{"id":142069,"date":"2025-11-19T00:34:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T00:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/142069\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T00:34:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T00:34:11","slug":"ida-documentary-awards-2025-nominations-see-full-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/142069\/","title":{"rendered":"IDA Documentary Awards 2025 Nominations: See Full List"},"content":{"rendered":"

The International Documentary Association has announced the nominees for its 41st IDA Documentary Awards<\/a> happening on Saturday, December 6 in Los Angeles, California.<\/p>\n

Among the nominees are Netflix acquisition \u201cApocalypse in the Tropics<\/a>\u201d and National Geographic film<\/a> \u201cThe Tale of Silyan<\/a>,\u201d both directed by past Best Documentary Feature Oscar nominees. Missing from the list is most notably \u201cThe Perfect Neighbor,\u201d a Sundance hit that was also acquired by Netflix, and recently won several awards at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards<\/a>, including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director.<\/p>\n

IDA received 550+ entries in all categories from 85 countries, an increase over last year in the total number of countries represented. IDA Documentary Awards<\/a> entries were reviewed by jurors consisting of many dozens of documentary professionals from around the world.<\/p>\n

\"Dominic<\/a> \"Will<\/a> <\/p>\n

This year, in place of announcing a shortlist for Best Feature and Best Short followed by nominations, IDA\u2019s juries have included special mentions alongside nominees to recognize more of this year\u2019s films.<\/p>\n

IDA members will have access to view each of the nominated films and to vote for the winners in the Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary categories from November 19 to December 2, 2025. All other category winners are selected by juries representing the international documentary community.<\/p>\n

Winners in two special categories, the ABC News VideoSource Award and the Pare Lorentz Award, will also be announced on December 6, 2025.<\/p>\n

At this year\u2019s ceremony, documentary producer Julie Goldman will receive the Career Achievement Award, Brittany Shyne (\u201cSeeds\u201d) will receive the Emerging Filmmaker Award, and Impact Partners will be presented with the Pioneer Award.<\/p>\n

Nominees in each category are listed in alphabetical order by film title.<\/p>\n

Best Feature Documentary Nominees<\/p>\n

\u201cApocalypse in the Tropics\u201d (United States | Netflix | Director: Petra Costa | Producers:
Alessandra Orofino, Petra Costa)
\u201cLife After\u201d (United States | Multitude Films | Director: Reid Davenport | Producer: Colleen
Cassingham)
\u201cSeeds\u201d (United States | Director: Brittany Shyne | Producers: Danielle Varga, Sabrina Schmidt
Gordon, Brittany Shyne)
\u201cSongs of Slow Burning Earth\u201d (Ukraine, Sweden, Denmark | EPF Media | Director: Olha
Zhurba | Producer: Darya Bassel)
\u201cThe Tale of Silyan\u201d (Republic of North Macedonia, United States, United Kingdom | National
Geographic | Director: Tamara Kotevska | Producers: Tamara Kotevska, Jean Dakar, Anna
Hashmi, Jordanco Petkovski)<\/p>\n

Best Feature Documentary Special Mentions<\/p>\n

\u201cCome See Me in the Good Light\u201d (United States | Apple | Director: Ryan White | Producers:
Jessica Hargrave, Ryan White, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen)
\u201cCover-Up\u201d (United States | Netflix | Director: Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus | Producers: Yoni
Golijov, Olivia Streisand, Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus)
\u201cDeaf President Now!\u201d (United States | Apple | Directors: Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim |
Producers: Amanda Rohlke, Davis Guggenheim, Jonathan King, Nyle DiMarco, Michael Harte,
Wayne Betts Jr.)
\u201cMothers of Chibok\u201d (United States, Nigeria | Director: Joel \u2018Kachi Benson | Producers: Jamie
Patricof, Katie McNeill, Rachel Halilej, Joel \u2018Kachi Benson, Samira Mohammed, Adeyinka
Oduniyi)
\u201cOrwell: 2+2=5\u201d (United States | NEON | Director: Raoul Peck | Producers: Alex Gibney, Raoul
Peck, George Chignell, Nick Shumaker)
\u201cYanuni\u201d (Austria, Brazil, United States | Director: Richard Ladkani | Producers: Anita Ladkani,
Richard Ladkani, Juma Xipaia, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson, Phillip Watson)<\/p>\n

Best Short Documentary Nominees<\/p>\n

\u201cCorrect Me If I\u2019m Wrong\u201d (Germany, United States | Director: Hao Zhou | Producer: Tyler Hill)
\u201cIf a Walnut Falls\u201d (China, Hong Kong | Director: Bohao Liu | Producer: Bohao Liu)
\u201cLooking for a Donkey\u201d (Mexico, Venezuela | Director: Juan Vicente Manrique | Producers: Juan
Vicente Manrique, Mar\u00eda Ben\u00edtez)
\u201cMama Micra\u201d (Germany | interfilm Berlin | Director: Rebecca Bl\u00f6cher | Co-director: Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric
Schuld | Producer: Fabian Driehorst)
\u201cTheir Eyes\u201d (France, United States | The New York Times Op-Docs | Director: Nicolas Gourault |
Producers: Yannick Beauquis and Quentin Brayer)<\/p>\n

