Skip to main content

Ivy MacDonald

headshot of Ivy MacDonald wearing a black leather jacket with a black shirt with red flowers

Ivy MacDonald is an Emmy-winning filmmaker and member of the Blackfeet Tribe. Her most recent producing project, Murder in Bighorn, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and aired nationally on Showtime. She is currently directing and producing two feature-length documentaries about her community, the Blackfeet Tribe. Her work has been supported by Sundance, ITVS, and the Montana Film Office.

Associated Credits

A person wearing all black with a dark gray backpack walking down paved road with a grassy water area to their side and mountains off in the distance.
When They Were Here

When They Were Here is a documentary about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls crisis on the Blackfeet Reservation in northern Montana, told through the eyes of the families and community members left behind. The film traces experiences through time, place, and memory–and examines the legacy of violence in the place they call home

Articles

IDA Member Spotlight: Araceli and Adelaide headshots
IDA Member Spotlight: Araceli Seager and Adelaide Burrows
Blog
Read More
Red banner with white text that reads "Vote now: Documentary's Greatest Docs of the 21st century poll"
‘Documentary’ Launches Greatest Docs of the 21st Century Poll
Blog
Read More
Black and white photo of a white woman with dark hair pulled back under a hat, wearing a scarf and a coat
Remembering Jill Godmilow, Iconoclastic Filmmaker and Author of ‘Kill the Documentary’
Online Feature
Read More
A woman lays on a bed that stands alone in the middle of a dusk-lit forest
Lines in Sand: IDFA 2025 Traces Documentary Collaboration Across Borders
Online Feature
Read More
Grainy shot of group of outdoor protestors holding "We Demand Public Voice" signs with WTO crossed out
“1,000 Hours of Footage Sounds Daunting”: Ian Bell and Alex Megaro on IDA Award Best Editing Nominee ‘WTO/99’
Online Feature
Read More
An older man holding a stork in a blanket in his living room.
“We Cannot Run Away From Our Animalistic Nature”: Tamara Kotevska on ‘The Tale of Silyan’
Online Feature
Read More
A vertical image of a smiling white woman with long curly brown hair, wearing glasses and a black shirt, leaning against a stone wall.
Staying Power: Julie Goldman on Building Motto Pictures
Feature
Read More
A Black woman in a black leather jacket stands with hands clasped in a field of autumnal leaves.
IDA’s 2025 Emerging Filmmaker Award Honoree, Brittany Shyne, Discusses Her Debut Feature, ‘Seeds’
Feature
Read More
In front of red curtains, three people sit on chairs on a stage.
How Impact Partners Reshaped Documentary Financing
Feature
Read More
Notes From the Reel World, Winter 2026
Column
Read More
Letter From the Editor, Winter 2026
Column
Read More
Five young men, each holding a different musical instrument, stand outside in a sunny field
“An Espresso Shot of a Story”: Bernardo Ruiz Discusses His First Retrospective and “Humblecore” Filmmaking
Online Feature
Read More
Two rows of people stand in silent vigil outside, holding large print-out posters of children's faces.
Exclusive: Trailer for Hilla Medalia’s ‘Children No More: Were and Are Gone’
Exclusive News
Read More
Under a blue cloth that is semi-transparent, a teenaged girl lays on the floor with her eyes closed.
“Mind and Heart”: Mehrdad Oskouei and the Team of ‘A Fox Under a Pink Moon’ on Remote Collaboration
Online Feature
Read More
12 headshots, in grid form, some in color, some in black and white
Exclusive: Center for Asian American Media Announces Second Cohort of Building Bridges Documentary Fund Grantees
Exclusive News
Read More
A woman with shoulder-length auburn hair wearing a white winter coat sits alone at a table with a blown-up print of the New York City skyline behind her
“Documentary Probably Doesn’t Exist”: Gianluca Matarrese on ‘GEN_’ and ‘I Want Her Dead’
Online Feature
Read More
IDA Documentary Awards Los Angeles. December 4-6, 2025
IDA Announces Nominees for 41st Documentary Awards
Blog
Read More
Three soldiers, with helmets and a small Ukrainian flag on their uniforms, crouching holding their guns outdoors
Metric of Loss: Mstyslav Chernov Discusses the Ethical Responsibility of ‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’
Feature
Read More
A monitor shows a film project being cut using editing software
The Synthesis: Can AI—or documentary—get us closer to human authenticity?
Column
Read More
Two people sit on a rock against a vast desert landscape before them
Exclusive: Trailer for Diego Gutiérrez’s ‘The Shipwrecked,’ world-premiering in IDFA’s International Competition
Exclusive News
Read More
A drenched young man in nothing but a swimsuit rides a horse in the middle of a body of water
“A Pure Act of Faith”: Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk on Observing a Ukrainian Pacifist Community in ‘Silent Flood’
Online Feature
Read More
Film still from 'Nuns vs. The Vatican'
IDA Grantees at DOC NYC 2025
Blog
Read More
Film still from 'Queer as Punk'
IDA Grantees at IDFA 2025
Blog
Read More
