LOS ANGELES -- Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine heads the list of 20 all-time favorite non-fiction films selected by members of the International Documentary Association (IDA). The "Top 20 at 20" list was released today in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the organization. The list contains an eclectic mix of non-fiction films from different times in history and various parts of the world.

"The common denominator is that all of these films provide an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the human condition," says IDA Executive Director Sandra Ruch. "Each of them grabs and holds your interest. They make you think about things you might not have ever considered before. This was a very difficult decision for our members. It is a little like asking them to vote for their favorite child."

Topics ranged from the lives of Eskimos in Robert Flaherty’s classic film Nanook of the North to Ken Burns’ The Civil War, which was the highest rated series in the history of public television. The Maysles brothers, Albert and David, had three films on the list -- Salesman, Grey Gardens, and Gimme Shelter. Moore had a second mention for Roger and Me. Errol Morris was the only other filmmaker with multiple documentaries in the top 20 with The Thin Blue Line and Fast, Cheap and Out of Control.

The release of the Top 20 at 20 list begins a weekend of events celebrating the documentary form. IDA will fete the 2002 IDA Distinguished Documentary Achievement Award winners tomorrow (December 13) evening at the Directors Guild of America Theatre. Other highlights include the presentations of the Career Achievement award to Ken Burns and the Pioneer Award to Agnes Varda.

On Saturday, the IDA’s annual DocuFest at the Eastman Kodak Company will feature screenings of all the 2002 IDA Award-winning films.
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The IDA traces its roots to an informal meeting of a dozen filmmakers in Los Angeles in 1982. They defined a need for a non-profit organization that could serve as a forum where non-fiction filmmakers could share ideas and discuss and advocate issues of common interest. IDA has some 2,700 members in 50 countries today.

The complete list of the top 20 films is as follows:

The Top 20 at 20
1. Bowling for Columbine (2002) – Michael Moore explores the roots of America’s predilection for murder and other violence and the connection to attitudes about guns and gun control compared to other countries.

2. The Thin Blue Line (1988) – Errol Morris probes the 1976 murder of a Dallas policeman, and the wrongful conviction of one of the two men implicated in the killing.

3. Roger & Me (1989) –Michael Moore pursues General Motors CEO Roger Smith to talk about massive downsizing by the auto manufacturer and the effects on Flint, Michigan.

4. Hoop Dreams (1994) – Filmmaker Steve James follows the lives of two basketball players from an inner city high school who harbor legitimate hopes of playing professional basketball.

5. Salesman (1969) –Albert and David Maysles follow four employees of a company that makes expensive, ornate, illustrated bibles as they attempt to sell the items door-to-door.

6. Nanook of the North (1922) –Robert Flaherty documented one year in the life of Nanook, an Eskimo (Inuit) and his family. It is a story of life and love in the Arctic.

7. Night and Fog (1955) –Alain Resnais’ probing remembrance of the Holocaust using contemporary images of the abandoned camp at Auschwitz along with newsreel footage of the atrocities that occurred there.

8. Harlan County, USA (1976) –Barbara Kopple chronicles the fight of 190 coal mining families for dignity and fairness in Harlan County, Kentucky.

9. Grey Gardens (1975) – Albert and David Maysles document the story of the eccentric aunt and first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis who live in a world of their own in their decaying 28-room East Hampton mansion known as Grey Gardens.

10. The Civil War (1990) – Ken Burns compiles a nine-part series recounting the story of the most important event in American history through the heroic actions and poignant words of the people, great and small, who lived through it.

11. Crumb (1994) –Director Terry Zwigoff chronicles the life and times of Robert Crumb, the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix.

12. Gimme Shelter (1970) – Albert and David Maysles followed the ill-fated Rolling Stones free concert at Altamont Speedway in December 1969.

13. 7 Up series (1963) –Michael Apted interviewed 14 British children, all age seven, but diverse in gender, race and economic background. Apted follows up with the children every seven years. Most recently 42 Up.

14. Fast, Cheap and Out of Control (1997) – This film by Errol Morris interweaves the stories of four obsessive men, each driven to create eccentric worlds of their dreams, all involving animals.

15. Titicut Follies (1967) – Frederick Wiseman chronicles life inside a Massachusetts institution for mentally ill convicts, and their abuse at the hands of the guards and doctors.

16. When We Were Kings (1996) – Director Leon Gast profiles the 1974 heavyweight championship bout in Zaire between champion George Foreman and underdog challenger Muhammad Ali.

17. American Movie: The Making of Northwestern (1999) –Chris Smith documents aspiring filmmaker Mark Borchardt’s three-year effort to produce a short horror film.

18. Shoah (1985) – Claude Lanzmann directed this 9-1/2 hour documentary of the Holocaust by interviewing survivors, witnesses, and ex-Nazis.

19. The Man with a Movie Camera (1929) –Dziga Vertov travels around a Russian city, with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling inventiveness.

20. Sherman’s March (1986) —Ross McElwee documents the lingering effects of General Sherman’s march of destruction through the South during the Civil War.

For more information visit the IDA Web site at www.documentary.org.


Source: International Documentary Association (IDA)