The IDA Documentary Awards is the world's most prestigious event dedicated to the documentary genre. The ceremony was last night and this year’s best documentary prize went to Jonas Poher Rasmussen‘s “Flee.”
And yet, still, most pundits believe Questlove’s “Summer of Soul” is winning the Oscar. Why? Fine, the film has topical resonance, but it’s mostly composed of archival footage, plus the Academy voting body in the Doc category doesn’t always warm up to docs built around archival footage.
Regardless, the 2022 IDA gave “Flee” a major boost last night. Questlove did win the Best Director award (what?) for a film that was more about its incredible found footage being seamlessly edited into a highly entertaining coherent whole.
“Flee” made Oscar history as the only film to earn Documentary, Animated, and International Oscar nominations. Its best chances still lie in the Doc category. This is basically going to be a fight between Rasmussen and Questlove’s films.
The remaining three nominees for the Best Documentary Oscar are Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry’s “Attica,” Jessica Kingdon’s “Ascension,” and Rintu Thomas’ “Writing With Fire.”