BULLDOGS AWARDS 2008
DOCUMENTARY SINGLE
China’s Stolen Children

Winner

China’s Stolen Children

October, Channel 4/HBO, (True Vision)

A genuinely shocking story, and one that had to be filmed in the greatest secrecy, the documentary told the tale of the country’s boom in stolen children, estimated at 70,000 year, who are kidnapped to order by families desperate for a male heir in a nation where only one child per family is allowable. The film comes ten years after True Vision’s The Dying Rooms, about the neglect of abandoned babies in Chinese orphanages. It was directed by Jezza Neumann. The producers were Kate Blewett and Brian Woods. The ap was Sky Zeh, the production assistant was Verity Askew and the production manager was Francis England. The film was edited by Reg Clarke, Jezza Neumann and Brian Woods. For HBO, the senior producer was Nancy Abraham and the executive producer was Sheila Nevins. For Channel 4 the supervising producer was Mark Roberts and the exec producer was Kevin Sutcliffe.

RUNNERS UP
Malcolm and Barbara: Love’s Farewell

2nd

Malcolm and Barbara: Love’s Farewell

August, ITV1, (ITV Productions)

The headlines may have centred on the controversy about the last moments of Malcolm and whether they were, or were not filmed, but those who watched the film were treated to a moving and insightful story about love and loss. Paul Watson’s follow up to his 1999 film that centred on Malcolm and Barbara Pointon during Malcolm’s descent into Alzheimers found the couple at the end of his life. It was produced and directed by Paul Watson and edited by Kim Horton.

Fighting the Taliban/Meeting the Taliban

3rd

Fighting the Taliban/Meeting the Taliban

January, Channel 4, (October Films)

Filmmaker Sean Langan’s extraordinary set of films went right to the heart of the conflict in Afghanistan in a way that few others have, with Langan getting into the thick of the action both dodging the bullets alongside British soldiers fighting in Helmand Province and then meeting the Taliban’s senior commanders on their own turf, and narrowly avoiding his own execution in the process. The executive producer was Julia Barron.