October 29, 2008

Equality Watch: International Documentary Association Nominations

I've been told by a variety of people for stories I've written that the documentary world is pretty much 50/50, and that at times women directors and women's stories dominate the festivals. I'm no documentary expert but looking at the list of the feature nominees for the International Documentary Association annual awards there is nary a women's story of a female director. My biggest question is: where is Trouble the Water one of the most popular docs of the year from a critical and public perspective.

I guess people will say that the short section is dominated by women (four out of the five) but I don't think that cuts it.
Short female nominees:
"Kicks Like a Girl," directed by Jenny Mackenzie
"La Corona," directed by Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
"Smile Pinki," directed by Megan Mylan
"Tongzhi in Love," directed by Ruby Yang

The three achievement awards will also be given to men.

Women documentarians - what do you think?
"Kassim," "Wire," "Stranded," "Waltz" and "Young" Compete for IDA Honors (Indiewire)