Nepali
Down the Irrawaddy Delta
Shot in Burma / Union of Myanmar, May 2008
Commissioned and broadcast by Al Jazeera English

A moving film about survivors left stranded after cyclone Nargis hit the Irrawaddy Delta in Burma. 

Subina posed as a Buddhist from Nepal delivering food aid and was the first journalist to reach the area, speaking to shocked survivors in villages along the river as the victims of the cyclone – human and animal – lay unattended on the riverbanks. The survivors had no food, water or government help and a week after the cyclone, were becoming desperate. Subina produced, filmed, edited and voiced the report herself.

The judges praised her “enterprising newsgathering.” One said: “This is a powerful piece with some extraordinary shots. But at the same time the restraint of the reporting matches the quiet dignity with which the villagers share their stories with an outsider.”


Biography
Subina Shrestha was born in Nepal and studied social work and print journalism in Nepal, the US and India. In 2001, she worked as an assistant to a documentary filmmaker and since then, she has been working in documentaries in various capacities – as a researcher, script writer, producer and director. Since 2006 she has also worked as a camerawoman.

Her work has been broadcast on Al Jazeera, Arte, BBC and ITN. She is based in Nepal.