FOR SAMA, LEAVING NEVERLAND, Beyoncé's HOMECOMING Win 2019 IDA Awards

FOR SAMA. Sama pictured in September 2016, in the bombarded east of the city with a placard in response to US presidential candidate Gary Johnson’s infamous gaffe “What’s Aleppo” – Courtesy of Channel 4, Copyright Waad al-Kateab.

For Sama directed by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts is the winner of the top prize for Best Feature at the 35th IDA (International Documentary Association) Awards. Other notable documentary films winning awards include Leaving Neverland for Best Multi-Part Documentary and Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé for Best Music Documentary.

Best Feature

For Sama (winner)
Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab
Director: Edward Watts

Best Short

Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if you’re a girl) (winner)
Director: Carol Dysinger
Producer: Elena Andreicheva

Best Director

Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert (winner)
American Factory

Best Curated Series

Dokumania (winner)
Executive Producers: Anders Bruus

Best Episodic Series

Abstract: The Art of Design (winner)
Executive Producers: Scott Dadich, Morgan Neville, Dave O’Connor, Justin Wilkes and Jon Kamen

Best Multi-Part Documentary

Leaving Neverland (winner)
Director/Producer: Dan Reed
Executive Producers: Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller

Best Short Form Series

A Moment in Mexico — The New York Times Op-Docs (winner)
Executive Producer: Kathleen Lingo. Coordinating Producer: Lindsay Crouse

Best Audio Documentary

A Sense of Quietness (winner)
Producer: Eleanor McDowall
Executive Producers: Alan Hall and Rachel Hooper

Best Music Documentary

Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé (winner)
Director/Producer: Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
Director: Ed Burke
Producers: Steve Pamon and Erinn Williams

David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award

Brewed in Palestine (winner)
Director/Producer: Emma Schwartz
UC BERKELEY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM

Best Cinematography

Honeyland (winner)
Cinematographers: Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma

Best Editing

Midnight Family (winner)
Editor: Luke Lorentzen and Paloma López Carrillo

Best Music Score

The Raft (winner)
Composer: Hans Appelqvist

Best Writing

The Cave (winner)
Writers: Alisar Hasan and Feras Fayyad

Pare Lorentz Award

THE PARE LORENTZ AWARD RECOGNIZES FILMS THAT DEMONSTRATE EXEMPLARY FILMMAKING WHILE FOCUSING ON THE APPROPRIATE USE OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, JUSTICE FOR ALL AND THE ILLUMINATION OF PRESSING SOCIAL PROBLEMS.

Honeyland (Recipient)
Director: Tamara Kotevska
Director/Producer: Ljubomir Stefanov
Producer: Atanas Georgiev

Anthropocene: The Human Epoch (Honorable Mention)
Director: Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky
Producer: Nadia Tavazzani