BBC
FOUR scoops a hat-trick of awards at Amsterdam
BBC
FOUR walked away with the three major prizes at the Amsterdam International
Documentary Festival.
Storyville's
Stevie directed by Steve James (Hoop Dreams) won the prestigious
Joris Ivens Award.
Stevie
comes from the maker of Hoop Dreams. It recounts the life of dysfunctional
and aggressive poor whites, whom Steve James had got to know as
part of a mentoring programme when he was at university.
The
film was commended by the jury for its sensitivity, persistence
and the forthright way in which it dealt with a subject that was
normally avoided by broadcasters.
Steve
James thanked the BBC for being his first and only funder during
the five years that it took to make the film.
The
Silver Wolf Award, given to films of 60 minutes or under, went to
BBC FOUR's The Secret of My Success, directed by Jinchuan
Duan and produced by Mark Frith and Jacqueline Elfick.
The
Secret of My Success is part of BBC FOUR's series of films about
China by Chinese Filmmakers to be shown early in 2003.
It
recounts the career of Mr. Lu, fixer and local birth control officer
in a small village in Northern China, shedding light on the practice
of democracy and giving an insight into the enforcement of China's
one child policy.
The
jury commended the comic aspects of the film, and said that it offered
a hither to unseen China to a world audience.
It
is co-produced by ARTE France, TV2 Denmark, YLE Finland, NRK Norway,
SVT Sweden and The Soros Documentary Fund.
Also
nominated for the Silver Wolf was Yulie Gerstel's My Terrorist,
shown two weeks ago by Storyville on BBC FOUR.
My
Terrorist, which tells the story of its authors attempts to find
and forgive the terrorist who attacked her in a street in London
in 1978, was commended for its bravery and honesty, and for the
picture it gave of contemporary life in Israel.
The
Amnesty International Award for a film about Human Rights was jointly
awarded to The Trials of Henry Kissinger, which was shown
earlier this year on BBC FOUR.
The
jurors commended the investigative qualities of the film, applauding
the forthright way in which it discussed the reputation and legacy
of Henry Kissinger at the moment when George W Bush had honoured
him by putting him in charge of a commission investigating the events
of September 11th 2001.
The
Trials of Henry Kissinger was directed by Eugene Jarecki, and written
and produced by Alex Gibney. Roy Ackerman was Executive Producer.
Partners
of the BBC included ARTE France and TV2 Denmark. By February 2003,
the film will have played in 120 cities across the United States.
Roly
Keating, Controller, BBC FOUR, said: "I'm
absolutely delighted that three prestigious awards have been added
to BBC FOUR's already impressive roll call of recognition during
its first nine months on air.
"It's
a great recognition of our commitment to bringing British viewers
the very best of international film making."
Nick Fraser, Editor, Storyville, and Commissioning Editor for all
three winners, said: "This
is a terrific honour.
"The
awards pay tribute to the diversity of BBC FOUR's output, and they
also attest to the success of our policy of co-operating with other
European broadcasters when commissioning international documentaries.
"But
above all we would like to thank the filmmakers for giving us so
many interesting, well made and provocative films."
|
