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History & Activities HISTORY The IDA was founded in 1982 as a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to supporting the efforts of nonfiction film and video makers throughout the United States and the world; promoting the documentary form; and expanding opportunities for the production, distribution, and exhibition of documentary. The IDA is committed to continuing its efforts to increase public appreciation and demand for documentary films, videos, and television programs across all ethnic, political and socioeconomic boundaries. ACTIVITIES Over the past twenty-three years IDA has served as a forum and voice for documentarians around the world. IDA currently serves over 2,800 members in 50 countries, offering programs, seminars, lectures, workshops, and screenings for those members and the general public. Our major activities include: IDA MAGAZINE, WEBSITE AND ONLINE NEWSLETTER IDA publishes its magazine, Documentary - devoted exclusively to nonfiction media. Documentary is sent to all IDA members around the world and made available to an expanding general readership through newsstands sales. The publication, the IDA website www.documentary.org and the bi-monthly e-newsletter sent to all IDA members serve a critical role in linking the local and international nonfiction film and video community and creating a more informed and appreciative audience for documentaries. FISCAL SPONSORSHIP IDA serves as a fiscal sponsor for more than 300 independent nonfiction projects each year. Under its 501(c)(3) nonprofit umbrella, IDA accepts grants and donations for those projects approved to participate in its Fiscal Sponsorship program, thereby supporting worthwhile programs that would otherwise have difficulty finding funding. AWARDS To honor the excellence and promise of documentarians, IDA presents awards each Winter to professional and student documentary makers at a Gala Ceremony. Awards are given for Distinguished Documentary Achievement, Career Achievement, and Preservation and Scholarship. In addition, donors have endowed special honors which are also presented, such as the David L. Wolper Student Award, the ABC News VideoSource Award, The Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award and the Pare Lorentz Award. The general public has a chance to see the winning work at a day-long festival created by the IDA called, DocuFest™. These awards are highly valued professional recognition. DOCUFEST™ DocuFest™, which takes place on the weekend following our Awards Gala, has been a popular event with an ever growing audience. Past DocuFests™ have screened such celebrated work as In Memoriam: New York 9/11/01, Born Into Brothels, Fahrenheit 9/11, Hoop Dreams, Crumb, Mandela, Roger and Me, Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam, The Thin Blue Line, Eyes on the Prize, Shoah, and The Times of Harvey Milk. Lively and thought provoking discussion sessions with the creators follow each screening at DocuFest.™ DOCUWEEK™ THEATRICAL DOCUMENTARY SHOWCASE DOCUWEEK™ Theatrical Documentary Showcase, our curated documentary film showcase, was held for the first time in 1997. To date, DOCUWEEK™ has qualified 137 films yielding thirteen Academy Award® nominees and garnering four coveted Oscars®. Starting this year, DOCUWEEK™ became a traveling festival that currently is hosted in four cities in the United States. This meets the guidelines established by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for Theatrical Exhibition of documentaries. OSCARS® GALA AND DOCUDAY IDA also celebrates the Academy Award® nominated films and filmmakers in both the feature and short subject categories with its annual Academy Award® Nominees Program or Gala and Reception, held at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences headquarters in Beverly Hills. This tribute to each year's Academy Award contenders is followed by DocuDay™ an all-day presentation for the general public of all the nominated films. SEMINARS IDA produces several seminars and workshops each year on the East and West Coasts, on subjects such as grant writing, production, distribution, using stock footage, legal issues, and marketing. These seminars and workshops are designed and moderated by veteran professionals, all volunteers, who look forward to giving back to the documentary community. OUTREACH / DOCS ROCK As part of its Outreach Program, IDA has developed a digital documentary film curriculum for secondary schools that drives critical thinking and production into both Visual Arts and English standards. DOCS ROCK is a pilot program initiated at San Pedro High School and is developed in conjunction with Los Angeles Unified School District and the City of Los Angeles. NATPE AND MIPTV IDA facilitates the participation of its members and their programs at the largest television markets in the world. For the past three years, IDA has co-sponsored the Documentary Pavilion at NATPE and its booth has served as an information center and home base for independent producers, buyers and distributors working in non-fiction. Recently NATPE added IDA as co-producer of the documentary panel held at the conference. IDA also has forged links for its members at the international television markets, MIPDOC, MIPTV and MIPCOM. ARCHIVES Finally, the IDA Documentary Center, which opened in 1994 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film Archive, accommodates students, filmmakers, researchers, producers, and scholars who wish to view documentary films selected by the IDA and to find information about films and filmmakers. The collection includes IDA Award winning films as well as Academy Award® nominated documentaries and serves as an important resource for students and enthusiasts of the documentary. | ||||||