A line illustration of a series of arrows connecting a film projector, ideas, a CCTV surveillance camera, the scales of justice, and a pair of handcuffed hands.
The Price of Recognition: What Happened After the First-Ever San Quentin Film Festival
Feature
Read More
Six brown-skinned individuals (three men, three women) sit on a grassy knoll in a forest, smiling at the camera
“In the Post-Colonial Building of Power Structures, Collaboration Is Everything”: Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh Discuss the Himalayan Story Lab
Online Feature
Read More
2025 Pare Lorentz grantees headshots. (left to right, top to bottom) Director: Emilia Mello, Producer: Elijah Steven, Director: Juan Javier Pérez Pérez, Producer: Daniela Contreras, Director: Samuel Suffren, Producers: Gaëthan Chancy, Gilbert Mirambeau Jr.
IDA Announces 2025 Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund Grantees
Blog
Read More
Screenshot of the online version of the BBC editorial guidelines 2025
The Explainer: What Is British Impartiality (And Can It Survive)?
Column
Read More
Christine La Monte headshot
IDA Member Spotlight: Christine La Monte
Blog
Read More
In a dusty road, two men with helmets on stand on either side of a broken down, battered car.
San Sebastián 2025: Lau Haizetara Project Highlights, ‘Good Valley Stories,’ ‘Flores para Antonio,’ Juliette Binoche’s Doc, and ‘Copper’
Online Feature
Read More
With a movie screen behind them that details the information for this Filmmaker Forum panel, four seated panelists with microphones face a crowd
Hot Springs 2025: Uncertainty and Camaraderie Characterize 3rd Annual Filmmaker Forum
Online Feature
Read More
Giorgi Mrevlishvili headshot
Statement on the Detainment of Documentary Association Georgia Collegue Giorgi Mrevlishvili
Advocacy, Blog
Read More
On the grassy banks of a lake, four white people wearing festival lanyards stand casually and happily.
Producer’s Diary: ‘In Waves and War’ (March 2019–July 2025)
Column
Read More
Bright purple backdrop featuring a digital image of a lightbulb where a genAI image of Pikachu is surrounded by cops
The Synthesis: How Sora 2 Mainstreams the Collapse Between Irony and Information
Column
Read More
IDA Statement Opposing A Merger Involving Warner Bros. Discovery
Advocacy, Blog
Read More
Woman with shoulder length brown hair in a white suit stands against a lush green garden backdrop.
When Heaven Meets Earth: Petra Costa Discusses ‘Apocalypse in the Tropics’
Feature
Read More
Led by a soldier carrying the Ukrainian flag, a casket is being carried by soldiers into a church; some onlookers kneel on the street as if it were a parade.
Where Life and Death Coexist: Vitaly Mansky on His Berlinale-Premiering ‘Time to the Target’
Online Feature
Read More
A camera on a tripod captures a portrait of a woman wearing a pink sweater, latex gloves, and a wooden indigenous mask in a nondescript room.
Exclusive: Trailer for Gregor Brändli’s ‘Elephants & Squirrels,’ Premiering at DOK Leipzig and IDFA
Exclusive News
Read More
A group of powwow dancers outside, in front of a copse of trees.
TIFF 2025: Consistency Is Key
Online Feature
Read More
A young man wearing a puffy jacket looks to the side.
“The BBC Is a Brand”: How BBC Editorial Control Sidelines Middle Eastern Documentary Voices
Online Feature
Read More
A man wearing a baseball cap and carrying a camera and tripod strolls through an arid landscape, illuminated by a sunset.
Ripple Effect: Brent and Craig Renaud’s Vérité Filmmaking in Pursuit of Peace
Feature
Read More
headshots of Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni
IDA Member Spotlight: Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni
Blog
Read More
Closeup of a person cutting a piece of paper with "It was" written on it in half with a pair of black scissors.
Exclusive: Clip From Kevin B. Lee’s Debut Feature ‘Afterlives,’ Premiering at Doclisboa and London
Exclusive News
Read More
Left to Right - Julie Goldman, Brittany Shyne, Impact Partners
41st IDA Documentary Award Honorees
Blog
Read More
A man in a red shirt beds over a worktable.
5 Tips for Documentary Fundraising in 2025
Blog
Read More
On a large stage with a Camden International Film Festival slide, a short-haired woman speaks into a microphone.
“The Gnarly Kind of Hope”: Elise McCave on Her First Year Leading Camden IFF and the Points North Institute
Online Feature
Read More
Manhattan Neighborhood Network studio
New Partnership Launched with Manhattan Neighborhood Network
Blog
Read More
From far away, a film still of a man standing in a shaft of light in a vast underground cavern.
Tribeca 2025: What Lies Beneath
Feature
Read More
A crowded auditorium with green seats full of a clapping, sitting audience.
BlackStar 2025: Hallowed Ground
Feature
Read More
Overhead shot of a shopping center with logos and slogans.
The Synthesis: Raoul Peck on Using AI to Critique Authoritarianism in ‘Orwell: 2+2=5’
Column
Read More
In a living room, a woman and a man wearing lavalier mics sit on a gray couch.
“The Art Creates the Man”: Rebecca Miller on Documenting Martin Scorsese’s Life and Work in ‘Mr. Scorsese’
Online Feature
Read More