Haskell Wexler will receive the 2006 International DocumentaryAssociation's (IDA) Career Achievement Award at the IDA DistinguishedDocumentary Achievement Awards in Los Angeles on Dec 8.

Wexler won cinematography Oscars for Who's Afraid of VirginiaWoolf' in 1967 and BoundFor Glory in 1977, andhas been nominated on three other occasions for One Flew Over The Cuckoo'sNest in 1976, Matewan in 1988, and Blaze in 1990.

But his credits as a documentary film-maker are equally impressiveincluding Brazil - A Report On Torture, Interview With PresidentAllende, CIA Case Officer, The Swine Flu Caper, The Trial Of the CatonsvilleNine, Target Nicaragua - Inside A Secret War and The Bus.

'We could rightly present two career achievement awards toHaskell Wexler,' IDA president Diane Estelle Vicari said. 'Hedeserves this recognition for his incredibly powerful, diverse body of work aswell as for his unwavering courage.

'He has inspired a generation of documentary filmmakers to beuncompromising in their pursuit of the truth regarding the crucial issues ofour times.'

'My excitement in making a documentary comes from making discoveries,seeking a truth, to communicate images that may not conform to the originalintention,' Wexler added.

'When there is an assignment to fill in the colours of apre-painted picture it may be difficult to trust your gut, to do what's in yourheart. Difficult but notimpossible, it's all part of the game we must learn as artist citizens.'