‘My Nigeria’ documentary wins at New York TV, Film Festivals

A documentary series showing stories of six notable Nigerians was among winners at the prestigious New York Festivals awards.

The New York Festival’s World’s Best TV & Films competition honours programming in all lengths and forms from over 50 countries.

‘My Nigeria’ documentary, the six-part Al Jazeera series on Nigerians including stand-up comedian Basketmouth, fashion designer Deola Sagoe and Nollywood star turned politician Kate Henshaw, won a Bronze in the Community Portraits category.

Al Jazeera’s Investigation Unit also picked up a finalist certificate in the Current Affairs category for Inside Kenya’s Death Squads, in which officers from four units of Kenya’s counter-terrorism apparatus admitted the police assassinate suspects on government orders.

Commenting on the success, Giles Trendle, acting managing director of Al Jazeera English, said: “Al Jazeera English is delighted to have won a series of Gold and Silver medals at the New York International TV & Film Awards.”

Al Jazeera’s interactive documentary Life On Hold won Gold in the Online News category as well as the UNDPI medal, a special award decided by a United Nations jury.

“We are pleased with the two Gold medals won for our innovative web documentary project, Life on Hold, that tells the personal and poignant stories of some of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon in an engaging and non-linear manner,” says Trendle.

101 East won five Golds medals overall. Afghanistan’s Billion Dollar Drug War won two Golds as Best Investigative Report and for the Human Concerns category; Myanmar’s Jade Curse won a Gold medal in the National/International Affairs category; and Murder in Malaysia won a Gold medal for the Best Current Affairs programme.

101 East presenter Steve Chao won his second consecutive Gold medal for Best News Reporter/Correspondent. 101 East also won three Silver World Medals for the episodes Murder in Malaysia, Myanmar’s Jade Curse and Becoming Pacquiao.

“The five Gold medals won by our weekly 101 East strand are a testament to the quality of our journalism and the importance of our mission to tell compelling stories from around the world,” says Trendle.

Faultlines, which was a joint Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera America programme, won three Gold World Medals for Mexico’s Disappeared and Death of Aging, while Ferguson: Race and Justice in the U.S won a Silver World Medal. Faultines also picked up a Bronze medal for Forgotten Youth: Inside America’s Prisons.

Al Jazeera English news was awarded a Silver World Medal for Best Coverage of a Continuing News Story for Desperate Journeys, which covered the refugee crisis in Europe.

“The silver medal for our Desperate Journeys news coverage on the refugee story highlights how we have set the news agenda on one of the defining stories of our time,” says Trendle.

Broken Dreams: The Boeing 787 won Gold Medal Awards in Current Affairs and a Silver World Medal in the Business and Finance categories. Broken Dreams: The Boeing 787 was a hard-hitting programme made by Al Jazeera’s Investigation Unit, which revealed the deeply-held safety concerns of current and former Boeing engineers, while allegations were uncovered of on-the-job drug use, quality control problems and poor workmanship.

Phil Rees, the manager of the Al Jazeera Investigation Unit, said: “It is fantastic for the Al Jazeera Investigative Unit to be recognised once again for dealing with this commercially sensitive subject with such persistence and bravery. In the tradition of the finest investigative journalism, the production team spoke truth to one of the world’s most powerful corporations.”

Al Jazeera English also picked up eight finalist certificates for a variety of programmes from Faultlines, 101 East, Women Make Change and People and Power.

The New York TV and Film Festivals is dedicated to both the television and film industries.

The categories mirror today’s global trends and encourage the next generation of story-tellers and talent.

Watch the series on Nigerians below:

My Nigeria – Basketmouth: Trash Talking