Laura and Euna to Present Courage Under Fire Award

To recognize filmmakers and film journalists who displayed conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth and put Freedom of Speech above all else, including their own personal safety, a special “Courage Under Fire” tribute will be presented by Current Media journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee.

The IDA will honor the best documentary films of the year including:

AFGAN STAR, the timely and moving film following the dramatic stories of four young finalists—two men and two women—as they hazard everything to compete in Afghanistan’s version of American Idol; ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL, the hilarious and unexpectedly moving account of an obscure Canadian metal band’s last-ditch quest for elusive fame and fortune; DIARY OF A TIMES SQUARE THIEF, which documents the search for the writer of a mysterious diary that the filmmaker finds on EBay; FOOD, INC., that lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies; and MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN, the story of Michael Campbell, a tough, humorous 74-year-old fifth-generation white African farmer who withstands land invasions and violence in his stand against Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s land seizure program. MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN participated in IDA’s DocuWeeks program in 2009.

The four nominated short films are: THE DELIAN MODE, an exploration of the life and work of electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire; SALT, a journey with photo-artist Murray Fredericks as he tries to capture the heart of the world's most featureless landscape on Lake Eyre, South Australia; SARI'S MOTHER, a mother’s navigation of Iraq’s health-care system in search of care for her son who is dying of AIDS; and THE SOLITARY LIFE OF CRANES, a visual poem–24 hours in life of a city seen through the eyes of crane operators. SALT and THE SOLITARY LIFE OF CRANES participated in IDA’s DocuWeeks program in 2009.

In the Limited Series category, the five nominees are: THE ALZHEIMER'S PROJECT, ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL, IN THEIR BOOTS, TIME FOR SCHOOL and WE SHALL REMAIN. Continuing Series nominees are AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, ICONOCLASTS and POV.



http://www.documentary.org/content/nominees-announced-2009-ida-awards