WINNERS, The Rory Peck Award for Features 2012
for
Misrata, Victory or Death
Shot in Libya, May-June 2011
Self-funded
Broadcast by VTR / Canvas, Canal Sur, Direct TV

Alberto and Ricardo travelled to Misrata in a rebel-sponsored supply boat from Malta. They arrived in the city at the height of the siege and joined a group of rebel fighters. This film follows their story.

BACKGROUND
The film shows young rebel fighters returning to their homes at the end of their "shift" on the front-line and hear them talk of their lives before the revolution and their hopes for the future. We see what happens when a group of young office workers and shop workers become a fighting unit. And we see the total chaos of battle.

VIDEO CLIP

JUDGES COMMENTS
The judges described the work as "superlative front-line photography" One said: "Some of the battle scenes are cinematic and fearless. He never missed a moment and it left me with my heart in my mouth.

The film is in Spanish - and I don’t speak good Spanish - but I watched the whole thing mesmerized." Another said: "This film feels like Spielberg's Band of Brothers. It gives real insight into how a group of men - completely untried and untested in war - reacted under extreme pressure."

BIOGRAPHIES
Journalist and filmmaker Alberto Arce has directed several documentaries in Iraq and Afganistan. His film, To Shoot an Elephantwhich was filmed in Gaza in 2008-2009 won awards at the Amnesty International, Thessaloniki and Florence Film Festivals, and was also awarded the Red Vectacrom at the Cinema du Reel in Paris. In 2009 he was recipient of the Anna Lindh award for conflict coverage for El Mundo. He has also written for La Vanguardia and Vice Magazine. Alberto currently lives in Central América, where he has written investigative pieces for the guatemalan Plaza Publica and is now correspondent for the Associated Press.

Ricardo Garcia Vilanova has been a freelance photojournalist for 15 years. His work has been published in most of the world's leading newspapers and magazines and he has exhibited in various world capitals. He has been honoured at awards in Europe and the US. As a video journalist he has worked for CNN, Channel 4, Reuters, APTN, Euronews, Cuatro, Telecinco and TV3, and in the production of documentaries. He has also collaborated with organizations such as United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch, Medicins sans Frontieres and Medicins du Monde. He is currently based in Barcelona.   

LINKS

• Ricardo's website
• Alberto Arce on Twitter
• Alberto's Honduras