‘Sugarcane,’ ‘Soundtrack To A Coup D’Etat,’ ‘Queendom,’ ‘Black Box Diaries’ & More Earn Multiple Nominations For IDA Documentary Awards

Sugarcane earned a leading five nominations as the IDA Awards announced its nominees today, followed closely by Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat with four.

Black Box Diaries, My Sweet Land, and Queendom earned three nominations apiece. Also earning multiple nominations were Agent of Happiness, No Other Land, and The Remarkable Life of Ibelin – each with two nominations.

Sugarcane’s nods came for Best Documentary Feature and Best Director, recognizing the work of Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, as well as nominations for cinematography, editing, and score. The National Geographic Documentary Films documentary investigates the systematic abuse of Indigenous children who attended a so-called “Indian Residential School” in British Columbia.

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’s recognition came in the Best Documentary Feature category, as well as Best Director for Johan Grimonprez, Best Editing, and Best Writing. The film from Kino Lorber looks at how the U.S. State Department sent leading jazz musicians on a goodwill tour of Africa in the late 1950s and ‘60s, even as the U.S., Belgium and even the UN leadership were plotting to oust Congo’s first democratically elected leader.

Perhaps the biggest surprise among the nominations was Queendom, which earned recognition in the Best Documentary Feature category, Best Director for Agniia Galdanova, and Best Cinematography. The Greenwich Entertainment release had flown under the radar for much of the year but has recently emerged as a strong awards contender. It tells the story of Jenna Marvin, a drag performance artist from Siberia who pursued her artistic vision despite the constant threat of violence.

The IDA announced actor-comedian Adam Conover will host the IDA Documentary Awards, which will take place December at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles. It will stream live on documentary.org and simultaneously on IDA YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram channels.

“IDA received 700+ entries in all categories from 77 countries, an increase over last year both in the total number of entries and the countries represented,” the nonprofit said. “IDA Documentary Awards entries were reviewed by blue-ribbon jurors consisting of 300 documentary professionals from 40+ countries.

“Nominees in each of the Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary categories have been selected from the shortlists previously announced on October 24. IDA members will have access to view each of the nominated films and to vote for films in the Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary categories from November 19 to December 1.”

The IDA previously announced filmmaker Dawn Porter will receive the Career Achievement Award; Shiori Ito (Black Box Diaries) will receive the Emerging Filmmaker Award; and the four directors of No Other Land, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor, Yuval Abraham will be presented with the Courage Under Fire Award.

These are the nominees in 14 categories announced today:

40^TH IDA DOCUMENTARY AWARDS NOMINEES
All nominees listed under each category are in alphabetical order by film title.

Best Feature Documentary Nominees

Best Short Documentary Nominees

Best Director

Best Cinematography

Best Editing

Best Original Music Score

Best Writing

Best TV Feature Documentary

Best Curated Series

Best Episodic Series

Best Limited Series

Best Music Documentary

Best Audio Documentary

David L. Wolper Student Documentary

40th IDA Documentary Awards Key Dates