IDA Documentary Awards: 'City of Ghosts,' 'L.A. 92' and 'Strong Island' Among Best Feature Nominees
The International Documentary Association also unveiled the nominations for best short and its creative recognition award winners.

The IDA Documentary Awards on Wednesday unveiled its nominees in the categories of best feature and best short and the recipients of its creative recognition awards.
The best feature nominees are City of Ghosts, L.A. 92, Strong Island, Dina and Faces Places. The winners in that category and the best short category are decided by International Documentary Association members. L.A. 92 also scored a nomination in the ABC News VideoSource award category, where it is competing against CNN Films' Elian, Netflix's Icarus and Blood on the Mountain (co-distributed by Virgil Films) and Kino Lorber's Obit.
“The diverse array of films nominated this year underscore the vibrancy and elasticity of documentary form,” IDA executive director Simon Kilmurry said in a statement. “These films address the most urgent contemporary global matters — and the most intimate emotional territory. All of them demonstrate the courage and ingenuity of nonfiction media makers.”
In terms of the creative recognition award winners, Rodrigo Trejo Villanueva won for best cinematography for his work on Machines; Bill Morrison won for best editing for his work on Dawson City: Frozen Time; Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin won for best music for their original score for Brimstone and Glory; and Chico Pereira, Manuel Pereira and Gabriel Molera won for best writing for Donkeyote.
The IDA also will honor director Marcel Mettelsiefen's Watani: My Homeland with the Pare Lorentz Award, with Joe Berlinger's Intent to Destroy receiving a special mention in that category.
The best limited series nominees are HBO's The Defiant Ones; Netflix's The Keepers; Ken Burns' The Vietnam War for PBS; Spike's Time: The Kalief Browder Story, executive produced by Jay-Z; and Daughters of Destiny.
The best episodic series nominees are CNN's Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown; Netflix's Chef's Table; A&E's Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath; National Geographic's Mars; and BBC America's Planet Earth II.
The 33rd annual IDA Awards will take place Saturday, Dec. 9, at Los Angeles' Paramount Theatre.
A full list of nominees follows.
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Pare Lorentz Award
Watani: My Homeland
(Recipient)
Director: Marcel MettelsiefenIntent to Destroy
(Special Mention)
Director: Joe Berlinger -
ABC News VideoSource Award
Blood On The Mountain
Directors: Mari-Lynn Evans and Jordan Freeman
Virgil Films/NetflixElian
Directors: Tim Golden and Ross McDonnell
Gravitas Ventures, CNN FilmsIcarus
Director: Bryan Fogel
NetflixLA 92
Directors: Dan Lindsay & TJ Martin
National GeographicObit.
Director: Vanessa Gould
Kino Lorber -
Best Curated Series
American Experience
Executive Producer: Mark Samels
PBSDokumania
Executive Producer: Anders Bruus
DRIndependent Lens
Executive Producers: Lois Vossen and Sally Jo Fifer
PBSPOV
Executive Producers: Justine Nagan and Chris White
PBSREEL SOUTH
Executive Producers: Rachel Raney and Amy Shumaker
UNC-TV, South Carolina ETV, NETA and WORLD -
Best Limited Series
Daughters of Destiny
Executive Producer: Vanessa Roth
NetflixThe Defiant Ones
Executive Producers: Allen Hughes, Doug Pray, Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Laura Lancaster, Michael Lombardo, Gene Kirkwood, and Jerry Longarzo
HBOThe Keepers
Executive Producers: Ryan White and Jessica Hargrave
NetflixThe Vietnam War
Executive Producer: Ken Burns
PBS/WETATIME: The Kalief Browder Story
Executive Producers: Jenner Furst, Nick Sandow, Julia Willoughby Nason, Michael Gasparro, Shawn “JAY Z” Carter, Sharon Levy, Chachi Senior
Spike -
Best Episodic Series
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
Executive Producers: Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia and Sandra Zweig
CNNChef’s Table
Executive Producers: David Gelb, Matthew Weaver, Brian McGinn, Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard and Matthew Hilliard
NetflixLeah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath
Executive Producers: Leah Remini, Aaron Saidman, Alex Weresow, Devon-Graham-Hammonds, Elaine Frontain Bryant and Amy Savitsky
A&EMARS
Executive Producers: Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Michael Rosenberg, Dave O’Connor, Jon Kamen, Tommy Turtle, David Sirulnick, Jonathan Silberberg, Lorenzo Mieli, Everardo Gout, Justin Wilkes, Tim Pastore, Matt Renner, Robert Palumbo, and David Sirulneck
National GeographicPlanet Earth II
Executive Producer: Michael Gunton
BBC AMERICA/BBC Worldwide -
Best Short Form Series
Field of Vision
Executive Producers: Laura Poitras, AJ Schnack and Charlotte Cook
Field of VisionShorts on Time
Executive Producer: Julie Parker Benello
LifetimeThe Guardian documentaries
Executive Producers: Charlie Phillips and Lindsay Poulton
The GuardianThe New York Times Op-Docs
Executive Producer: Kathleen Lingo
The New York TimesThe Secret Life of Muslims
Executive Producers: Joshua Seftel and Reza Aslan
Vox -
David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award
Believers
Director: Ray Whitehouse University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChomo
Director: Maayan Arad of National Film and Television School (United Kingdom)How To Make A Pearl
Director: Jason Hanasik of UC Berkeley Graduate School of JournalismMan on Fire
Director: Joel Fendelman University of Texas, AustinRoom 140
Director: Priscilla Gonzalez Sainz oof Stanford University -
Best Feature
City of Ghosts
Director/Producer: Matthew Heineman
Amazon StudiosDina
Directors/Producers: Antonio Santini and Dan Sickles
The OrchardFaces Places
Directors: Agnès Varda and JR
Cohen Media GroupLA 92
Directors: Dan Lindsay & TJ Martin
Producers: Jonathan Chinn, Simon Chinn, Tim Pastore, Matt Renner and Sarah Gibson
National GeographicStrong Island
Director/Producer: Yance Ford
Producer Joslyn Barnes
Netflix -
Best Short
Edith+Eddie
Director: Laura Checkoway
Producer: Thomas Lee Wright
Kartemquin FilmsThe Fight
Directors/Producers: Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw
The GuardianHeaven Is A Traffic Jam On The 405
Director/Producer: Frank StiefelLong Shot
Director: Jacob LaMendola
Producers: Jacob LaMendola, Mary Beth Minthorn, Milos S. Silber and Todd Wiseman Jr.
NetflixMr. Connolly Has ALS
Director/Producer: Dan Habib
Impact Media PartnersThe Rabbit Hunt Director: Patrick Bresnan
Producer: Ivete Lucas
Topic Studios -
Creative Recognition Award Winners
Best Cinematography
Machines
Cinematography by: Rodrigo Trejo Villanueva
Kino LorberBest Editing
Dawson City: Frozen Time
Edited by: Bill Morrison
Kino LorberBest Music
Brimstone & Glory
Original Score by: Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin
Oscilloscope LaboratoriesBest Writing
Donkeyote
Written by: Chico Pereira, Manuel Pereira and Gabriel Molera
Scottish Documentary Institute