Awe is the only word
Roger Graef, Chairman of the Judges, gives his report
To
viewers, the differences between news, current affairs programmes and
documentaries may seem small. They're all 'real', or at least part of
factual television. But to those who make them, each category has its
own demands and challenges. News footage is shot, edited, sent across
the world and transmitted within hours. Current affairs teams usually
have several weeks to deliver, while documentaries take months, even years
before reaching the screen. But they all rely on good, insightful pictures.
The unsung heroes who produce those pictures are the camera people who often risk their lives on our behalf. The scale of that heroism is often hidden behind the story itself, and the neat packaging of its presentation. If you're watching the horror in East Timor, Kosovo, or Sierra Leone, it is not the moment to consider how those upsetting pictures were captured.
But it is entirely fitting that our industry should properly acknowledge the people carrying cameras into situations which few of us would wish to be anywhere near. That many are freelance makes them braver still. They risk their bodies and their livelihoods. They rely on the approval of broadcasters and newsrooms on the other side of the globe. New technology makes this easier, but the ruthlessness of conflicts and hazards in places like Rwanda and Chechnya seem to increase in parallel.
Despite years of making international documentaries and current affairs, these points came clearly into focus for me as Chair of the judging panel. We were privileged to see work from an astonishing spectrum of brave people. Their pictures were sometimes beautiful, sometimes just harrowing, but always astonishing for operating so well in such precarious conditions. A freelance filmmaker ventured alone into the heart of the Zairean civil war to film the first evidence of foreign troops. Another survived a serious accident that hospitalised him for months to trek with the KLA on the inhospitable mountain border of Albania. Yet another rode an engine in Algeria testing for a bomb of the kind that had destroyed many other trains. Another hung out the window of his Pristina hotel - exposing himself to snipers - to track in perfect focus - German soldiers attacking a gunman's car. Yet another freelance cameraman followed rebels running amok in Sierra Leone at incredible risk to himself.
It is impossible not to be deeply moved and admiring of this level of courage as well as the distress portrayed. We all know the image of the heroic reporter in flak jacket, ducking bullets. These Awards rightly honour the person taking those pictures, often going alone into those nightmare situations.
This year the distinction between news and longer form programmes has been acknowledged. It rightly distinguishes between the different pressures involved, and allows us to give more well deserved awards. All the candidates commanded deep respect. It is our privilege to honour their commitment to alert the world, to command our attention, to help us see what they see. For bravery of this order, awe is the only appropriate word.
Brochure
sponsored by
The Trust | Awards | Training | The Free Lens | Links | Feedback | Home