Docs About Israel-Palestine Conflict Win Big At Grierson Awards

Projects about the devastating conflict in Israel and Palestine won big at tonight’s prestigious Grierson British Documentary Awards in London.

Oscar-winner No Other Land took home the Best Single Documentary – International prize while the BBC’s Life and Death in Gaza won Best Current Affairs Documentary.

The critically-acclaimed No Other Land follows a journalist and locals in a Palestinian community in the occupied West Bank, which had been resisting forced displacement after an Israeli “firing zone” was declared on their land. Life and Death in Gaza, meanwhile, was filmed over a year for the BBC by four Palestinians enduring war.

The awards come with BBC Gaza docs in the spotlight following the scandals around the How to Survive a Warzone and Doctors Under Attack documentaries, the latter of which ended up with Channel 4.

The Griersons have had a tricky time navigating the conflict since October 7. Last year, Asif Kapadia was removed as a patron of the Grierson Trust following a backlash over the director sharing what it called “antisemitic” social media posts. This move led to a counter-backlash and boycott from senior Muslim figures who felt Kapadia had been unfairly treated. The year prior, an unnamed individual was barred from attending Grierson events for a decade following an antisemitic incident.

Elsewhere tonight, Mubi won both Best Single Documentary for Witches and Best Popular Culture Documentary for Grand Theft Hamlet, while the coveted Best Documentary Series went to Sky’s Bibaa & Nicole: Murder in the Park.

The awards represent an impressive take home for Mubi, which was only bested by the BBC (four) and Sky (three). Mubi beat Channel 4, TNT and RTÉ, all of which had one each. None of the big American streamers won awards.

Lorraine Heggessey, Chair of the Grierson Trust, who is about to depart, said: “As I bow out after 11 years, I have once again been so impressed with the creative and editorial talent of this year’s Grierson Award winners and nominees. Their films are as strong as ever despite the challenges the documentary community is currently facing. What particularly stands out this year is the representation of creative talent from a wide range of backgrounds and the richness of the stories and approaches to documentary-making that have resulted from that progress. Long may it continue.”