Ivy MacDonald

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.

Articles

A film still with holographic colors shows a figure in a field.

“I Think Linearity Is a Trap”: Deborah Stratman Discusses ‘Last Things’

Wed, 01/10/2024

Online Feature

NAI Direct Access Fund Grantees

Tue, 01/09/2024

Blog

An Independent Spirit: Dara Messinger Discusses DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema

Fri, 01/05/2024

Online Feature

Film still from 'Eat Bitter,' showing the silhouette of a man with arms outstretched, on a small boat.

Inside DOC NYC: Power, Profit, and Community at America’s “Largest” Doc Fest

Fri, 12/29/2023

Online Feature

Tayssir Chikhaoui, Olfa Hamrouni, Eya Chikhaoui

Reenactments and Reversals: The Plot Twist in Kaouther Ben Hania’s ‘Four Daughters’

Thu, 12/21/2023

Feature

IDA Logan Elevate 2023 Grantees at IDFA

IDA Logan Elevate 2023 Grantees at IDFA

Wed, 12/20/2023

Blog

Greaves wearing a black hat with a blue jean jacket and blue jeans, with cast and crew in Central Park during shooting of Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 1⁄2 (2003).

Reality Ink: A Review of ‘William Greaves: Filmmaking as Mission’

Tue, 12/19/2023

Column

April 15, 2016. In front of Bakirköy Women’s Prison, where my colleague and dear friend Esra Mungan, a professor of psychology at Boğaziçi University, was imprisoned. The writing on my fingers reads: “Freedom for Pens,” meaning freedom for those who express their thoughts in writing, which is a basic right.

Field Recording: We Do Not Accept!

Mon, 12/11/2023

Column

Notes From the Reel World, Fall 2023

Mon, 12/11/2023

Column

IDA Member Spotlight: Polina Herman

Thu, 12/07/2023

Blog

A group photo of ten filmmakers posed in an outdoor, industrial area.

Making a Production: Meerkat Media

Wed, 12/06/2023

Feature

Letter from the Editor: Fall 2023

Wed, 12/06/2023

Column

In the distance, a young man stands on the edge of a mountain and looks across a wintery valley.

“Mongolia Felt Very Familiar”: Martina Radwan Discusses ‘Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow’

Mon, 12/04/2023

Online Feature

Letter from the Editor, November 2023

Wed, 11/29/2023

Column

Black and white portrait of Nani Walker, who has shoulder-length hair and is wearing a black blazer.

A West Coast Perspective With Global Focus: Nani Walker Discusses L.A. Times Short Docs

Wed, 11/29/2023

Online Feature

Film still from 'To Kill a Tiger.'

“Unflinchingly Brave and Pro-Justice”: Nisha Pahuja Discusses ‘To Kill a Tiger’

Tue, 11/28/2023

Online Feature

Victoria Islamic Center members gather for the groundbreaking ceremony for their new mosque, in episode two of A Town Called Victoria.

The Feedback: Li Lu’s ‘A Town Called Victoria’

Mon, 11/27/2023

Column

Still image from 'Life Is Beautiful,' depicting filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly operating a camera and looking over his shoulder.

“I Want You To See My Life”: Mohamed Jabaly Discusses ‘Life Is Beautiful’

Thu, 11/23/2023

Online Feature

Still from 'Nowhere Near,' depicting the upper half of a Filipino man's head in front of a blue background. Courtesy of the Flaherty.

“We Can Nourish Each Other”: A Conversation with the Fall Flaherty NYC 2023 Programmers

Fri, 11/17/2023

Online Feature

Film still from 'The Disappearance of Shere Hite'

Faith in the Creative Impulse: Nicole Newnham Discusses ‘The Disappearance of Shere Hite’

Fri, 11/17/2023

Online Feature

Yamagata film festival group

Back up the Mountains: Yamagata 2023

Fri, 11/17/2023

Online Feature

Dominique Silver in KOKOMO CITY, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

“The Audacity To Be Loved”: D. Smith Discusses ‘Kokomo City’

Mon, 11/13/2023

Online Feature

Attendees of the Victoria Islamic Center pray in a temporary building after an arson destroys their mosque.

Exclusive: Clip from Li Lu’s ‘A Town Called Victoria’

Thu, 11/09/2023

Blog

A Brown, badass, butch dyke is shooting a scene with queer rights protesters (offscreen) on the streets of New Delhi, with a video camera on a monopod and headphones covering her ears.

IDA Member Spotlight: Sonali Gulati

Thu, 11/09/2023

Blog

Attendees of the IDA and DAE cocktail party at IDFA 2022. Courtesy of DAE

We Must Address Abuse in the Documentary Industry

Sat, 11/04/2023

Online Feature

Logan Elevate 2023 Grantees

IDA Announces Logan Elevate 2023 Grantees

Thu, 11/02/2023

Blog

Film still from ‘The Script,’ depicting actors in an empty room on a soundstage. Image credit: Pete Quandt. Courtesy of Brit Fryer

“Who Is an Expert”: Brit Fryer Discusses ‘The Script’

Thu, 11/02/2023

Online Feature

Image Credit: Wouter Jansen. Film still from 'Malqueridas.'

