39th International Documentary Association (IDA) Awards: ‘Bobi Wine: The People’s President’ Named Best Feature Doc

Bobi Wine: The People’s President has won the IDA Award for Best Documentary Feature from the International Documentary Association.

The film is directed by Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp and tells the story of the titular Ugandan opposition leader, activist and musical star Bobi Wine, who used his music to fight the regime led by Yoweri Museveni, the person who led the country for 35 years.

Bobi Wine: The People’s President premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and has won audience awards at Hamptons International Film Festival and Independent Film Festival of Boston. It is nominated in three competitive categories at next month’s Cinema Eye Honors. Last year, Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes won Best Feature Documentary at the IDA Awards and went on to earn an Oscar nomination.

Here is the complete list of winners and nominees from the 39th International Documentary Association awards.

Best Feature Documentary

• Against the Tide (India | BBC Storyville | Director: Sarvnik Kaur | Producers: Koval Bhatia, Sarvnik Kaur)
• ANHELL69 (Colombia | Square Eyes | Director: Theo Montoya | Producers: Bianca Oana, David Hurst, Theo Montoya, Juan Pablo Castrillon, Balthasar Busmann, Maximilian Haslberger) 
• Apolonia, Apolonia (Denmark, Poland, France | HBO | Max | Director: Lea Glob | Producer: Sidsel Lønvig Siersted)
• Bobi Wine: The People’s President (Uganda | National Geographic Documentary Films | Directors: Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp | Producers: Christopher Sharp, John Battsek) – WINNER
• Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (United States | HBO Documentary Films | Directors: Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster | Producers: Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster, Tommy Oliver)
• In the Rearview (Poland | Cinephil | Director: Maciek Hamela | Producers: Maciek Hamela, Piotr Grawender)
• Milisuthando (South Africa | Director: Milisuthando Bongela | Producers: Marion Isaacs, Viviana Gomez, Sonia Barrera, Milisuthando Bongela, Hankyeol Lee)
• Q (United States | Chehab Films | Director: Jude Chehab | Producers: Jude Chehab, Fahd Ahmed)
• The Mother of All Lies (Morocco | Arizona Distribution | Director/Producer: Asmae El Moudir)
• While We Watched (United Kingdom, India | POV, BRITDOC Films | Director: Vinay Shukla | Producers: Vinay Shukla, Khushboo Ranka, Luke W Moody)

Best Short Documentary

• How to Carry Water (United States | Multitude Films | Director: Sasha Wortzel | Producers: Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney, Anya Rous)
• Incident  (United States | Hypnotic Pictures | Director: Bill Morrison | Producers: Bill Morrison, Jamie Kalven) – WINNER
• Liturgy of Anti-Tank Obstacles (United States | The New Yorker, Condé Nast Entertainment | Director: Dmytro Sukholytkyy Sobchuk | Producer: Daniel Lombroso)
• Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black) (Australia | Other Pictures & Switch Productions | Directors: Derik Lynch, Matthew Thorne | Producers: Matthew Thorne, Patrick Graham)
• Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma) (United States | Director: Sean Wang | Producers: Sean Wang, Sam Davis, Malcolm Pullinger)
• Neighbour Abdi (The Netherlands | The New York Times Op-Docs | Director: Douwe Dijkstra | Producer: Richard Valk)
• Raat: Night Time in Small Town India (India | The Third Eye Learning Lab | Directors: Arti Ahirwar, Ashraf Hussain, Rajkumari Ahirwar, Vikas Khatri, Tabassum Ansari, Kulsum Khatoon, Khushi Bano, Parmeshwar Mandrawaliya, Santra Chaurthiya, Rajkumari Prajapati, Manisha Chanda, Anita Sen, Rani Devi, Ajfarul Shaikh | Producers: Ruchika Negi, Dipta Bhog, Shabani Hassanwalia, Shivam Rastogi)
• Suddenly TV (Sudan | Gisa Productions | Director/Producer: Roopa Gogineni)
• The Unicorn in Snowpants Suddenly Ran Off (Germany | The New Yorker, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg | Director: Philipp Schaeffer | Producer: Fabian Leonhardt)
• The Veiled City (United Kingdom | JSH Films | Director: Natalie Cubides-Brady | Producer: Jacob Swan Hyam)

