WINNER: TV Documentary


Afghanistan: Behind Enemy Lines

Clover Films for Channel 4

During late 2009, journalist Najibullah Quraishi spent 10 days with one of the most dangerous and fanatical insurgent factions involved in the Afghan war. At great risk to his own life, he accompanies them as they prepare and carry out attacks on NATO supply routes and observes as they argue amongst each other when things go wrong.

The jury said:

'A fundamentally brave piece of film-making which deserves enormous praise for all involved, above all Najibullah Quraishi who spent two weeks with the insurgents in northern Afghanistan. In this difficult and dangerous environment, we were allowed to see the protagonists as three-dimensional humans: funny, murderous, fallible, scared. This was a powerful portrait of a radicalised enemy and was considered, perhaps because of the strength of its actuality, to have been the most gripping of all the films.'



The jury panel:

  • CHAIR: Phil Grabsky, Director, Seventh Art Productions
  • Patrick Holland, Executive Producer, Ricochet
  • Simon Gilchrist, Independent Producer/Director
  • Alistair Clay, Media Relations Manager, Plan UK

Click here to download the jury's full citation (pdf)

L to R - Paul Woolwich, Najibullah Quarishi, Jamie Doran, John Moffat

L to R - Paul Woolwich, Najibullah Quarishi, Jamie Doran, John Moffat

'I'm really excited to receive this award - we will keep trying our best for the future.'
- Najibullah Quarishi

 

'I was proud to stand next to Najibullah Quaraishi as we received our One World Media Awards for 'Afghanistan: Behind Enemy Lines": I've been in many hotspots in my time, but Naj is the bravest man I have ever met.'
-  Jamie Doran
"They are the awards the media really want to win, a unique set of awards that recognise commitment, originality and verve."

Jon Snow, Channel 4 News