Big Night for ITVS Series and its Films at 31st Annual International Documentary Association Awards

SAN FRANCISCO – The International Documentary Association (IDA) announced the winners of the 31^st IDAs last night with ITVS receiving four IDA awards. Last night’s honors brings the total number of IDA honors for ITVS to 21, including a third consecutive win for its acclaimed weekly series Independent Lens. 

Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe, directors of the ITVS film (T)ERROR, were awarded with the 2015 IDA Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award. This award recognizes those who have made a significant impact at the beginning of his or her career in documentary film.

ITVS film Best of Enemies took two awards last night: the ABC News VideoSource Award which recognizes the best use of news footage in a documentary, and Best Music honors with original scoring from Jonathan Kirkscey.

ITVS’ Independent Lens established a bona fide winning streak last night, sharing its Best Curated Series honors with POV. Independent Lens was previously awarded the 2013 International Documentary Association Best Continuing Series Award and the 2014 International Documentary Association Best Curated Series Award.

“ITVS is thrilled to see the work that we believe in so deeply, be recognized by the IDA, and we are proud to have played a role in their success. (T)ERROR, Best of Enemies and The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution all show the changing face of America – on camera and off. Every day, our mission is to champion independent filmmakers who are working to tell the world’s untold stories. These filmmakers capture the lives of underrepresented people on film, then we help to make their stories accessible to everyone,” said ITVS President and CEO Sally Jo Fifer.

“We are particularly pleased that Independent Lens continues to be recognized and congratulate Lois Vossen and her Independent Lens team. We would also like to congratulate Gordon Quinn on his well-deserved Career Achievement Award. Gordon was integral to the creation of ITVS, leaving an important and lasting legacy around our mission of diversity and inclusion in the independent filmmaking community,” continued Fifer.

“In our film, we wanted to highlight what we consider a serious threat to the fabric of our democracy. ITVS’ generous support allowed us to have a strong platform to tell this story at a critical time in our country,” said Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe, directors of (T)ERROR. “It is an honor to be recognized by IDA with the 2015 Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award.”

“We are both grateful to have received two awards tonight and want to thank ITVS for its generous support of Best of Enemies,” said Best of Enemies directors Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville. “Just as Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr.’s diverse points of views shaped television forever, ITVS’s mission of supporting diverse and independent filmmakers have helped shaped a generation of storytelling in this country.”

“Receiving the 2015 IDA Best Curated Series is a great honor and I am proud of my team at Independent Lens and the amazing filmmakers who contribute to the success of the program,” said Lois Vossen, executive producer of Independent Lens. “We are proud to be a part of ITVS and its mission to bring audiences face-to-face with the lives and concerns of their fellow Americans who are underrepresented in the media landscape today.”

At a Glance: IDA Awards

Independent Lens, Best Curated Series (co-win) (2015)

(T)ERROR, Emerging Documentary Filmmaker (2015)

Best of Enemies, ABC News VideoSource Award (2015)

Best of Enemies, Best Music (2015)

1971, New VideoSource Award (2014)

Limited Partnership, Humanitas Award (2014)

Independent Lens, IDA Award, Best Curated Series (2014)

Independent Lens, IDA Award, Best Continuing Series (2013)

Blood Brother, IDA Award, Humanitis Award (2013)

The Trials of Muhammad Ali, IDA ABC News Videosource Award (2013)

For Once in My Life, IDA Music Documentary Award (2010)

Bhutto, IDA ABC News Videosource Award (2010)

Have You Heard From Johannesburg?, Limited Series Award (2010)

Waste Land, IDA Pare Larentz Award (2010)

Waste Land, Best Documentary Award (2010)

Marwencol, Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Filmmaker Award for Director Jeff Malmberg (2010)

Garbage Dreams, IDA Humanitas Award (2009)

Young@Heart, IDA Music Documentary Award (2008)

A Son’s Sacrifice, Short Documentaries (2007)

The New Americans, Limited Series Award (2003)

Imelda, IDA ABC News Video Source Award (2003)

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About Independent Lens

Independent Lens is an Emmy® Award-winning weekly series airing on PBS Monday nights at 10 pm. The acclaimed series features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. Presented by Independent Television Service, the series is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding from PBS and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. For more visit pbs.org/independentlens. Join the conversation at facebook.com/independentlens and @IndependentLens.