FRONTLINE’s “Two American Families: 1991-2024” Nominated for IDA Documentary Award

The International Documentary Association has named Two American Families: 1991-2024 a 2024 IDA Documentary Award nominee. The documentary, from FRONTLINE (the PBS documentary series produced at GBH in Boston), Bill Moyers and filmmakers Tom Casciato and Kathleen Hughes, was nominated in the “Best Feature TV Documentary” category. Filmed over three decades, Two American Families: 1991-2024 tells the stories of two families in Milwaukee, Wisconsin — one Black, the Stanleys, and one white, the Neumanns — who have spent the past 34 years battling to keep from sliding into poverty, and who refuse to give up despite the economic challenges that their stories reveal. With profound intimacy, Two American Families: 1991-2024 probes a central premise of the American dream: If you’re willing to work hard, you’ll be able to make a living and build a better life for your children. The documentary chronicles the stories of the Neumanns and the Stanleys across six presidential administrations and asks, “What if working hard isn’t enough to get ahead — or even to ensure your family’s basic financial stability?” The film serves as a portrait of perseverance that raises unsettling questions about the changing nature of the American economy and the impact on people struggling to make a living. According to the IDA’s website, the IDA Documentary Awards celebrate “the best nonfiction films and programs of the year,” and  seek “to represent excellence in the documentary field from around the world by emerging and established documentarians.” The IDA also notes that this year’s nominees were selected by independent committees of 300 documentary makers, curators, critics and industry experts from more than 40 countries. More than 700 films were submitted to the awards this year from more than 70 countries. The 40th IDA Documentary Awards will be held in Los Angeles, California, on Dec. 5, 2024. Watch Two American Families: 1991-2024 below: