26 April 2010
Al Jazeera Childrens Channel (JCC) won the Gold award for best medium length film for its production Baghdads Angel at the closing ceremony of the Al Jazeera 6th International Documentary Film Festival.
The 52 minute documentary by Director Rasheed Mashharawi shows the hardship of children in Iraq through the eyes of Hawraa, a 10 old year girl who walks the streets begging support for her family.
As Mashharawi lands in Baghdad on a mission to produce a series of documentaries highlighting the labour of Arab children in December 2008, the war in his homeland Gaza erupts. The film consequently illustrates the tragic similarity between Iraq and Gaza, showing the grave influence of war and conflict on the lives of children.
Mr. Mahmoud Bouneb, JCCs Executive General Manager commented: JCCs has been marking major presence through such works in regional and international film festivals in an attempt to promote and distribute such productions to other broadcasters; although those movies were not produced to primarily broadcast on JCC; however, they highlight the committed editorial policy of the Channel to unveil the issues Arab children are facing in their home countries and around the world.
The Gold award is in recognition of JCCs production strategy in the last few years. With more than 50 films produced in collaboration with Arab and international filmmakers and specialized production houses, JCC has received prestigious prizes like the Ecumenical Prize at the Berlinale this year for Aisheen, a film about the war in Gaza in 2008, and last years Special Jury Award at the Osian Cinefan festival in New Delhi for Wailing Wall. Since 2006, JCC has taken home two Gold and two Silver awards at Al Jazeera International Film Festival.
23 April 2010
The conference, called by President Evo Morales of Bolivia to discuss climate change and in particular to highlight the views of the world’s poorest peoples, ended yesterday in Cochabamba. The output were declarations (see cmpcc.org for the full text) that covered the four main aims of the meeting: a universal declaration of the rights of Mother Earth (protecting ecosystems) ; the creation of an International Tribunal to bring to justice those who violate these rights ; compensation for poor countries from the industrialised countries who have caused the vast majority of environmental damage (6% of GDP annually was demanded) ; and a global referendum on climate change in a year’s time.
It is not hard to see why Bolivia is at the forefront of these demands. Scientists say that 50% of Bolivia’s ice mass, currently vital to supply water supplies to cities such as the capital La Paz, will be lost in the next 40 years – not due to their own actions, but due to economic activity in other countries. Also, like many less developed countries they felt left out of the discussions at the Copenhagen summit which were mainly between countries such as the US and China, with agreements being presented to them simply for acceptance. Plus in Evo Morales, they have a passionate president representing an indigenous population that until recently has hardly had any say in their government.
Will the summit have any effect? Apparently there were 48 governments represented among the 31,000 attendees, though in the end the only other president who attended was Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and with rhetoric against capitalism in evidence, it would be easy to dismiss it as simply promoting left-wing propaganda. But hopefully, the voices of billions of poor people will be heard, if not here, then elsewhere. They are being badly affected by climatic variations and need a voice.
In the context of the AIBs People’s Choice award on climate change, we are hoping for programmes that cover the views of a huge variety of different nations, tribes and races.
22 April 2010
It is 40 years since US Senator created the first Earth Day by holding an environmental teach-in. There are nowadays events in nearly every country in the world each 22nd April.
Here is ex-President Bill Clinton’s responses today to environmental questions posed by people using Digg
http://revision3.com/player-v5629
20 April 2010
AP Global Media Services, the video newsgathering facilities arm of The Associated Press, has announced that it is to build a major new studio and production space in the heart of central London.
The state-of-the-art broadcast facility will comprise five HD compatible studios, two of which will be multi-camera. The studios will overlook many of central Londons most famous and recognisable landmarks. These include Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square and the West End theatre district, the City financial district, the London Eye, The Mall and Buckingham Palace. Located in Haymarkets New Zealand House, the studios will also be within walking distance of Leicester Squares red-carpet events, Whitehall and 10 Downing Street.
