The 2025 IDA Documentary Awards wrapped up with a notable lineup of winners and nominees. The ceremony served as a space of recognition for nonfiction creators across film and television.This year's IDA Documentary Awards took place across three days. It concluded with the official award presentation at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Saturday. The event was hosted by former Sundance Film Festival director Tabitha Jackson.This year's results might be significant for the documentary scene ahead of the 2026 awards season. Notably, the Oscars shortlist announcements have been officially scheduled for December 16, 2025. Multiple of the nominated projects at the 41st IDA Documentary Awards are also contenders in the Academy Awards documentary categories. More than 550 entries were submitted from 85 countries at the IDA Awards. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostAn official description on IDA Documentary's website reads:"Since 1984, the IDA Documentary Awards have recognized a diverse range of emerging and established filmmakers, and expanded to include recognition of artistic direction, audio documentaries, documentary journalism, and music documentaries, as well as individual honors such as the Courage Under Fire Award and Career Achievement Award."It continues:"IDA Members receive the exclusive benefit of streaming all the Best Feature and Best Short nominees from anywhere in the world, selecting their favorites through an online judging portal. If you are not already a member, join the IDA family today and become a part of the world’s most distinguished documentary awards ceremony!"National Geographic's The Tale of Silyan was one of the most notable titles of the 2025 IDA Documentary Awards. The documentary won the award for Best Feature Documentary and also bagged Best Cinematography.The nonfiction is directed by Tamara Kotevska. The film follows a North Macedonian immigrant. The story has also received recognition on the international circuit, including its Cinema and Arts award win at the Venice Film Festival. North Macedonia has also submitted the project for Best International Feature at the Oscars.A complete breakdown of all nominees and winners across all categories of the 2025 IDA Documentary Awards is listed below.Complete list of winners and nominees at the 2025 IDA Documentary AwardsBest Feature Documentary at the 2025 IDA Documentary AwardsWinner:The Tale of Silyan (Republic of North Macedonia, United States, United Kingdom | National Geographic | Director: Tamara Kotevska | Producers: Tamara Kotevska, Jean Dakar, Anna Hashmi, Jordanco Petkovski)Nominees:Apocalypse in the Tropics (United States | Netflix | Director: Petra Costa | Producers: Alessandra Orofino, Petra Costa)Life After (United States | Multitude Films | Director: Reid Davenport | Producer: Colleen Cassingham)Seeds (United States | Director: Brittany Shyne | Producers: Danielle Varga, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, Brittany Shyne)Songs of Slow Burning Earth (Ukraine, Sweden, Denmark | EPF Media | Director: Olha Zhurba | Producer: Darya Bassel)Best Short Documentary at the 2025 IDA Documentary AwardsWinner:Looking for a Donkey (Mexico, Venezuela | Director: Juan Vicente Manrique | Producers: Juan Vicente Manrique, María Benítez)Nominees:Correct Me If I'm Wrong (Germany, United States | Director: Hao Zhou | Producer: Tyler Hill)If a Walnut Falls (China, Hong Kong | Director: Bohao Liu | Producer: Bohao Liu)Mama Micra (Germany | interfilm Berlin | Director: Rebecca Blöcher | Co-director: Frédéric Schuld | Producer: Fabian Driehorst)Their Eyes (France, United States | The New York Times Op-Docs | Director: Nicolas Gourault | Producers: Yannick Beauquis, Quentin Brayer)Best DirectorWinner:Brittany Shyne, Seeds (United States)Nominees:Petra Costa, Apocalypse in the Tropics (United States | Netflix)Reid Davenport, Life After (United States | Multitude Films)Olha Zhurba, Songs of Slow Burning Earth (Ukraine, Sweden, Denmark | EPF Media)Tamara Kotevska, The Tale of Silyan (Republic of North Macedonia, United States, United Kingdom | National Geographic)Best CinematographyWinner:Jean Dakar, The Tale of SilyanNominees:Ben Sturgulewski, Champions of the Golden ValleySubhadeep Dey, Mrinmoy Mondal, Rupesh Chaturbedi, Redlight to LimelightNatalia Pietsch, Grzegorz Piekarski, The Town That Drove AwayRichard Ladkani, YanuniBest EditingWinner:Alex Megaro, Ian Bell, WTO/99Nominees:Julia Loktev, My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in MoscowPablo Proenza, NatchezJason Reid, Robinson Devor, Adam Sekuler, Matt Levinthal, Suburban FuryDaniel Claridge, Pedro Kos, Sara Newens, The White House EffectBest Original Music ScoreWinner:Frédéric Filiatre, The Sorcerer: Julio ZachrissonNominees:Sam Slater, DiviaMato Wayuhi, Free Leonard PeltierMatthew Dougherty, ShuffleAfshin Azizi, Writing HawaBest ProductionWinner:Alessandra Orofino, Petra Costa, Apocalypse in the Tropics (United States | Netflix)Nominees:Yoni Golijov, Olivia Streisand, Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus, Cover-UpColleen Cassingham, Life AfterDanielle Varga, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, Brittany Shyne, SeedsAndrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman, The Alabama SolutionBest Sound DesignWinner:Thomas Perez-Pape, Only on EarthNominees:Yannick Dauby, AlwaysAlexander Dudarev, ArchitectonRico Andriolo, Manu Gerber, Song of BreathRubí J. Pérez, The Silence of My HandsBest WritingWinner:Petra Costa, Alessandra Orofino, Nels Bangerter, David Barker, Tina Baz, Apocalypse in the TropicsNominees:Bipuljit Basu, Redlight to LimelightSasha Wortzel, River of GrassCristina Costantini, Tom Maroney, SallyRobinson Devor, Jason Reid, Bob Fink, Charles Mudede, Suburban FuryBest Curated SeriesWinner:99 (France | EP: Jérôme Plan)Nominees:Independent LensPOV Season 38POV Shorts Season 8The New York Times Op-DocsBest Episodic SeriesWinner:Citizen Nation (United States | PBS)Nominees:EarnhardtEyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot RestThe Sing Sing ChroniclesTurning Point: The Vietnam WarBest Music DocumentaryWinner:One to One: John & Yoko (United Kingdom)Nominees:El Canto de las ManosMove Ya Body: The Birth of HouseSelena y Los DinosSly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)David L. Wolper Student DocumentaryWinner:What a day, what a life (United Kingdom)Nominees:Beyond EdenDancing in TomorrowlandTwo Days on the InterstateTwo Travelling AuntiesABC News VideoSource AwardWinner: Deaf President Now! (United States)Pare Lorentz AwardWinner: River of Grass (United States)Congratulations to all winners of the 2025 IDA Documentary Awards!Also Read: The Streamer Awards 2025: Complete list of winners and nominees explored"You gotta love it a lot, because it's really hard": Sydney Sweeney reflects on early career challenges"I suddenly became funny and sexual": Jane Seymour reflects on breaking stereotypes with Wedding Crashers role