Best Director

• Asmae El Moudir, The Mother of All Lies (Arizona Distribution | Morocco) – WINNER
• Milisuthando Bongela, Milisuthando (South Africa)
• Sarvnik Kaur, Against the Tide (BBC Storyville | India)
• Theo Montoya, ANHELL69 (Square Eyes | Colombia)
• Lea Glob, Apolonia, Apolonia (HBO | Max | Denmark, Poland, France)

Best Cinematography

• Andrew H. Brown, Between the Rains (Journeyman Pictures | Kenya, USA)
• Ants Tammik, Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Greenwich Entertainment | Estonia, France, Iceland) – WINNER
• Curren Sheldon, King Coal (King Coal Productions LLC | USA)
• Franz Lustig, Anselm (Sideshow and Janus Films | Germany)
• Lars Erlend Tubaas Oymo, Songs of Earth (SWC/Arte, BBC Storyville | Norway)

Best Editing

• Andreas Bøggild Monies, Thor Ochsner, Apolonia, Apolonia (HBO | Max | Denmark, Poland, France)
• Carolina Siraqyan, The Eternal Memory (MTV Documentary Films | Chile, USA) – WINNER
• Fahd Ahmed, Q (Chehab Films | USA, Lebanon)
• Hendrik Mägar, Tushar Prakash, Qutaiba Barhamji, Martin Männik, Anna Hints, Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Greenwich Entertainment | Estonia, France, Iceland)

Best Original Music Score

• Jonathan Goldsmith, To Kill a Tiger (National Film Board of Canada | Canada, India)
• Leonard Küssner, Anselm (Sideshow and Janus Films | Germany) – WINNER
• Rebekka Karijord, Songs of Earth (SWR/Arte, BBC Storyville | Norway)
• Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall, Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (HBO Documentary Films | USA)
• Will Epstein, Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV (Greenwich Entertainment | USA)

Best Writing

• Asmae El Moudir, The Mother of All Lies (Arizona Distribution | Morocco)
• Kaouther Ben Hania, Four Daughters (Kino Lorber | France, Tunisia, Germany) – WINNER
• Lea Glob, Andreas Bøggild Monies, Apolonia, Apolonia (HBO | Max | Denmark, Poland, France)
• Milisuthando Bongela, Milisuthando (South Africa)
• Nisha Pahuja, To Kill a Tiger (National Film Board of Canada | Canada, India)

Best TV Feature or Mini-Series

• Great Photo, Lovely Life (HBO | Max | USA | Directors: Amanda Mustard, Rachel Beth Anderson | EP: Rachel Dretzin, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller and Sara Rodriguez | Producers: Amanda Mustard, Rachel Beth Anderson, Luke Malone)
• How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer (Showtime | USA | Director: Jeff Zimbalist | EP: Vinnie Malhotra, Stu Schreiberg, John Buffalo Mailer, Producers: Victoria Marquette, Jeff Zimbalist)
• Mariupol: The People’s Story (BBC | UK | Director: Robin Barnwell | EP: Darren Kemp, Tom Stone | Producer: Hilary Andersson) – WINNER
• Reggie (Prime Video | USA | Director: Alexandria Stapleton | EP: Brenda Gilbert, Aaron L. Gilbert, Josh Miller, Kim Carsten, Zoë Morrison, Jason Cloth, Suraj Maraboyina, Producers: Alexandria Stapleton, Christopher Leggett, Rafael Marmor, Daniel Crown, Yoni Liebling)
• The U.S. and the Holocaust (PBS | USA | Directors: Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, Sarah Botstein |  Producers: Sarah Botstein, Lynn Novick, Ken Burns, Mike Welt)

