Simon Kilmurry Stepping Down From International Documentary Association Post

The International Documentary Association has announced that Executive Director Simon Kilmurry will step down in mid-2021.

Kilmurry joined IDA in 2015 after serving as executive director of American Documentary and executive producer of the PBS series’ “POV” and “America ReFramed.”

The IDA announced the move Monday and noted that during his tenure at IDA, the organization launched the Enterprise Documentary Fund with funding support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and established the Logan Elevate Grants to support emerging women filmmakers of color with support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. IDA’s annual grantmaking now exceeds $1.3 million annually.

The organization also said IDA’s Getting Real filmmaker conference has grown to become a “cornerstone” event and need that IDA’s advocacy work also expanded in support of filmmakers’ rights internationally, including serving as the plaintiff in an ongoing lawsuit against the Trump administration’s visa requirements in partnership with Doc Society, the Knight First Amendment Institute and the Brennan Center for Justice.

“The IDA Awards has continued to grow in stature and is seen as a bellwether during awards season identifying which documentaries will garner the attention of the Academy,” the organization said.

The IDA Board of Directors has established a committee to search for a new executive director chaired by James Costa and Lauren Lexton, co-vice presidents of IDA’s Board.

“I’m incredibly proud of what we have accomplished over the past five-plus years,” said Kilmurry in a statement. “IDA’s reach and impact has grown exponentially thanks to the incredible contributions of my colleagues and the board of directors. I’m happy to leave IDA as a more vital and stronger organization on every measure and know it will continue to have an immense impact on our field.”