The IDA Documentary Awards has become the latest Hollywood trophyfest to see its plans altered amid a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the highly contagious omicron variant.
The awards show is shifting from its original date of Saturday, Feb. 5, to Friday, March 4, and going from an in-person event to a virtual one.
The online celebration will recognize the top nonfiction films and programs of the past year and celebrate IDA’s 40th year of serving the documentary community. There will be a separate event recognizing the IDA honorees later this year, the organization announced.
The voting period for IDA members in the best feature and best short categories has been extended through Sunday, Feb. 13.
“The IDA Documentary Awards will convene the global documentary community online to celebrate the role nonfiction storytelling plays in contemporary society and to commemorate the organization’s 40th anniversary,”
IDA executive director Rick Pérez said in a statement. “While so many of us had hoped this event would be held in-person, we now turn our attention to producing an exciting virtual show.”
The shift is just the latest move by a Hollywood event amid the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County and nationwide and comes just a day after the Sundance Film Festival moved online, the Grammys postponed its Jan. 31 awards show to a date to be determined, and the American Cinema Editors’ Eddie Awards moved from Feb. 26 to March 5.
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