Best Curated Series

• American Masters (PBS | USA | EP: Michael Kantor) 
• America ReFramed (American Documentary, Inc, WORLD Channel | USA | EP: Erika Dilday, Chris White, Christopher Hastings)
• Independent Lens (PBS, Independent Lens | USA | EP: Sally Jo Fifer, Lois Vossen)
• POV (PBS | USA | EP: Erika Dilday, Chris White) – WINNER
• Reel South (PBS, WORLD Channel | USA, South Korea, UK | EP: Rachel Raney, Don Godish, Donald Washington, Linda Midgett)

Best Episodic Series

• Frozen Planet II (BBC America | USA | EP: Mark Brownlow) 
• Our Planet II (Netflix | USA, UK | EP: Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey) – WINNER
• Telemarketers (HBO | Max | USA | EP: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Dani Bernfeld, David Gordon Green, Jody Hill, Danny McBride, Greg Stewart, Brandon James, Adam Bhala Lough, Sam Lipman-Stern, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Tina Nguyen)
• The Hair Tales (Hulu/OWN | USA | EP: Oprah Winfrey, Tracee Ellis Ross, Michaela Angela Davis, Tara Duncan, Raeshem Nijhon, Carri Twigg, Kisah Imani Cameron, Kadine Anckle, Nicole Galovski)
• VICE (Showtime | USA | EP: Beverly Chase, Subrata De and Craig Thomson)

Best Music Documentary

• Keeping the Music Alive (France, Singapore, UK | TVF International | Directors: Sarah El Younsi, Mandakini Gahlot | Producers: Babel Doc, CNA)
• Little Richard: I Am Everything (Magnolia Pictures, CNN Film, HBO | Max | USA, UK | Director: Lisa Cortés | Producers: Lisa Cortés, Robert Friedman, Liz Yale Marsh, Caryn Capotosto)
• Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes (PBS, American Masters | USA | Directors/Producers: Ben Shapiro, Sam Pollard) – WINNER
• Milli Vanilli (USA | Paramount+ | Director: Luke Korem | Producers: Luke Korem, Bradley Jackson)
• Pianoforte (Poland, Germany | Greenwich Entertainment | Director: Jakub Piatek | Producer: Maciej Kubicki)

Best Multi-Part Documentary

• Algiers, America (Hulu | USA | Director: Jackson Fager | Producers: Jackson Fager, Jeffrey Fager, David Rohde, Connor Schell, Libby Geist, Raina Kelley, Joseph Langford, Durado Brookes, Raza Naqvi, Kristen Lappas)
• Burden of Proof (HBO | Max | USA | Director: Cynthia Hill | EP: Charlotte Cook, Rahdi Taylor, Davis Guggenheim, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller | Producers: Christine Delp, Cynthia Hill, Andrea Weigl)
• Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court (Showtime | USA | Director: Dawn Porter | Producers: Vinnie Malhotra, Aaron Saidman, Eli Holzman, Dawn Porter)
• Dear Mama (FX | USA | Director: Allen Hughes | EP: Lasse Järvi, Quincy “QD3” Jones III, Staci Robinson, Nelson George, Charles King, Peter Nelson, Adel “Future” Nur, Jamal Joseph, Ted Skillman, Allen Hughes, Steve Berman, Marc Cimino, Jody Gerson, John Nanick, Nicholas Ferrall, Nigel Sinclair) – WINNER
• Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop (Netflix | USA | Directors: Hannah Beachler, Raeshem Nijhon, Dream Hampton, Giselle Bailey| EP: Dream Hampton, Troy Carter, Raeshem Nijhon, Carri Twigg, MC Lyte, Nicole Galovski, Justin Simien, Jennifer Ryan)

