Jezza Neumann wins 2011 Sony Professional Impact Award
Jezza Neumann has been awarded the Rory Peck Sony Professional Impact Award 2011 for his work on Zimbabwe's Forgotten Children. Judges praised the camera work and said ‘the continuity and emotional impact of the narrative of this film is astonishing’. Congratulations, Jezza!
Broadcast reports:-
True Vision director Jezza Neumann picked up the top gong for his critically acclaimed Zimbabwe’s Forgotten Children at the Rory Peck awards last night.
The documentary won the Sony Professional Impact award which recognises news or current affairs that examines humanitarian or social issues, with the judges noting its “astonishing” in its emotional impact.
The documentary was filmed undercover in Zimbabwe over nine months and first went out on BBC4 before being repeated on BBC2.
The ceremony, which was hosted by BBC anchor Mishal Husain and Channel 4’s Alex Thomson, also recognised Belgian freelancer Ahmed Bahaddou for his frontline footage of rebels fighting Gaddafi forces in Western Libya.
The judges described his footage as “everything you could want and more. It is incredibly composed shooting. You can almost feel the bullets whistling past you.”
Meanwhile American freelancer Abdallah Omeish, who was born in Libya, won the Rory Peck Award for Features, for his Benghazi film, Libya: Through the Fire. The doc followed Mohammed al-Nabbous, the first person to broadcast from within Libya and report on events in English and Arabic. Al-Nabbous later died.
“It’s been an extraordinary year for the Rory Peck Awards - incredibly strong entries across all of the categories and three outstanding winners”, said Tina Carr, director of the Rory Peck Trust.
“I want to congratulate all of this year’s finalists on producing such exceptional work - the sheer range and quality on show tonight demonstrates how vibrant and talented the freelance community is right now. It is a privilege to celebrate their work.”