Best Short Documentary Special Mentions<\/p>\n

\u201cAll The Empty Rooms\u201d (United States | Netflix | Director: Joshua Seftel | Producers: Joshua
Seftel, Conall Jones, James Costa, Trevor Burgess)
\u201cThe Candy Factory\u201d (United States | The New Yorker | Directors: Cory Jacobs and Jason
Schmidt | Producers: Cory Jacobs and Jason Schmidt)
\u201cLandscapes of Longing\u201d (India, United States | Directors: Alisha Tejpal, Mireya Martinez,
Anoushka Mirchandani | Producers: Alisha Tejpal, Mireya Martinez)
\u201cperfectly a strangeness\u201d (Canda, Chile | Premium Films | Director: Alison McAlpine | Producer:
Alison McAlpine)
\u201cPlease Step Aside!\u201d (Germany | Raha Films | Director: Raha Faridi | Producer: Raha Faridi)
Voices From The Abyss (Mexico | EPF Media | Directors: Irving Serrano & V\u00edctor Rej\u00f3n |
Producer: Ram\u00f3n Llaven Zavala)<\/p>\n

Best Director<\/p>\n

Petra Costa, \u201cApocalypse in the Tropics\u201d (United States | Netflix)
Reid Davenport, \u201cLife After\u201d (United States | Multitude Films)
Brittany Shyne, \u201cSeeds\u201d (United States)
Olha Zhurba, \u201cSongs of Slow Burning Earth\u201d (Ukraine, Sweden, Denmark | EPF Media)
Tamara Kotevska, \u201cThe Tale of Silyan\u201d (Republic of North Macedonia, United States, United
Kingdom | National Geographic)<\/p>\n

Best Cinematography<\/p>\n

Ben Sturgulewski, \u201cChampions of the Golden Valley\u201d (United States)
Subhadeep Dey, Mrinmoy Mondal, Rupesh Chaturbedi, \u201cRedlight to Limelight\u201d (India, Finland,
Latvia | BBC Storyville)
Jean Dakar, \u201cThe Tale of Silyan\u201d (Republic of North Macedonia, United States, United Kingdom |
National Geographic)
Natalia Pietsch, Grzegorz Piekarski, \u201cThe Town That Drove Away\u201d (Poland | Polish National
TV<\/a>)
Richard Ladkani, \u201cYanuni\u201d (Austria, Brazil, United States)<\/p>\n

Best Editing<\/p>\n

Julia Loktev, \u201cMy Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2014 Last Air in Moscow\u201d (United States | Argot)
Pablo Proenza, \u201cNatchez\u201d (United States | ITVS)
Jason Reid, Robinson Devor, Adam Sekuler, Matt Levinthal, \u201cSuburban Fury\u201d (United States)
Daniel Claridge, Pedro Kos, Sara Newens, \u201cThe White House Effect\u201d (United States | Netflix)
Alex Megaro, Ian Bell, \u201cWTO\/99\u201d (United States)<\/p>\n

Best Original Music Score<\/p>\n

Sam Slater, \u201cDivia\u201d (Ukraine, Poland, Netherlands)
Mato Wayuhi, \u201cFree Leonard Peltier\u201d (United States)
Matthew Dougherty, \u201cShuffle\u201d (United States)
Fr\u00e9deric Filiartre, \u201cThe Sorcerer: Julio Zachrisson\u201d (Panama)
Afshin Azizi, \u201cWriting Hawa\u201d (France, Netherlands, Qatar | First Hand FIlms, Icarus Films)<\/p>\n

Best Production<\/p>\n

Alessandra Orofino, Petra Costa, \u201cApocalypse in the Tropics\u201d (United States | Netflix)
Yoni Golijov, Olivia Streisand, Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus, \u201cCover-Up\u201d (United States |
Netflix)
Colleen Cassingham, \u201cLife After\u201d (United States | Multitude Films)
Danielle Varga, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, Brittany Shyne, \u201cSeeds\u201d (United States)
Andrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman, \u201cThe Alabama Solution\u201d (United States | HBO Max)<\/p>\n

Best Sound Design<\/p>\n

Yannick Dauby, \u201cAlways\u201d (United States, France, Taiwan)
Alexander Dudarev, \u201cArchitecton\u201d (Germany, France, United States | A24)
Thomas Perez-Pape, \u201cOnly on Earth\u201d (Denmark, Spain | DR, HBO, SVT)
Rico Andriolo, Manu Gerber, \u201cSong of Breath\u201d (Switzerland, Italy)
Rub\u00ed J. P\u00e9rez, \u201cThe Silence of My Hands\u201d (Mexico | AD Maiora)<\/p>\n

