Documentary group unveils film award nominees

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The International Documentary Association on Thursday unveiled nominees for its widely-watched awards, putting its spotlight on non-fiction films that might also compete for Oscars early next year.

The key category of distinguished documentary achievement finds five nominees ranging from a film about four people competing in a television talent show in Afghanistan, "Afghan Star" to the story of a pair of faded rockers hoping for one last grasp at stardom, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil."

The three other nominees are "Food, Inc." about the U.S. food industry, "Diary of a Times Square Thief," which tells of a search for the writer of a diary that was sold on Ebay, and "Mugabe and the White African," the story of a white African farmer who defies the government of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe.

The International Documentary Association, or IDA, is a Los Angeles-based group that promotes non-fiction filmmaking, and because of its influential membership, its choices are often a key indicator of the year's best work in the genre.

In the arena for best short films, the IDA nominated four movies, "The Delian Mode," "Salt," "Sari's Mother," and "The Solitary Life of Cranes."

Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles on December 4.

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by)