Thursday 24th May

A Grabsky blog first...I'm on board Norwegian Air who are first airline to have free wi-fi so instead of reading, sleeping, talking, eating or watching tv I'm doing work emails...Is this a good thing? Either way, technology moves on once again.  The last two nights I have filmed Leif Ove Andsnes playing Beethoven and I'm off to Norway to film one more concert. They have been staggering...I'll write more later. Enough  of this airline makarkey...

Thursday 17th May - One World Media Awards

I had a very interesting evening at the impressive One World Media Awards last week. The Boy Mir was nominated in the Children’s Rights category. Sadly we didn’t win but it’s great to be nominated alongside a host of inspiring and illustrious entries.  The winner in the Children’s Rights category was Africa Investigates: Spell of the Albino, I’ve included the jury’s comments on The Boy Mir and the other entries in the category below.

This year’s entries were brilliantly powerful and shocking. Each one delivered an influential insight into children’s lives in the developing world, pushing for improvement of their rights. They were all excellent examples of filmmaking/journalism, making it difficult to decide on the winner. The winner of this year’s Children’s Rights Award, therefore, is the entry that took action and made a positive difference to children’s lives in the developing world.

Africa Investigates: Spell of the Albino, InsightNewsTV for Al Jazeera English

This was truly good investigative journalism, an example of how documentaries should be. It wasn’t just a case of reporting an unstressed situation to the world; instead, this documentary took action, made a difference and could potentially save lives. What makes this one entry stand out is the graphic aspects, capturing the attention of the audience - the images weren't just used for 'shock factor'. Without them, the message would not have been be conveyed. It gave a voice to the victims, their families, charity workers and witch doctors, as well as clearly setting out possible solutions to a serious crime.

Child Marriage - Denying girls’ rights, perpetuating poverty, Thomson Reuters Foundation

This website is a great resource that allows audiences to interactively learn about the important issue of child marriage and all the issues surrounding it. It is a powerful website that truly promotes change. Its interactive aspects and multimedia format makes it reign supreme over an average online source. With voices from all over the developing world and access to legal support, this website could possibly be a life-saving tool as well. The entry is a fresh approach on an unsolved, on-going problem that provides aid to the victims yet also shows signs of hope.

The Boy Mir – Ten Years in Afghanistan, Seventh Art Productions

This documentary captures 10 years in 90 minutes - a very impressive feat. It is a moving and revealing insight into an Afghan family and offers cultural understanding like no other. It was a wonderful and moving experience, both comical and heart-breaking at times. Through the life of one boy, the film teaches the audience about culture, poverty, health, education, family, love, politics and the interdependence of the rich and poor. Very rarely does media give a true insight to the developing world; however, this production did so effectively and compellingly.

So, congratulations to all the winners and nominees (there’s a full list on their website) and for anyone out there interested in documentary I would thoroughly recommend this award.