The 'Oscars of documentary films' has announced the winner of its most prestigious award
Documentary maker Kim Longinotto has been named as the 2015 recipient of the BBC Grierson Trustees’ Award.
The Grierson Trust awards, often referred to as the Oscars of the documentary world, were set up in memory of the Scottish documentary maker John Grierson, to celebrate the best work in the field.
Longinotto has made a name for herself creating films that focus on the lives of women across the globe, giving a voice to many living in repressed societies.
Lorraine Heggessey, chairman of the Grierson Trust and former controller of BBC One, said: “Kim is a filmmaker like no other. In a genre still dominated by men, she holds a unique place in that world. Fearless, she travels around the globe to difficult and dangerous places, often putting herself at risk, to bring important and hidden stories to light.”
Longinotto’s films include The Day I Will Never Forget, about young girls in Kenya challenging the tradition of female genital mutilation, and Rough Aunties, following women who care for abused and neglected children in South Africa, which won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema – Documentary at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Longinotto’s most recent documentary, Dreamcatcher, is also nominated for the Best Documentary on a Contemporary Theme – International at this year’s Grierson Awards. The film focuses on the work of Brenda Myers-Powell’s Dreamcatcher Foundation, which helps women in Chicago escape prostitution.
The Grierson Awards will take place on Monday 2 November at London’s Mermaid Theatre.
Now in their 43rd year, the Grierson Awards celebrate the best in documentary filmmaking, from popular television shows, to less well-known gems. This year’s shortlist includes Adam Curtis’s Bitter Lake, Andrew Jarecki’s The Jinx and Laura Poitras’s Oscar-winning Citizenfour.
Photo credit: BBC
