This decade has given us some of the boldest, most informative and timeliest documentaries in film history, and with it coming to an end, many of us here in the IDA staff are looking back on the films that had a special or significant impact on us, not just as documentary professionals, but as documentary lovers. Check out these IDA staff picks and find links to watch some of the best nonfiction storytelling on major streaming platforms, all the way from 2011 to the current moment. And make sure you use a legitimate streaming service to directly support the filmmakers and filmmaking team

There are plenty of films made by creators in the IDA family to catch. Check out the IDA-supported titles at DOC NYC this year, including IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund and Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund grantees, fiscally sponsored projects and DocuClub alumnus.

In celebration of International Youth Day on August 12, we’re highlighting five documentaries that showcase the (pre-COVID) lives of youth from the US and around the world. We Are the Radical Monarchs (Linda Goldstein Knowlton) Meet the Radical Monarchs, an Oakland-based alt-troop composed of young girls of color, with members earning badges for completing units on social justice, including being an LGBTQ ally, the environment and disability justice. An IDA-fiscally sponsored project, the film follows the first troop of Radical Monarchs for over three years until they graduate, and documents

If every documentary tells a story, then one of the most critical issues in our community today is who gets to tell that story, and to whom. IDA has engaged in debates surrounding self-representation and power dynamics in storytelling for a long time–from discussing the pressing need to decolonize docs to “ the inequity of unchallenged filmmaker bias and motives, of the chasm between the subject and audience (and) of film as a tool of racialized colonial power and empire.” August 9 is recognized as International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. While documentaries have attempted to

During the month of May, we celebrate the culture and history of the United States' diverse and expansive Asian-American and Pacific Islander-American communities. The documentary landscape in particular has an incredibly rich offering of stories, many of which can be viewed online. Celebrate Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month by checking out these documentaries from current IDA members and past IDA Documentary Awards winners and nominees! Asian Americans PBS' documentary series Asian Americans is a five-episode saga of the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in American

Most of us find ourselves spending an unprecedented amount of time at home, and cities seem to have come to a standstill. However, thousands of individuals have been waking up and going to work throughout the pandemic, for their loss from the workforce would be devastating for our daily lives. Many of us have the luxury to continue our professional lives from the comfort and safety of our homes, but essential workers are truly at the frontlines of the crisis, ensuring that we remain fed, housed and, if sick, taken care of, during these times. Whether it's medical staff working in emergency

While the planet's human population reels from the devastating impact of the COVID -19 crisis, many have become aware of their immediate natural environment responding to the sudden drop in activity. With social media and news articles discussing bluer skies, cleaner water and a resurgence in wildlife activity, among other phenomena, the possibility for slowing down climate change has been one of the more positive topics of discussion of late. At the same time, our optimism has to be tempered, since the amount of plastic waste generated has increased significantly, alongside the loosening of

Get to know some of IDA's Fiscally-sponsored projects that are available to stream from the comfort of your home, on widely available platforms! We hope you'll continue to support bold, brave and informative storytelling by exploring these titles on Amazon Prime. You can also donate to our current roster of fundraising projects at documentary.org/sponsored-projects. Behind the Bullet (Heidi Yewman) Behind the Bullet explores a side of gun violence that’s rarely talked about- the impact a shooting has on the shooter. The shooters tell the story of how the pull of a trigger changed them

Get to know some of IDA's Fiscally-sponsored projects that are available to stream from the comfort of your home, on widely available platforms! We hope you'll continue to support bold, brave and informative storytelling by exploring these titles on Hulu. You can also donate to our current roster of fundraising projects at documentary.org/sponsored-projects. Best of Enemies (Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon) Best of Enemies is a documentary feature about the legendary 1968 TV debates between two great public intellectuals, Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley and how TV changed the way we talk

Many of you in our community are parents of young and teenage children, and you’re negotiating the tricky balance between keeping the cash flowing and keeping the kids at bay. We came up with a list of docs that just might help achieve that balance! Watch these documentaries that are sure to entertain, inform and spark curiosity in viewers both young and old. They're not just kids, though; adults can always stand to learn or revisit something about themselves with these films. Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018) Morgan Neville's 2018 box office hit profiles the Presbyterian minister-turned-PBS