THE RORY PECK AWARDS 2007
Sponsored by Sony
George Azar
Gaza FixerFinalist: The Rory Peck Award for Features
This is the story of how photojournalist / cameraman George Azar and his driver Raed Athamneh cover the news in the Gaza Strip. It starts as a chronicle of their daily work and their relationship, but changes totally when eighteen members of Raed’s family are massacred at Beit Hanoun. For a moment, Raed becomes the focus of the international news media.
The judges found the film very moving.
“This is excellent story-telling- well-shot – that gives us a unique and insightful look at life in Gaza.”
Cameraman's Comment
“The most difficult aspect of making this film was not the working conditions or dangers involved, but simply to keep the camera rolling while such a close colleague and friend faced the most horrific emotional and psychological challenge of his life. The closeness of Raed’s pain made turning the camera on him during those raw moments very difficult.”
BiographyFilmmaker and photojournalist George Azar has covered war and peace in the Middle East since 1981. He was born in Philadelphia and educated at the University of California, Berkeley. He began his career in Beirut, as a photojournalist covering the Lebanese Civil War for the Associated Press. His assignments have included Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, the First Intifada, the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, the Washington Peace Talks, the death of Arafat, the war in Iraq and the rise of Hamas. In the course of his work he has been kidnapped four times, captured in battle and presumed dead, and once placed against a wall and marked for execution.
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