International Documentary Association Adds 4 To Board Of Directors

The International Documentary Association is adding a quartet of distinguished members of the nonfiction film community to its board of directors.

Joining the board are

“We are excited to welcome Inti, Nathalie, Joel, and Luis to the IDA Board of Directors,” IDA Executive Director Dominic Asmall Willsdon said in a statement. “Our board is growing steadily with the inclusion of international leaders in the documentary field who will be invaluable resources in IDA’s efforts in advocacy for documentary filmmakers across the globe.”

The newly added board members join Ina Fichman (co-president), Michael Turner (co-president), Chris Albert (secretary), Maria Agui-Carter (treasurer), Bob Berney, Paula Ossandón Cabrera, Toni Kamau, Grace Lee, Orwa Nyrabia, Chris Pérez, Al Perry, and Amir Shahkhalili.

The IDA announced that Marcia Smith, co-founder of Firelight Media, will be stepping down from the board after serving two terms. The org also noted that Keisha N. Knight, head of the IDA Funds department since 2022, is leaving to establish a new initiative to support systems-impacted filmmakers, The Solidarity Media Network.

The IDA sees its mission as supporting documentary makers and championing “a thriving and inclusive documentary culture… Through our work, we connect audiences with the best of the form, provide resources, create community, and defend the rights and freedoms of documentary artists, activists, and journalists around the globe.”

Below is more background on each of the new board members joining the IDA.

Inti Cordera is a documentary film director, producer, and founder of La Maroma Productions and the DocsMX festival & organization in Mexico City. In his more than 30 years as a director and producer, he has carried out numerous projects for documentary films, series, and TV programs. His work was selected and awarded at renowned festivals in Mexico, Latin America, North America, and Europe. He has also participated as a jury member in festivals and project evaluation committees, as well as in workshops, analysis forums, and work groups in more than 15 countries.

Nathalie Seaver has a long history in film and has held creative development and production executive positions for scripted film and television at Universal Pictures, MGM, Warner Brothers, and Showtime. This narrative background informs her approach to elevated storytelling in her current role, nurturing and supporting documentaries at all stages of production as Executive Vice President at Foothill Productions. Their films have premiered at Sundance, Telluride, TIFF, Tribeca, Hot Docs, and the Venice Biennale and include several Oscar and Emmy Nominees. Recently released titles include Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid, Art Spiegelman, Disaster is My Muse, Food and Country, Desperate Souls, Dark City -The Legend of Midnight Cowboy, and The Martha Mitchell Effect.

Joel Simon is the founding director of the Journalism Protection Initiative at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, part of the City University of New York. He is the author of four books, including The New Censorship: Inside the Global Battle for Media and Media Freedom and most recently The Infodemic: How Censorship and Lies Made the World Sicker and Less Free, co-authored with Robert Mahoney. He writes regularly on press freedom issues for The New Yorker and produces a column for Columbia Journalism Review. From 2006 until 2021, Simon served as executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. His work defending press freedom was featured in the HBO documentary Endangered, which was nominated for an Emmy.

Luis González Zaffaroni is the executive director of DOCSP, an organization focused on the development of the documentary field in São Paulo, Brazil, since 2015. He was the founding director of DocMontevideo (Uruguay, 2009-2023), with a key role in the Latin American documentary community and its international promotion. Always connected with training and networking programs, he has been a consultant and adviser in more than ten countries for cinema agencies, funds, markets, and festivals. He is a member of the advisory board of TAL, the Latin American cultural and public broadcasters network, and the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Network.