Doha: Aisheen (Still alive in Gaza), a documentary depicting the suffering of Palestinians after the Israeli offensive in 2008, has won the forum prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Aisheen was produced by Al Jazeera Children's Channel (JCC) and co-produced and directed by Nicolas Wadimoff.
Faisal Hassairi, Executive producer at JCC and Nicolas Wadimoff, Director of Aisheen, received the award on behalf of JCC, in a special ceremony for independent juries' awards held on Saturday.
"I am deeply moved by this award and would like to dedicate it to all the people in Gaza who helped make this movie a reality by allowing us into their lives," he said.
"I hope that their courage and dignity will touch hearts everywhere as they have touched mine," Wadimoff added.
An unbiased documentary
The documentary, which witnessed a great success during the five screening sessions, was awarded the Forum prize of the Ecumenical Jury, which consists of six members from all churches of Germany, NGOs, academics and cinema and TV content makers.
The jury awards its prize to one film in each category of the festival: the main competition, the Forum and the Panorama.
The films are selected based on their success in portraying actions and human experiences in the most respectful approach to human dignity and universal values.
Malika Alouane, Director of Channels' Programming at JCC said, "being awarded the prize of the Ecumenical Jury in such a prestigious and internationally renowned festival proves that Aisheen (Still Alive in Gaza) succeeded in depicting the daily life of the people of Gaza post the Israeli attack in late 2008 in an honest and objective manner."
