Awards to honour freelance journalists and filmmakers working in news and current affairs took place on 16 November
The Rory Peck Awards winners were announced on 16 November, at a ceremony at the BFI Riverfront, London.
The awards celebrate freelance journalists with work that reports on the impact of conflict, oppression and climate change on local communities through powerful and intimate footage from Ukraine to the Arctic, Nigeria to India.
They are run by the Rory Peck Trust, which supports freelance journalists and their families with practical and financial assitance when they need it most.
Bhat Burhan won the News Award sponsored by Google News Initiative, which goes to video coverage of a news event where the focus is on the immediacy of the story. Commissioned by Insider, Burhan’s How Remote Areas In India Are Getting Vaccines was described as “Close to perfect, his originality, his feast of gorgeous character, his newsgathering effort is close to perfect.”
The News Feature Award, for video news features that take a more in-depth look at a story, beyond the immediacy of the news, went to Jamal Osman for Inside Al-Shabaab. Commissioned by Channel 4 News, the jury said, “This is a group that we don’t normally see up close and personal, and this gave us a glimpse into how they operate. The story overall just had enormous amount of nuance and context and was very beautifully shot, really well done.”
The Sony Impact Awards For Current Affairs went to Yusuf Anka for The Bandit Warlords of Zamfara. The award rewards a video/film that examines a single issue, story or situation and has an impact on the viewer, policy or public awareness. Anka was commissioned by BBC World Service, and the judges described his work as, “Nobody has ever told a comprehensive story of what is going on there. This film really opened our eyes and I felt a very strong connection watching the piece.”
Finally, the Martin Adler Prize for a local freelance journalist or field producer whose work with international media outlets has made a significant contribution to newsgathering went to Mohammed Alamin, who was nominated by Middle East Eye for his work on mercenary group the Wagner Group’s ties to Russia and Sudan. The judges said, “The connections of the Wagner Group to the powers that be inside the Kremlin are a very important issue, particularly in relation to the war in Ukraine. It’s a very difficult story to do. You have to have done some serious research.”
Clive Myrie, chief correspondent and presenter at BBC News and trustee of the Rory Peck Trust said of the Awards in a piece filmed for the Awards ceremony; “It is so important to highlight the work of freelance journalists right around the world, because often their contribution to international newsgathering helps the general public better understand a particular cause or issue.”
Top image: Liliane Landor, Senior Controller BBC News International Services presents News Features Award to Jamal Osman.
Bottom image: Sony Impact Award Finalists Karim Shah and Ramita Navai.
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