As well as providing breathtaking views for broadcasters and production companies needing London backdrops, the studios will also provide editing facilities and high-speed fibre transmission links to the APs global satellite and fibre network.
Mr. Alla Salehian, director of AP Global Media Services said, These studios represent a huge investment and vote of confidence in the industry by the AP and highlight its commitment to providing the best facilities for its clients. We believe the studios will quickly become the premier live shot facility in London. Their location and elevation above the London skyline will give clients multiple live backdrops and camera angles. Theres nothing like it and broadcasters and the viewing public will be treated to vistas of central London they have never seen before.
The studios will be fully-operational in time for the United Kingdom general elections on 6th May 2010. The facility will be able to transmit both High-Definition (HD) and Standard-Definition (SD) live video signals to newsrooms worldwide, as well as service the production requirements of clients needing both video editing facilities and immediate access to APs video news, entertainment and sports news content.
Salehian continued, The UK elections are just the beginning. Our plans for broadcaster support include all major London events in the coming years including the 2012 Olympic Games, movie premieres, cultural events, and, possibly, even a Royal wedding or two. Were confident these studios will become the UK base for British and international broadcaster and production companies who want to produce and anchor regular strands or one-offs programmes from London. Furthermore, its ideal for film and entertainment companies and PR firms organising celebrity press junkets, as its just a stones throw from Leicester Square.
AP is working in partnership with the studio design and construction company WTS Broadcast, who will build and maintain the studios, whilst AP will handle all client bookings and enquiries.
20 April 2010
Radio Netherlands Worldwide is launching an extensive, interactive web dossier in seven languages on human rights and political prisoners today: www.rnw.nl/political-prisoners.
The dossier, which focuses on the families of political prisoners, is being launched during the ‘Human Rights & (New) Media’ conference in The Hague. It features a series of film portraits made in cooperation with IDTV.
The ‘Political Prisoners’ dossier is in seven languages. It includes powerful videos, insightful articles and discussions on human rights and political prisoners. In eight film portraits, family members of prisoners from Cuba, Uzbekistan, China, Iran, Eritrea, Indonesia, Azerbaijan and Colombia tell their stories. The web dossier is published in Dutch, English, Spanish, Indonesian, Chinese, Arabic and French.
Radio Netherlands Worldwide Editor-in-Chief Rik Rensen says: “The prisoners in the films are not normally in the spotlight and come, without exception, from regions where there is a lack of freedom of speech and the press. It is in precisely these regions that Radio Netherlands Worldwide is active and their personal stories deserve attention.”
The web dossier focuses mainly on unknown political prisoners. Why are they being held and under what kind of circumstances? How do family members experience the detention of their loved ones, with whom, in some cases, they have not been allowed contact for many years? Radio Netherlands Worldwide provides a platform using social media networks in which family, friends and organisations are able to exchange news and experiences.
19 April 2010
It is ironic that some attendees due at the Peoples Climate Summit called by Bolivian President Evo Morales should be delayed by the volanic eruption in Iceland: climatic conditions are preventing aircraft travel, which is responsible for high carbon emissions per person, and yet stopping people coming together to discuss how to reduce the impact of carbon emissions.
Hopefully the conference will not be badly affected, since it is aiming to bring together and respresent the views and concerns of the poorest two billion people in the world on the subject of climate change. It is often the poorest who are worst affected by climatic disasters – witness how the recent Haiti earthquake killed 250,000 while the earthquake in Chile just afterwards killed under 500, with better infrastructure in Chile being a major factor. The poorest also live in the lands most likely to be flooded and live precariously with little or no reserves against poor harvests, drought and famine.
Morales points out that 75 percent of historical emissions of greenhouse gases originated in “the countries of the North that followed a path of irrational industrialization”.
The summit should provide an interesting contrast to the views of the industrialised and newly industrialising countries which tended to dominate at Kyoto and Copenhagen.
The AIB is looking forward to providing access to some of the very divergent views on climate change in its People’s Choice category at the 2010 AIBs – international media excellence awards
