JIHAN HAFIZ & REED LINDSAY (American-Egyptian and American)
for
Benghazi Rising
Shot in Libya, February-March 2011
Self-funded
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures & broadcast internationally

Scroll down to see an extract from Jihan and Reed's entry

The inside story of revolution, resilience and courage in Benghazi. Jihan and Reed's film uses personal stories to trace the conflict from its beginning and explain that, at its heart, lie years of hurt and political repression.

We see protestors holding photographs of loved ones killed in a massacre of 1,200 at Abu Salim prison in 1996 and are shown the secret police cells where people were tortured. The film focuses not just on the men heading for the frontline in the desert, but also the women working together in community kitchens, and young protestors using the internet and social media to raise awareness of their struggles. Jihan Hafiz and Reed Lindsay had been covering the Egyptian revolution before they travelled to Libya in an entirely self-funded trip.

The judges praised their initiative and endeavour and said the independent nature of their work was "striking". They felt the film-makers managed to capture the sense of excitement and energy of the revolution as it was taking place. One said: " These independent, innovative, ingenious film-makers worked incredibly hard to deliver an amazingly powerful film."

BIOGRAPHY
Jihan Hafiz spent most of her childhood in Cairo and has reported extensively on US foreign policy in the Middle East as a correspondent based in Washington D.C. She has worked as a television news anchor, while filming and editing her own news reports and documentaries. She has covered the tsunami in New Zealand and Samoa, and elections in Egypt and Venezuela.

Reed Lindsay is a filmmaker and journalist with more than a decade of experience reporting throughout Latin America, including five years in Haiti. His work has been published in more than 20 newspapers and magazines, aired on NPR and other radio stations, and broadcast on television news networks including CBC, Telesur and The Real News.