Silyan and Apocalypse in the Tropics Shine at IDA Documentary Awards, Enhancing Their Oscar Prospects – Complete Winners List

The Tale of Silyan Takes Top Honors at IDA Documentary Awards

At the 41st Annual IDA Documentary Awards held in Los Angeles, National Geographic’s The Tale of Silyan emerged as the winner of the Best Feature Documentary award, enhancing its chances for Oscar recognition.

Directed by Oscar nominee Tamara Kotevska, known for her work on Honeyland, the film triumphed over other nominees including Apocalypse in the Tropics, Life After, Seeds, and Songs of Slow Burning Earth. This year’s award follows last year’s winner, No Other Land, which also captured an Oscar.

Jean Dakar, who served as the cinematographer and co-producer of The Tale of Silyan, received accolades for Best Cinematography. The documentary is set in Kotevska’s homeland of North Macedonia, portraying the story of Nikola, a farmer who cares for an injured white stork. Dakar’s cinematography highlights the beauty of the storks in flight and their nesting habits, emphasizing the bond between Nikola and the titular bird, Silyan.

In additional winners, Petra Costa’s Apocalypse in the Tropics, a Netflix documentary, clinched two awards: Best Production and Best Writing, the latter shared with collaborators Alessandra Orofino, Nels Bangerter, David Barker, and Tina Baz.

Seeds, directed by Brittany Shyne, won the Best Director award. This film tells the story of Black farmers in the American South, a narrative close to Shyne’s heart, who also received the Emerging Filmmaker Award.

The IDA Awards also recognized Looking for a Donkey, directed by Juan Vicente Manrique, as the Best Short Documentary. The film also defeated notable contenders such as Correct Me If I’m Wrong and Mama Micra.

Ian Bell’s WTO/99, which chronicles the protests surrounding the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, received the award for Best Editing, a joint honor for Bell and Alex Megaro.

The Best Music Documentary award was awarded to One to One: John & Yoko, directed by Kevin Macdonald. This film explores the couple’s life in Greenwich Village during their time in New York, beating out other nominees in a competitive category.

The IDA Awards took place just ahead of Oscar shortlist voting, which begins Monday and runs through Friday. A record 201 films have qualified for the feature documentary category, with shortlist announcements set for December 16.

Below is the list of winners for the 41st Annual IDA Documentary Awards:

Best Feature Documentary Nominee(s):

• Winner: The Tale of Silyan (Republic of North Macedonia, United States, United Kingdom | National Geographic | Director: Tamara Kotevska)
• Nominees:
  • Apocalypse in the Tropics (United States | Netflix | Director: Petra Costa)
  • Life After (United States | Multitude Films | Director: Reid Davenport)
  • Seeds (United States | Director: Brittany Shyne)
  • Songs of Slow Burning Earth (Ukraine, Sweden, Denmark | EPF Media)

Best Short Documentary Nominee(s):

• Winner: Looking for a Donkey (Mexico, Venezuela | Director: Juan Vicente Manrique)
• Nominees:
  • Correct Me If I’m Wrong (Germany, United States | Director: Hao Zhou)
  • If a Walnut Falls (China, Hong Kong | Director: Bohao Liu)
  • Mama Micra (Germany | Director: Rebecca Blöcher)
  • Their Eyes (France, United States | The New York Times Op-Docs | Director: Nicolas Gourault)

Best Director:

• Winner: Brittany Shyne, Seeds (United States)
• Nominees:
  • Petra Costa, Apocalypse in the Tropics (United States | Netflix)
  • Reid Davenport, Life After
  • Olha Zhurba, Songs of Slow Burning Earth
  • Tamara Kotevska, The Tale of Silyan

Best Cinematography:

• Winner: Jean Dakar, The Tale of Silyan

Best Editing:

• Winner: Alex Megaro, Ian Bell, WTO/99 (United States)

Best Original Music Score:

• Winner: Frédéric Filiatre, The Sorcerer: Julio Zachrisson

Best Production:

• Winner: Alessandra Orofino, Petra Costa, Apocalypse in the Tropics

Best Writing:

• Winner: Petra Costa et al., Apocalypse in the Tropics

The IDA Awards celebrate excellence in documentary filmmaking and showcase the important narratives that shape our understanding of the world.