THE RORY PECK AWARDS 2002
Sponsored by Sony

Stephen Finnigan   British
Elizabeth C. Jones  Canadian
Finalists: The Rory Peck Award for Features

"State of Terror"
Shot: Jenin, Hebron, April 2002
Mentorn for Channel 4 Television

Last April, Israeli forces moved into the West Bank town of Jenin in response to a spate of Palestinian suicide bombings. During the violent period of the Israeli occupation of Jenin, it was impossible to gain access to the town. However just before the Israeli army pulled out, the crew negotiated their way through the checkpoints and followed the work of a UN pathologist investigating claims of a massacre. For several days they filmed, showing the destruction, trying to uncover the mystery of how Palestinians had died there - were they fighters, or were they innocent civilians?

When a contact rang to inform them that the Israeli forces were going to launch an attack on Palestinian targets one night, the crew used a Palestinian fixer to make a night-time dash from Jerusalem to Hebron. Here, at 3am, the unmistakable sound of tank fire heralded an attack. The next morning, with the attack still going on, the crew risked a trip to view the aftermath. They witnessed soldiers rounding up and blindfolding Palestinians prior to their arrest and visited the hospital to count the dead and wounded. The only television journalists on the streets that day, under threat themselves, the crew chased the continuing tank fire in order to bear witness.

Judges' Comments
"It is a forensic, in both senses, attempt to try and
investigate the word 'massacre'."
"The freshness of testimony and fairness of
journalism made it very compelling."
"Thorough, well-constructed, gripping - great storytelling."

Biography

Stephen Finnigan is a British freelance filmmaker who has produced a variety of documentaries and reports for UK and worldwide media over the last eight years. His recent Projects include a documentary on private investigators in Manchester, "Lost in Everest's Death Zone" and "Children of the Revolution", investigating political and cultural freedom in China.

Twice-nominated as a finalist for the Rory Peck Awards, in 1995 for her feature for BBC Newsnight in the wake of the Rwandan genocide, and in 1999 for Congo - A Road to Nowhere, Elizabeth C. Jones became a freelance producer, reporter and cameraperson for the BBC and CBC in 1991. Since then, based between London and Africa, she has worked for all the major broadcasters. Over the last year she has reported from India, Israel, Somalia, Afghanistan and Congo.