Best Writing<\/p>\n

Petra Costa, Alessandra Orofino, Nels Bangerter, David Barker, \u201cApocalypse in the Tropics\u201d
(United States | Netflix)
Bipuljit Basu, \u201cRedlight to Limelight\u201d (India, Finland, Latvia | BBC Storyville)
Sasha Wortzel, \u201cRiver of Grass\u201d (United States)
Cristina Costantini, Tom Maroney, \u201cSally\u201d (United States | National Geographic)
Robinson Devor, Jason Reid, Bob Fink, Charles Mudede, \u201cSuburban Fury\u201d (United States)<\/p>\n

Best Curated Series<\/p>\n

\u201c99\u201d (France | EP: J\u00e9r\u00f4me Plan)
\u201cIndependent Lens\u201d (United States | PBS | EPs: Lois Vossen, Carrie Lozano, Royd Chung)
\u201cPOV Season 38\u201d (United States | PBS | EPs: Erika Dilday, Chris White)
\u201cPOV Shorts Season 8\u201d (United States | PBS | EPs: Opal H. Bennett, Erika Dilday, Chris White)
\u201cThe New York Times Op-Docs\u201d (United States | The New York Times Op-Docs | EPs: Kathleen Kingsbury, Adam B. Ellick, Alexandra Garcia)<\/p>\n

Best Episodic Series<\/p>\n

\u201cCitizen Nation\u201d (United States | PBS | Directors: Bret Sigler, Singeli Agnew | Producers:
Veronika Adaskova, Emily Orr, Wesley Harris, Cole Cahill, Victor Couto, Tom Brown)
\u201cEarnhardt\u201d (United States | Prime Video | Director: Joshua Altman | Producers: Riel
Roch-Decter, Tally Hair, Rebecca Russell)
\u201cEyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015\u201d (United States |
HBO Max | Directors: Geeta Gandbhir, Samantha Knowles, Muta\u2019Ali, Rudy Valdez, Smriti
Mundhra, Asako Gladsjo | Producers: Asako Gladsjo, Nimco Sheikhaden, Jevon Frank, Leah
Smith, Clare Smith Marash, Niema Jordan)
\u201cThe Sing Sing Chronicles\u201d (United States | PNBC News Studios in association with Trilogy
Films, MSNBC Films | Director: Dawn Porter | Producers: Lauren Capps, Sadie Bass, Nick
McElroy)
\u201cTurning Point: The Vietnam War\u201d (United States | Netflix | Director: Brian Knappenberger |
Producers: Doan Hoang Curtis, Bo Kovitz, Keven McAlester, Tommy Nguyen)<\/p>\n

Best Music Documentary<\/p>\n

\u201cEl Canto de las Manos\u201d (Spain, United States | Feel Sales | Director: Mar\u00eda Valverde |
Producers: Mar\u00eda Valverde, Mart\u00ed Font Isern, Cristina Oliva, Gustavo Dudamel)
\u201cMove Ya Body: The Birth of House\u201d (United States | Director: Elegance Bratton | Producer:
Chester Algernal Gordon)
\u201cOne to One: John & Yoko\u201d (United Kingdom | Magnolia Pictures, HBO Documentary Films |
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Co-director: Sam Rice-Edwards | Producers: Peter Worsley, Kevin
Macdonald, Alice Webb)
\u201cSelena y Los Dinos\u201d (United States | Netflix | Director: Isabel Castro | Producers: Julie
Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, Simran Singh, David Blackman)
\u201cSly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)\u201d (United States | Hulu | Director: Ahmir
\u201cQuestlove\u201d Thompson | Producers: Joseph Patel and Derik Murray)<\/p>\n

David L. Wolper Student Documentary<\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond Eden\u201d (United Kingdom | National Film and Television School, UK | Director: Al Johnstone |
Producer: Al Johnstone)
\u201cDancing in Tomorrowland\u201d (United States | UCLA | Director: Jakob Roston | Producers: Grace
Vincent, Nazanin Nemetollahi)
\u201cTwo Days on the Interstate\u201d (United Kingdom | National Film and Television School, UK | Director:
Tatiana Stark | Producer: Tatiana Stark)
\u201cTwo Travelling Aunties\u201d (United Kingdom | National Film and Television School, UK | Director:
Christine Seow | Producer: Christine Seow)
\u201cWhat a day, what a life\u201d (United Kingdom | National Film and Television School, UK | Director: Maylana
Colchete | Producers: Luiza Amelio de Carvalho, Maylana Colchete)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The International Documentary Association has announced the nominees for its 41st IDA Documentary Awards happening on Saturday, December…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[10779,156,593,96200,409,111,139,69,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-142069","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-awards","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-film","11":"tag-ida-documentary-awards","12":"tag-movies","13":"tag-new-zealand","14":"tag-newzealand","15":"tag-nz","16":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}