Guardian documentary Get Away from the Target: Rescuing Migrants from the Libyan Coast Guard triumphed at the 43rd News and Documentary Emmys, winning in the Outstanding Crime and Justice Coverage category at a ceremony held in New York last night (Wednesday 28 September).
Get Away from the Target provides an inside view of a boat full of asylum seekers leaving Libya in search of a place to settle in Europe. It captures a high-stakes showdown between a ship, run by the non-profit organisation Doctors Without Borders, attempting to rescue and escort the migrant boat to safety, and the Libyan Coast Guard fighting to capture and send the asylum seekers to prison in Libya. It’s revealed how the European Union essentially outsources its border policy to the Libyan Coast Guard resulting in tensions and armed threats.
The documentary was filmed and directed by Ed Ou, produced by The Outlaw Ocean Project, edited by Will Miller and commissioned for the Guardian by Lindsay Poulton and Chris Michael.
Get Away from the Target is free to watch on the Guardian website here.
Ed Ou, filmmaker, The Outlaw Ocean Project, said:
“It’s very rewarding to be able to report at sea in a space that very few people have access to and to reveal a world that may otherwise go unnoticed. The migrant crisis has been ongoing for many years but it is important to keep attention on this issue so Europeans can understand the dangerous impact of the policies their governments are creating and actioning on their behalf.”
Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media said:
“Get Away from the Target is a fascinating story that provides an intimate view of the struggles faced by migrants everyday in their search for safety and freedom - qualities of life we often take for granted. I’m so happy that Guardian Documentaries are shining a light on important global issues for our audiences. This is the Guardian’s third News and Documentary Emmy win, a remarkable achievement for all involved - thank you all for your hard work.”
Lindsay Poulton, head of documentaries, Guardian News & Media, said:
“At the Guardian, we are always looking for new and inspiring routes into important, contemporary stories. We are proud to have supported this film and are delighted that the powerful documentary that Ed and the team have created has been recognised with this Emmy award. We hope this story will help to further raise awareness of the ongoing migrant crisis. Guardian Documentaries will continue to commission and curate films that showcase diverse perspectives and compelling, vital journalism.”
Chris Michael, editor Guardian Seascape, Guardian News & Media, said:
“The high seas can be a lawless place rife with abuse. The Guardian’s ongoing Seascape project, a philanthropically supported editorial series about the state of the ocean, is devoted to shining a light on a part of the world that too often remains shrouded, in order to expose harms to the ocean and the people who live and work on it. With remarkable access to one ship of asylum-seekers, this gripping and moving film lifts the lid on how Europe relies on the lack of transparency at sea to turn a blind eye to suffering. This recognition from the Emmy awards underlines how the Guardian continues to use generous foundation support to produce journalism that is editorially independent with real-world impact on stories that might otherwise go unreported.”
Guardian Documentaries have received critical acclaim around the world. Recent wins include The Black Cop, which won a 2022 BAFTA for best short film, Colette which won the best short documentary Oscar in 2021 and Black Sheep, which was nominated for an Oscar in 2019.
This is the Guardian’s third News and Documentary Emmy win. In 2014 Guardian US won a News and Documentary Emmy in the Current News Coverage category for its groundbreaking coverage of Edward Snowden’s disclosures about mass surveillance by US intelligence agencies. In 2015 Guardian US won again in the same category for its investigation Beyond the border: The US’s Deadly Immigration Crisis.
The full list of nominees from the 43rd News and Documentary Emmys can be found here.
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Lindsay Poulton, head of documentaries and Chris Michael, editor Guardian Seascape are available for interviews. Please contact media.enquiries@theguardian.com with any requests.
Notes to editors
About Guardian Documentaries
Guardian Documentaries is an expression of the Guardian’s core editorial purpose and ethos. We curate and commission independent film-makers from around the world and are committed to telling contemporary stories with unique artistic vision that have the power to provoke, surprise and engage us with the changing world we live in. Guardian Documentaries have won critical acclaim, including an Oscar in 2021 for Colette and a 2022 BAFTA Film Award for The Black Cop and have played at film festivals around the world, garnering further recognition at festivals such as Cannes, Sheffield Doc/Fest, CPH Dox and IDFA.
To watch more Guardian Documentaries, visit theguardian.com/documentaries.
About Guardian Seascape
Seascape is an ongoing Guardian series devoted to exploring the world’s oceans and the more than 1 billion human beings who live, work or subsist on them. Through news, features and multimedia journalism, the Seascape project examines the rapid degradation of the marine environment and of the human rights of those who depend on the ocean to survive. To see more Guardian Seascape journalism, visit: theguardian.com/environment/series/seascape-the-state-of-our-oceans
About The Outlaw Ocean Project
The Outlaw Ocean Project is a non-profit journalism organisation founded by investigative reporter Ian Urbina that produces investigative stories about environmental and human rights concerns at sea globally. The project seeks to not only produce polished, narrative investigative journalism, but also to amplify that reportage by converting it into other mediums to reach new audiences all over the world. To learn more about these environmental and human rights concerns at sea, visit: www.theoutlawocean.com/