“We Cannot Underestimate the Collective Power of Those Who Have No Access to Power”: Tana Gilbert Discusses ‘Malqueridas’

Thu, 11/02/2023

Online Feature

Film still from ‘Happy Campers.’ Courtesy of Amy Nicholson, Myrtle & Olive

Exclusive: Clip from Amy Nicholson’s ‘Happy Campers’

Thu, 11/02/2023

Blog

Interior of Stray Cat Film Center, a storefront microcinema in Kansas City

Hungry for More: A New Crop of Independent Film Organizations Thrives in the Great Plains

Wed, 11/01/2023

Online Feature

Film still from 'Altares.' Courtesy of Colectivo Los Ingrávidos

“Spans on a Bridge” Shorts Program: Lost (and Perhaps Found?) in Translation

Fri, 10/27/2023

Online Feature

A group of Getting Real Fellows watches a panel at Getting Real 22. Image credit: Urbanite Media

A Year in Review: IDA Getting Real ’22 Fellowship

Fri, 10/27/2023

Blog

Photograph of Sky Hopinka (left) and Jon Sesrie-Goff (right) in conversation, at HSDFF. Image credit: Aaron Brewer. Courtesy of HSDFF

From Sundance to Spa City: Hot Springs 2023

Thu, 10/26/2023

Online Feature

A person sits in a director's chair at a festival, holding a microphone.

Letter from the Editor, 2023 October

Wed, 10/25/2023

Column

Jay, a Dominican man with a goatee and reading glasses perched on top of his head, sits in a wheelchair holding a digital camera. Alexis, a white woman with dark brown hair stands next to him but a bit behind, holding headphones attached to a large camera on a tripod. They are smiling softly, looking at the camera, and wearing light jackets on a boardwalk in front of a river on a sunny day with clouds in the blue sky.

Producer’s Diary: ‘Fire Through Dry Grass’ (August 2019–October 2023)

Tue, 10/24/2023

Column

Photograph of Darcy McKinnon delivering a keynote talk at the Filmmaker Forum. Courtesy of HSDFF

Documentary Is Our Public Square: Keynote Address from Hot Springs’ Inaugural Filmmaker Forum

Tue, 10/24/2023

Online Feature

Jacqueline Blocker, person with long dark hair and silver hoop earrings

“Reflected as the Beautiful People That We Are”: Nailah Jefferson Discusses ‘Descended from the Promised Land’

Mon, 10/23/2023

Online Feature

Photograph of Carrie Lozano, a Latinx woman wearing glasses and a patterned shirt. Courtesy of ITVS

“We Have to Differentiate Ourselves”: Carrie Lozano Discusses ITVS’s Role in Public Media

Thu, 10/19/2023

Online Feature

investec

Making a Production: Grain Media

Tue, 10/17/2023

Feature

Film still from Reality Winner, of Reality Winner reuniting with her family after being released from prison. Image credit: E.J. Enríquez

Exclusive: Clip from Sonia Kennebeck’s ‘Reality Winner’

Mon, 10/16/2023

Blog

Film still from 'Your Friend, Memphis,' depicting a smiling young white man in a checkered shirt, raising his left arm, in a crowded stadium.

Exclusive: Clip from David P. Zucker’s ‘Your Friend, Memphis’

Thu, 10/05/2023

Blog

Film still from 'Your Friend Memphis': the silhouette of a person's back, as they look out to a sunset over the ocean.

The Feedback: David P. Zucker’s ‘Your Friend, Memphis’

Wed, 10/04/2023

Column

Photograph of Susan Bodine, Mary Harron, Mira Nair, Ira Deutchman (L to R) at a Missing Movies panel at Tribeca.

Seven Reasons Why Documentaries Go Missing

Tue, 10/03/2023

Online Feature

A person sits in a director's chair at a festival, holding a microphone.

Letter from the Editor, September 2023

Thu, 09/28/2023

Column

A film still depicting a tree with red buds in the middle of a lush landscape.

A Dedicated Space: Open City 2023

Wed, 09/27/2023

Online Feature

BRIC Announces BRIClab 2023–2024 Artists-in-Residence

Thu, 09/21/2023

Blog

Film still from 'Copa 71'. Woman soccer player holding up World Cup trophy in a stadium filled with fans and her team on the field with her.

“One Tiny Little Block”: Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine on ‘Copa 71’

Sun, 09/17/2023

Online Feature

still from 'Silence of Reason'

“Geographies of Survival”: Kumjana Novakova Discusses Her Sarajevo Film Festival Human Rights Award-Winning ‘Silence of Reason’

Tue, 09/12/2023

Online Feature

Still image from 'Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea,' depicting one of Westermann's wood sculptures against a black background.

Exclusive: Clip from Leslie Buchbinder’s ‘Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea’

Tue, 09/12/2023

Blog

Photograph of Claire Simon looking through a camera viewfinder.

“Cinema is About the Body”: ‘Documentary’ Presents Claire Simon in Conversation

Thu, 09/07/2023

Online Feature