FallDocs 2024. Sugarcane Q&A with director Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie, and moderator and film journalist Robert Abele.
This year, the 2025 Academy Awards have spotlighted a remarkable selection of documentary features, each offering profound insights into complex global narratives. Notably, all of these nominated films were screened at FallDocs (and IDA award nominees and winners!). We were lucky to sit down this fall with each director and film a Q&A about their process and their film’s journey thus far.
1. Black Box Diaries
Directed and based on the 2017 memoir written by Shiori Itō, Black Box Diaries follows Shiori as she conducts an investigation into her own sexual assault, aiming to bring the prominent perpetrator to justice.
Black Box Diaries was nominated for Best Editing, Best Director, and Best Feature Documentary at the IDA Awards. The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, earning a nomination for the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize nomination. It further secured the Human Rights Award at CPH:DOX in March 2024 and received the Special Jury Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival in April 2024. The documentary’s impactful storytelling led to its nomination for Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards.
2. No Other Land
Made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective center, the relationship between Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval as they struggle to document the destruction of West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by the Israeli occupation.
No Other Land premiered at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, where it garnered the Berlinale Documentary Award and the Panorama Audience Award. It was also a big winner at the IDA awards, bringing home the Courage Under Fire Award as well as Best Director and Best Feature. It’s been a festival favorite, leading to its nomination for Best Documentary Feature at the upcoming Oscars.
3. Porcelain War
Porcelain War delves into the intricate relationship between art and conflict, exploring how cultural artifacts become both symbols and casualties in times of war. The film examines the delicate balance between preserving heritage and the ravages of conflict.
The documentary premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, winning the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary award.
4. Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
This documentary, directed by Johan Grimonprez, intertwines the worlds of jazz and political upheaval. It focuses on the 1960 Congo Crisis and the assassination of Patrice Lumumba. It highlights how music and politics can converge, influencing and reflecting societal transformations.
After its premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Special Jury Award for Cinematic Innovation, it won 3 IDA awards (Best Editing, Best Writing, ABC News VideoSource Award). It was one of the “10 Best Movies From the 2024 Sundance Film Festival” by Rolling Stone. It continued to gain recognition, winning awards at festivals such as DocVille, Movies That Matter, and the San Francisco International Film Festival.
5. Sugarcane
Sugarcane exposes abuse and missing children in the Catholic-run Canadian Indian residential school system. Through embodied storytelling, directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie open a path for survivors and descendants at the nearby Sugarcane Reserve to mourn their dead and seek justice.
Supported by the Sundance Institute and the IDA Enterprise fund, Sugarcane premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary. It played at the 2024 San Francisco International Film Festival, the 2024 Seattle International Film Festival, and the 2024 Sheffield International Documentary Festival. It was nominated for 5 IDA awards (Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Original Music Score).