'Fahrenheit,' 'Born' share top IDA kudos

'Oil on Ice' honored with Pare Lorentz Award

From Variety.com (Subscription Required)

The Intl. Documentary Assn. has selected Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" and Briski and Ross Kauffman's "Born Into Brothels" to share its top feature award.

The org will present the kudos Dec. 10 at its 20th annual IDA Awards Gala Benefit at the Directors Guild of America Theater in Hollywood.

Moore pulled "Fahrenheit 9/11" out of contention for the docu category of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in September, opting to aim for noms in Oscar categories such as best picture, director and screenplay. "Born Into Brothels," focused on a group of children from Calcutta, India's, red-light district, was tapped earlier this week as one of a dozen Oscar semifinalists.

IDA awarded its top documentary feature prizes last year to "Balseros" and "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," while the documentary Oscar went to Errol Morris for "The Fog of War."

The org also announced that "Mighty Times Volume 2: The Children's March" had won the short category (films under 40 minutes). The film, co-directed and co-produced by Robert Hudson and Bobby Houston, revisits 1963 when thousands of children and students joined the civil-rights movement led by Martin Luther King.

The IDA tapped "The New Americans," exec produced by Steve James and Gordon Quinn, as winner in the limited series competition for segments of a series with a specific continuing theme or subject. The ITVS/Independent Lens/PBS series follows immigrants and refugees through their first years in America.

"American Masters" won the continuing series competition. The Thirteen/WNET, PBS series, launched in 1984 by exec producer Susan Lacy, explores the lives and journeys of American writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists and filmmakers.

"Oil on Ice," from directors-producers Bo Boudart and Dale Djerassi, won the 2004 Pare Lorentz Award, given to individuals whose work best represents the "democratic sensibility, activist spirit and lyrical vision" of Lorentz. "Oil on Ice" examines the battle over oil development within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and how it affects the Gwich'in Athabascan Indians and Inupiat Eskimos.

IDA awarded "Imelda," by director-producer Ramona S. Diaz, top honors in the IDA/ABC News VideoSource competition for best use of historic news footage to tell a nonfiction story.

The IDA's jury presented the Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award to Jonathan Caouette and Jehane Noujaim. Caouette was selected for his debut feature "Tarnation" and Noujaim for her work on "Startup.com," "Born Rich," "Only the Strong Survive," "Down from the Mountain" and "Control Room."

Honorable mentions were given to "Control Room" in features, "The Life of Kevin Carter" in the short category and "CNN Presents" in the continuing series category.

IDA also said Sundance Channel will produce an original television program that takes a look back at the year in documentary filmmaking and air the program on Feb. 21.