Best Short-Form Series

• 99: True Stories From Your Fellow Humans (99 | USA, India, UK | Producer: Jérôme Plan)
• Couples Therapy (Showtime | USA | Producers: Eli Despres, Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg, Vinnie Malhotra)
• Equals (Anahad Foundation | India | Producers: Abhinav Agrawal, Shuchi Roy, Mudit Chaturvedi)
• POV Shorts (PBS | USA | EP: Opal H. Bennett, Erika Dilday, Chris White) – WINNER
• Queer Futures (Multitude Films | USA | Producers: Jess Devaney, Anya Rous, J Wortham, Colleen Cassingham)

Best Standalone Audio Documentary

• K-Pop Dreaming, Episode 3 – “Trot” (USA | LAist Studios | Host: Vivian Yoon | Producers: Fiona Ng, Antonia Cereijido)
• Les gardiennes du temple (The Guardians of the Temple) (France | SMAC Le Florida, Théâtre des Quatre Saisons, RTBF, RTS Culture SRG SSR | Hosts: Aurélien Caillaux, Benoit Bores | Producers: Faïdos Sonore, Les Voix de Traverse, SMAC Le Florida, Théâtre des Quatre Saisons)
• Sounds Gay: Melanie Speaks (USA | SiriusXM Podcast Network | Host/Producer: Sarah Esocoff | Producer: Cass Adair)
• NPR’s Invisibilia: Freedom Diving (USA | NPR | Host: Kia Miakka Natisse | Producers: Phoebe Wang, Ariana Gharib Lee)
• This Coal Life (South Africa | Host: Lesedi Mogoatlhe | Reporter: Siyabonga Mokoena | Producer: Dhashen Moodley) – WINNER
• Toughie (USA | BBC’s Short Cuts | Host: Josie Long | Reporter/Producer: Sarah Craig)

Best Multi-Part Audio Documentary or Series

• Foretold (USA | Los Angeles Times | Host: Faith E. Pinho | Producers: Asal Ehsanipour, Alex Higgins, Lauren Raab, Sue Horton, Avery Trufelman, Jazmín Aguilera, Heba Elorbany, Ethel Brooks, Mike Heflin, Vadim Kolpakov, Alex PGSV)
• Into America presents: Street Disciples (USA | MSNBC | Host: Trymaine Lee | Producers: Aisha Turner, Isabel Angell, Max Jacobs, Allison Bailey, Mike Brown, Janmaris Perez)
• Operation Morning Light (USA, Canada | Imperative Entertainment, Vespucci | Host: Dëneze Nakehk’o | Producers: Michael LaPointe, Daniel Turcan, Johnny Galvin, Jason Hoch)
• Scamanda (USA | Lionsgate Sound | Host: Charlie Webster | Producer: Charlie Webster, Jaxson McLennan | EP: Craig Piligian, Charlie Webster, Nancy Moscatiello)
• The Greatest Menace: Inside The Gay Prison Experiment (Australia | Audible | Host/Producer: Patrick Abboud | Producer: Simon Cunich)
• You Didn’t See Nothin (USA | The Invisible Institute, USG Audio | Host: Yohance Lacour | Producers: Bill Healy, Erisa Apantaku, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Sarah Geis) – WINNER

David L. Wolper Student Documentary

• El Bastón (The City College of New York | USA, Colombia | Director: ​​Nemo Allen | Producers: Aditi Natasha Kini, Juan Blanco García)
• Hungry for Freedom (National Film and Television School | UK, Thailand | Director/Producer: Rachata Thongruay | Producer: Athena Vlachos)
• Lettre à Elie (Letter to Elie) (National Film and Television School | UK | Director/Producer: Alexis Grigorieff) – WINNER
• The Paradise Park Will Close on Fridays at Three (National Film and Television School | UK | Director/Producer: Frank Eli Martin | Producer: Tal Elkayam)
• With Woman (National Film and Television School | UK | Director/Producer: Mia Harvey)

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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