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Home  News and Events WITNESS Award at SILVERDOCS
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WITNESS Award at SILVERDOCS |
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Read more about the eight exciting documentaries that qualified for the award.
About the Award
The WITNESS Award in Memory of Joey R.B. Lozano will be awarded to the qualifying SILVERDOCS filmmaker of a feature-length film who has produced a well-crafted and compelling documentary about a human rights violation or social justice issue. The winning filmmaker will also have a thoughtful, creative, and feasible outreach plan to use their film as a tool to raise awareness of the human rights or social justice issue explored in the film with a goal to bring about change. This year’s festival marks the inaugural year for the WITNESS Award at SILVERDOCS.
This $5,000 (US) award is to be used by the winning filmmaker towards implementing an outreach and distribution plan for their film that will aim to educate and activate people around the issues that it raises.
About Joey Lozano
Joey R.B. Lozano was a respected independent human rights activist in the Philippines and one the country's leading investigative reporters. He covered indigenous peoples' rights and the environment, considered the two most dangerous beats in the Philippines. Joey was a WITNESS partner and board member. He co-produced many films and collaborated on others that helped raise awareness about threats to indigenous people’s rights in the Philippines from corporations, and the complicity of the government in the abuses. Watch one of the films, The Rule of the Gun in Sugarland online here. He was also one of the main subjects of the 2002 documentary “Seeing is Believing: Handicams, Human Rights and the News” by Kat Cizek and Peter Wintonick. Joey passed away in November 2005. His passion and commitment were an inspiration to everyone who knew him.
The Finalists
(in alphabetical order of film title)
Banished, Directed by Marco Williams
BANISHED explores the shameful history of American southern towns which expelled their African-American residents with threats and real violence, stealing their land and insulting their dignity. Director Marco Williams goes into these still all-white towns and dares to confront the institutionalized racism head-on.
The Devil Came on Horseback
Directed by Annie Sundberg & Ricki Stern
Can one man make a difference? Former US Marine Captain Brian Steidle hopes so. When he first signs on as an unarmed military observer for the African Union, he is largely motivated by money. Yet, his intentions change dramatically when he makes a life-altering decision to transfer to the strife-ridden Western Sudanese region of Darfur. Armed with nothing more than a still camera, he becomes a singular outside witness to what many call a genocide—a conflict that has displaced 2.5 million people and claimed 400,000 lives.
Enemies of Happiness, Directed by Eva Mulvad
The first woman elected to Afghanistan's parliament, Malalai Joya's democratic spirit has made her a heroine to many Afghans. Filmed during the final weeks of her 2005 campaign, when she was under threat of death, the film reveals Joya's courage and the human faces behind the news stories of burqas and blue-inked thumbs.
Made in L.A.
Directed by Almudena Carracedo
Latina garment workers expend blood, sweat and tears to successfully organize against not only the sweatshops, but also the glossy mall stores where their labor is displayed.
The Price of Sugar, Directed by Bill Haney
When a charismatic Spanish Priest arrives in the Dominican Republic and protests the enslavement of dispossessed Haitians in the sugar plantations, he ignites a firestorm of tension.
Taxi to the Dark Side, Directed by Alex Gibney
An examination of torture and the War on Terror, beginning with the
death of an innocent Afghani taxi driver. Alex Gibney tracks the
development of the Bush administration's interrogation techniques in
Afghanistan, Guantanamo, and Iraq.
A Walk to Beautiful, Directed by Mary Olive Smith
Five Ethiopian women suffer from devastating childbirth injuries and
make the journey to reclaim their dignity and rebuild their lives.
We Are Together, Directed by Paul Taylor, produced by Teddy Leifer
Agape orphanage is known as the place where the children sing, not as a struggling home for children of AIDS casualties. With hope and a strong voice, they overcome great obstacles to support their home. Their efforts are finally rewarded with a fundraising performance by pop stars Alicia Keys and Paul Simon.
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