[ From the No Fire Zone}
“No Fire Zone,” a Pulitzer Center-supported film wins one of five BRITDOC Impact Awards.
“No Fire Zone” reveals the shocking proof of secret war crimes committed during the final bloody months of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Pulitzer Center grantees, director Callum Macrae and producer Zoe Sale, tell the story of the final 138 days of the 26-year-long Sri Lankan Civil War—a brutal offensive which saw between 40,000 and 70,000 civilians die—told by the people who lived through it.
Through powerful personal stories, eyewitness testimony and video evidence this film shows how thousands of civilians were told to gather in what the government promised would be a no fire zone and were then systematically shelled and deliberately denied adequate food and medicines. With direct evidence of war crimes, summary execution, torture and sexual violence recorded by both victims and perpetrators on mobile phones and small cameras, this is not just a film of record but also a call to action.
Read a detailed account of the impact the film is having.
BRITDOC is a non-profit film foundation supported by Channel 4, Bertha Foundation and PUMA.
Macrae is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker who has been making films for 20 years in the UK and around the world, including Iraq, Japan (in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake), Haiti and several in Africa – covering wars and conflicts in Cote D’Ivoire, Uganda and Mali.
Sale is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. For the last 12 years she has worked in current affairs and factual programming making programmes for the BBC, ITV, ITN, C4, C5 and National Geographic.
“No Fire Zone” was one of five documentaries honored with the BRITDOC Impact Award this year.
“American Promise” directed by Michèle Stephenson & Joe Brewster for what BRITDOC says is a vital contribution in bridging the racial achievement gap in America. This film tells of the 12-year journey of two African American families pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons.
“Blackfish” directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite for provoking a “huge backlash against SeaWorld known as the ‘Blackfish Effect’.” The film exposes the controversial captivity of orcas, and its dangers for both humans and whales.
“Granito: How To Nail A Dictator” directed by Pamela Yates, for telling the extraordinary story of how a film, aiding a new generation of human rights activists, helped tip the scales of justice in Guatemala. BRITDOC calls the conviction of a dictator Granito a testament to the power of documentary film.
“The House I Live In” directed by Eugene Jarecki, for exploring the human rights implications of the War on Drugs—the longest conflict in US history, and the least winnable and raising the question, “Is this the beginning of the end of the war on drugs?”