The IDA Membership is composed of directors, producers, composers, cinematographers, students and nonfiction enthusiasts, among others. Members News is the place to find out about their accomplishments and activities.

If you are an IDA Member and would like your news to be featured in the Members News column, please send your blurb (150 words max) to Documentary associate editor Tamara Krinsky at krinskydoc@ca.rr.com. You must include your name and the words "Members News" in the subject line.

Paul Devlin's BLAST! premiered in New York City at the Imagine Science Film Festival October 23. The festival is sponsored by Nature, the prestigious weekly science journal. The film then screened at the Utopia Film Festival near Washington, DC; at the Cork, Ireland Film Festival; and at the Bergen, Norway Film Festival. BLAST! made its worldwide broadcast debut on October 27 on Sweden's SVT2 as part of the Vetenskapens varld (World of Science), Sweden's longest-running series. Many more broadcasts to come in 2009. Devlin's film Power Trip was acquired by the PBS series Global Voices for its digital channel and download. www.blastthemovie.com.

Michael C. Donaldson is pleased to announce his new partnership with Lisa A. Callif. The new name of the law practice is now Donaldson & Callif. The two have been working together for the past three years and are excited about continuing and growing the practice together. Donaldson also recently released the 3rd Edition of his essential tome, Clearance & Copyright, which includes updates on fair use and orphan works. www.donaldsoncallif.com.

Alex Gibney has signed on to executive-produce the feature documentary Gravity. He joins executive producers Josh Braun and Dan Braun of Submarine Entertainment (Kill Your Idols and A History of Violence), director Marah Strauch and producers Marah Strauch, Eric Bruggemann and Jane Kachmer (Riding Giants). Gravity is a nonfiction feature that captures what it feels like to jump off a building, cliff or bridge and walk away alive. The film explores the milieu of extreme sports in the 1970s and the challenges of pioneering a sport that many would consider a death wish. Yet this is not a film about death. It is about the essence of life, of freedom, of what it feels like, for a moment, to defy gravity and to fly.

Kartemquin Films' In the Family had its national PBS premiere on P.O.V. in October. When Chicago-based filmmaker Joanna Rudnick tested positive for the "breast cancer gene" at age 27, she knew the information could save her life. She now faces an impossible decision: remove her healthy breasts and ovaries or risk incredible odds of developing cancer. The film is a co-production of Joanna Rudnick, Kartemquin Films and Independent Television Service (ITVS). www.inthefamilyfilm.com.

Mark Mori, Academy Award-nominated producer of Building Bombs and Emmy Award -winning producer of Kent State, The Day the War Came Home, screened his documentary work-in-progress, Bettie Page Reveals All, at Independent Film Week's Spotlight on Documentaries 2008. The film is the exclusive, authorized film biography of Bettie Page, with her full participation. In a docu-comedy romp through 1950s American pop culture, the reclusive "Dark Angel" reveals the behind-the scenes story of her rise as a cult icon and mysterious disappearance at the height of her career in 1957. The theatrical and DVD versions include a segment of 3-D photos of the pin-up legend-to-be viewed with accompanying 3-D glasses.

Jed Riffe went on a tour promoting Ripe for Change, his film about the intersection of food and politics in California over the last 30 years, illuminating the trade-offs between mass production, human health and environmental balance. He did screenings and discussions in ten cities in five states in 11 days.

Cass Warner Sperling's The Brothers Warner aired on American Masters on PBS in September. Written and directed by Cass Warner, Harry Warner's granddaughter, the film is an intimate portrait of the four brothers who pioneered the film industry--an ultimate rags-to-riches story of a family-run business and the challenges they overcame to create a major studio with a social conscience. The film is based on the family biography, The Brothers Warner, written by Cass Warner. A special Warner Bros. 85th anniversary edition is now available on Amazon.com with twice as many photos and a new introduction. www.warnersisters.com/ourstore.

Roger Weisberg and Jillann Spitzmiller's Critical Condition aired on PBS in September, followed by a special Newshour with Jim Lehrer show discussing the documentary and the issues raised with the Presidential candidates' representatives. The film explores what it means to be without health insurance in the US. Spitzmiller produced and directed two of the four stories in the film.