Al Jazeera English wins three awards at The AIBs in London
Al Jazeera English Channel has won three awards in ‘Politics and Business’, ‘Arts and Culture’, and ‘International Affairs Documentary’ categories at the 14th AIBs Awards in London on Wednesday 7th November 2018.
The 101 East – China: Spies, Lies & Blackmail was awarded the ‘Politics and Business’ category. The film looked at how Chinese authorities exert control on citizens at home and also abroad. Over several months, 101 East interviewed over 20 people who revealed their stories of being targeted for crimes that can include the sharing of emails questioning Chinese leaders, or supporting groups perceived as threats to the nation.
Witness’s “Sudan’s Forgotten Films” won the award in the ‘Arts and Culture’ category. The film which followed two men, Benjamin and Awad, who worked for more than 40 years running Sudan's national film archive, home to some 13,000 films and follow their mission to save the old films. The archive which preserves pivotal moments of Sudan's turbulent history is considered as one of the largest in Africa, has suffered years of neglect and poor storage with many of the film reels turning to dust in Sudan's unforgiving tropical climate.
In addition, Al Jazeera Correspondent won in the ‘International Affairs Documentary’ category for The Cut film, which follows Al Jazeera’s Fatma Naib’s personal journey - from Somaliland and Kenya to Sweden - to explore the traditions and controversies inherent to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), also known as “cutting”. Fatma’s family is from Eritrea, where FGM is common, but she grew up in Sweden, where the practice is illegal.
Commenting on the awards Al Jazeera English Managing Director, Giles Trendle said: “We are honoured to receive these awards. I would like to thank all our journalists and teams who worked tirelessly to produce these outstanding films. Their endeavours have been recognised by our industry peers. These awards are a testament to the professionalism and dedication of those teams in covering important stories in compelling ways. That is something we pride ourselves on.”
The AIBs are the international awards for factual video, audio and interactive productions presented by the Association of International Broadcasters (AIB), which aims to support, sustain, promote and protect its members, wherever they are in the world, via a range of specialist services.
