The Rory Peck Awards
2003
Sponsored by Sony
Northern Iraq Friendly Fire Incident
Winner: The Rory Peck Award for Hard News
| “An exquisite
example of professionalism - the piece to camera was done under great
pressure and you could see they were shocked. It was a very ‘British’
piece of news - the definitive example of ‘things are a bit sticky’.” Judge's Comment |
On the morning of 6 April, Fred Scott was in the lead vehicle of what was left of the BBC’s North Iraq team. As unilateral journalists, or non-embeds, they were operating without military protection as they advanced through crumbling Iraqi frontlines. Near Dibagar they joined Kurdish and US soldiers at a crossroads. US naval fighters were circling overhead.
As Scott was filming aeroplanes and soldiers, he heard a shout to his left. He turned, caught a glimpse of something red - and was then blown flat by the blast of the missile. With blood pouring down his face, he found his camera and began to film the carnage around him.
The team had been separated into two groups by the blast. Each group assumed the other was dead and the threat from another strike and exploding ammunition prevented an immediate search. Eventually they located each other. Everyone had been injured, but translator Kamaran had been in a path of heavy shrapnel and, despite the effort of the US army medics, his injuries were too serious - he did not survive. Twenty-three men - almost half of those at the crossroads - died that day.
Cameraman’s Comment
“I was blown flat. Blood was coming down my face. I thought I might have lost an eye. Men were screaming and car horns were blaring where bodies had slumped against them. The missile had struck ten metres behind me. The soldier immediately to my right had his brains blown out. Plumes of flame and smoke were pouring out of the vehicles and ammunition was beginning to burn. I pulled myself up and tried to scramble for cover. I believed the pilots would circle back and attack again. I found my camera and managed to get it running. I kept it rolling for whatever would happen next, but fortunately a second attack did not come.”
Biography
After a variety of
jobs - waiter in a Chinese restaurant, fruit and vegetable truck driver,
frozen seafood truck driver, log home construction in California, Scott
moved to Hong Kong where he worked for the BBC as a cameraman, photographer,
picture editor, sound recordist and fixer/researcher. He worked in New
Delhi and Beijing as a cameraman/producer before moving to London and
setting up Greasy Grass Ltd.
Scott’s experience in filmmaking is impressive, covering documentaries
and news stories throughout the world including Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi
Arabia, Kashmir, Kosovo, Pakistan, Croatia, Serbia and Mongolia. He has
covered a wide spread of major news stories from the Military coup in
Fiji to Tiananmen Square; insurgency in North East India to the wars in
Kosovo and Croatia. He has received much recognition and many awards including
RTS News Technician of the Year (1996).
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