The 41st IDA Documentary Awards brings together nominees, honorees, peers in the field, and industry leaders. The presentation of the 2025 IDA Documentary Awards will take place on Saturday, December 6, in the ballroom of the beautiful, historic Los Angeles Athletic Club in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles.
Here's What Really Happened
No tweeting. No press. No industry. Filmmakers-only conversations revealing personal insights into the art and business of documentary filmmaking.
“Here’s What Really Happened” are signature sessions from IDA's biennial Getting Real Conference that began as a filmmaker-led solution to combat the lack of transparency that continues to plague the community. These intimate conversations allow filmmakers to speak openly about what actually happened in the production, sales and distribution life of a film. The rules are, everything said in the room, stays in the room. Our goal is to create a safe space for discussion that allows filmmakers to have frank, meaningful discussions without the influence of industry in the room. We believe that one of the greatest resources for a filmmaker is another filmmaker.
In building a more knowledgeable and transparent community together, IDA tours “Here’s What Really Happened” sessions to various festivals and conferences around the world. These private conversations have focused on security/surveillance, sales agents, festival strategies, fact-finding, ethics, work/family life balance, truth-seeking in production, and other themes.
Learn what really happened behind-the-scenes in an upcoming session. It’s personal, it’s intimate, let’s get into it.
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On Friday, December 5, IDA returns to our former home at the LA Center Studios, a landmark space for film production. There, we will be immersed in Los Angeles history in a beautiful mid-century modern venue with wonderful areas to mix and mingle.
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Join us for a pitching workshop with the IDA Artist Services Manager, Maria Santos. For the first 40 minutes, she will share some tips for preparing a pitch and using that process to keep developing your project. Then, you’ll have 20 minutes to work on your pitches and take in the recommendations of the presentation.
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Works in Progress is a day-long screening series that gives IDA members the chance to share their works-in-progress and receive constructive feedback from other IDA members and their invited guests. The goal of Works in Progress is to offer IDA members invaluable opportunities to strengthen their work through incisive and practical feedback and garner an audience for their upcoming projects.
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This self-help workshop teaches you how to future-proof your films—whether shot on celluloid, video, or digital—so they survive you. You’ll come away from this session not only inspired but also armed with specific protocols for protecting your work.
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Join us at IDA’s office on Monday, June 30, at 6:30 p.m. PT and be amongst the first to preview Getting Real ‘26!
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ESPN’s critically acclaimed 30 for 30 series dives deep into the most compelling sports stories of our time—raising big questions that resonate far beyond the field.
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Location: Hybrid, virtual on Zoom or in-person at IDA Office in Los Angeles Documentary filmmakers are often navigating complex legal terrain by the very nature of our work. In the current political climate and with the rise of fascism around the world, it can be difficult to know how to protect
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Live overview of the Call for Entries process of the 2025 IDA Documentary Awards presented by Gabriella Ortega-Ricketss (IDA Artist Programs Manager).
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Join us every third Thursday of the month for IDAconnect, a virtual gathering designed to keep you informed about the latest at IDA and an excellent opportunity to network with fellow filmmakers and film enthusiasts. Open to current IDA Members at the Doc Lover level and above, IDAconnect allows you