Sound Engineers: Emma Munger, Catherine Anderson | Producers: Ellen Frankman, Max Green, Anya Schultz, Chantelle Bellrichard, Betty Ann Adam) Courtesy IDA
Best Music Documentary Nominees
“Cesâria Évora” (Portugal | Director/Producer: Ana Sofia Fonseca | Producer: Irina Calado) “Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues” (United States | Apple TV+ | Director/Producer: Sacha Jenkins | Producers: Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Julie Anderson) “Moonage Daydream” (United States | NEON | Director/Producer: Brett Morgen) “Nothing Compares” (United Kingdom, Ireland | SHOWTIME Documentary Films | Director: Kathryn Ferguson | Producers: Eleanor Emptage, Michael Mallie) “You’re Watching Video Music Box” (United States | Showtime | Director: Nasir ‘Nas’ Jones | Producer: Steve Rivo)
David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award Nominees
“3 Promises” (United Kingdom | National Film and Television School | Director/Producer: Mohamed Shalaby | Producer: Carolina Cordero) “Compton’s 22” (United States | The New Yorker, Stanford University | Director: Drew de Pinto | Producers: Azza Cohen, Susan Stryker, Victor Silverman) “Eagle Rest In Liangshan” (United States, China | New York University | Director/Producer: Bohao Liu) “La Casa del Migrante” (United States | Northwestern University | Director/Producers: Olivia Yarvis, Yaakov Gottlieb, Samuel Heller) “Requiem for a Whale” (Israel | The Steve Tisch School Of Film and Television, Tel-Aviv University | Director/Producer: Ido Weisman)
Best Cinematography Nominees
“All That Breathes” (India, United States, United Kingdom | Sideshow and Submarine Deluxe, HBO Documentary Films | Cinematographers: Ben Bernhard, Riju Das, Saumyananda Sahi) “Fire of Love” (United State, Canada | National Geographic, NEON | Cinematographers: Maurice Krafft, Katia Krafft, Pablo Alvarez-Mesa) “Geographies of Solitude” (Canada | Cinema Guild | Cinematographer: Jacquelyn Mills) “A House Made of Splinters” (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine | Cinematographer: Simon Lereng Wilmont) “Octopus” (Lebanon | Cinematographer: Karim Kassem)
Best Editing Nominees
“All That Breathes” (India, United States, United Kingdom | Sideshow and Submarine Deluxe, HBO Documentary Films | Editor: Charlotte Munch Bengtsen) “Fire of Love” (United State, Canada | National Geographic, NEON | Editors: Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput) “The Princess” (United States | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max | Editors: Daniel Lapira, Jinx Godfrey)
“Sam Now” (United State | Independent Lens | Editors: Jason Reid, Darren Lund)
Best Music Score Nominees
“The Fire That Took Her” (United States | MTV Documentary Films | Composer: Katy Jarzebowski) “Good Night Oppy” (United States | Prime Video | Composer: Blake Neely) “Master of Light” (United States | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max | Composer: Gary Gunn) “The Melt Goes On Forever: The Art & Times of David Hammons” (United States | Composer: Ramachandra Borcar)
Best Writing Nominees
“8 Stories About My Hearing Loss” (Argentina, Uruguay | Writer: Charo Mato) “Eternal Spring” (Canada | Lofty Sky Distribution, Sideways Film, VICE, Arte | Writer: Jason Loftus) “Fire of Love” (United State, Canada | National Geographic, NEON | Writers: Sara Dosa, Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput, Shane Boris) “Last Flight Home” (United States | MTV Documentary Films | Writer: Ondi Timoner) “No Simple Way Home” (South Sudan, Kenya, South Africa | LBx Africa, STEPS, APO | Writer: Akuol de Mabior)
ABC News VideoSource Award Winner
Winner: “Riotsville, U.S.A.” (United States | Magnolia Pictures | Directors: Sierra Pettengill | Producers: Sara Archambault, Jamila Wignot) Nominees “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” (United States | Netflix | Director/Producer: Rory Kennedy | Producers: Keven McAlester, Amanda Rohlke, Brian Grazer, Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Mark Bailey, Rory Kennedy) “Diamond Hands: The Legend of WallStreetBets” (United States | MSNBC | Directors/Producers: Zack Canepari, Drea Cooper | Producers: Gary Kout, Myles Este, Molly O’Brien) “Love and the Constitution” (United States | MSNBC | Director: Madeleine Carter | Producers: Molly O’Brien, Amanda Spain) “The Price of Conflict” (Ukraine | Directors: Volodymyr Sydko | Producers: Polina Herman)
Pare Lorentz Award Winner
Winner: “All that Breathes” (India, United States, United Kingdom | Sideshow and Submarine Deluxe, HBO Documentary Films | Director/Producer: Shaunak Sen | Producers: Aman Mann, Teddy Leifer) Honorable Mention: “Nuisance Bear” (Canada | The New Yorker | Directors/Producers: Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden | Producers: Will N. Miller) Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
