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12.04.2014 International

Al Jazeera Flies High At New York International TV & Film Awards

By Al Jazeera English Network
Al Jazeera Flies High At New York International TV  Film Awards
12.04.2014 LISTEN

• Al Jazeera's Fault Lines wins two Peabody Awards

• It's A Man's World wins a special Gold UNDPI Award at the 2014 New York Festivals

• Al Jazeera Media Network wins the highest number of awards at the 18th Hong Kong Human Rights Press Awards

Al Jazeera's Fault Lines wins two Peabody Awards
Fault Lines was honoured with two Peabody Awards for the films Haiti in a Time of Cholera and Made in Bangladesh.

The documentaries were awarded for their “broad reach and aggressive journalism,” the Peabody announcement said. “Haiti in a Time of Cholera examined the epidemic that has erupted since the 2010 earthquake and underscored the likelihood that U.N. peacekeepers are the source. Made in Bangladesh found evidence of prominent American retailers turning a blind eye to the dangerous practices of foreign subcontractors, practices that led to horrible tragedies like the clothing-factory fire in Bangladesh that killed more than 100 people.”


Haiti in a Time of Cholera was produced by Sebastian Walker, Singeli Agnew, Jeremy Dupin, Carrie Lozano, and Mathieu Skene, and edited by Warwick Meade. The film begins in Haiti, where thousands have died a painful death after a cholera outbreak. The focus of the film then turns to the United Nations in New York where Walker pursues high-level officials, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to question them over their organisation's apparent role.

"This is a recognition of the commitment Al Jazeera has made to telling stories that are not being heard,” said Walker, who was both a producer and correspondent on the film. “The award is for everyone that we met during the course of filming Haiti in a Time of Cholera. Most of all, it's an opportunity to draw attention to the scale of the cholera crisis in Haiti, and to place the focus firmly on those who are impacted most."

Made in Bangladesh similarly focused on the plight of those who are largely ignored. Producer Laila Al-Arian said it was the recent garment factory accidents in Bangladesh - like the 2012 fire in the Tazreen Fashions factory - that led Fault Lines to examine the underlying problems in the clothing industry. In addition to Al-Arian, the production team behind the film was made up of Anjali Kamat, Tim Grucza, Andy Bowley, Warwick Meade, Paul Sapin, Joel Van Haren, Omar Mullick, Nafeesa Syeed, and Mathieu Skene.

“We hope that the film was able to give a voice to the workers who make clothes for America's biggest retailers - and highlight the dangers they face every day,” Al-Arian said. “We also hope that we shed some light on a complex supply chain system that has contributed to poor, dangerous, and sometimes deadly working conditions.”

In response to the Peabody announcement, Al Jazeera English managing director Al Anstey said, "The exceptional investigative work from the Fault Lines team has once again highlighted what Al Jazeera does best. The human story is at the centre of all Al Jazeera journalism, holding power to account for those whose voices are often not heard.”

Al Jazeera steals the show at Hong Kong Human Rights Press Awards

Al Jazeera Media Network is celebrating winning the highest number of awards at the 18th Hong Kong Human Rights Press Awards, including first prize for its documentary Wukan: The Flame of Democracy, an intimate portrait of the challenges a rural Chinese community faces in the midst of unprecedented political change towards becoming a fledgling democracy.

Al Jazeera's 101 East programme also won four first-place prizes for its Scars of Sri Lanka, Murder In God's Name, Sectarian Divide and Unhealed Wounds Of Osh, despite there being a record number of entries this year from across the region with 475 entries. 101 East also earned a Merit for Nepal's Slave Girls.

Al Jazeera wins three Golds at New York Festivals International TV & Film Awards

At the 2014 New York Festivals International TV & Film Awards, It's A Man's World recently won a Gold UNDPI award judged by a special jury from the United Nations Department of Public Information, as well as receiving two other awards: Silver in the Best News Documentary/Special category and Bronze in the Current Affairs category.

Al Jazeera also won two other Gold medals for Murder In God's Name and Everest: 60th Anniversary; two Silvers for Nepal's Slave Girls and Contagion, as well as three Finalist certificates.

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