|
Anne Aghion (born 1960) is a French-American Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and Guggenheim fellow.
Filmmaking career
Aghion is best known for her two documentary films examining the situation in post-genocide Rwanda, In Rwanda We Say-The Family That Does Not Speak Dies, and Gacaca, Living Together Again In Rwanda- In the former film, Aghion interviews a genocide offender who has been released back into his community, as well as victims of the genocide.[1] In Gacaca, which is a community-based system of justice meaning "grass" in Kinyarwanda, Aghion is filmed as a prosecutor who tried the prisoners.[2] The proceedings would occur on grass where anyone who had a denouncement against the accused would be free to speak. If no one accused the prisoner, then that prisoner would be freed.[3] The films were shot in a small rural community over seven years and have been widely used by non-profit organizations for educational and training purposes. The third and final installment of her Rwanda trilogy is due to be released in 2009.[4]
Her first film, Se Le Movió El Piso (The Earth Moved Under Him) - A Portrait of Managua, was shot in the skid row of Managua. The film gives viewers an inside look in the life of Nicaraguan slum dwellers as they recount the numerous obstacles they have had to overcome in their lives.
Aghion's latest project, Ice People, brings the filmmaker to Antarctica where she filmed the lives of geologists and North Dakota State University professors Dr. Allan Ashworth and Dr. Adam Lewis and the McMurdo Station staff over four months.[5] The scientists, accompanied by two undergraduate students, researched fossils of ancient specimens as they sought to uncover the climatic evolution of the world's coldest continent.[6] The film premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival in April 2008[7] and was screened at the Jerusalem Film Festival in July 2008.[8]
Biography and early career
Anne Aghion splits her time between residences in New York City and Paris.[9]
Before becoming a filmmaker, Aghion held various posts at The New York Times Paris bureau and the International Herald Tribune.[10] Prior to her debut as director and producer of her own films, she worked as a videographer, as well as production and post-production manager.
Aghion earned a Bachelor of Arts Magna Cum Laude in Arab Language and Literature from Barnard College at Columbia University in New York,[3] and following her studies, lived in Cairo, Egypt for two years.[5]
Awards
Anne Aghion won an Emmy Award in 2005 for her feature documentary In Rwanda We Say-The Family That Does Not Speak Dies[11][12][13] and a UNESCO Fellini Prize for Gacaca, Living Together Again In Rwanda-.[14] In 1996, her first documentary Se le movió el piso: A portrait of Managua won the Coral Award for "Best Non-Latin American Documentary on Latin America" at the Havana Film Festival in Havana, Cuba.[15] Aghion is also a recipient of the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship and has received significant praise for her work.[16]
Filmography
References
- ^ "Video Reviews: Gacaca: Living Together in Rwanda- & In Rwanda We Say- The Family That Does Not Speak Dies", Centre for Justice & Reconciliation (2006-05). Retrieved on 24 July 2008.
- ^ Ramsey, Nancy (2003-04-24). "Filming Rwandans' Efforts To Heal", The New York Times. Retrieved on 25 July 2008.
- ^ a b Aghion, Anne. Interview with Paula Schaap. Shooting People: Shooter Films Interview with Anne Aghion. New York. Retrieved on 2008-07-25.
- ^ "Ice People Press Kit". Anne Aghion & Dry Valleys Productions 11. Retrieved on 2008-07-25.
- ^ a b "Pole Watch", Barnard News Center (2007=03-07). Retrieved on 25 July 2008.
- ^ "Documentary Films: Ice People". Jerusalem Film Festival. Retrieved on 2008-07-24.
- ^ "Films/Ice People". San Francisco International Film Festival (2007). Retrieved on 2008-07-26.
- ^ ""Ice People" Premieres at Jerusalem Film Festival", Newswise (2008-07-09). Retrieved on 24 July 2008.
- ^ "UNAFF2004 In Rwanda We Say... The Family That Does Not Speak Dies". UNAFF (2004). Retrieved on 2008-07-25.
- ^ Tallmer, Jerry (2005-05-18). "French filmmaker tackles genocide", The Villager. Retrieved on 25 July 2008.
- ^ "News Emmy Awards - 26th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Award Nominee Press Release - PART B". National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Retrieved on 2008-07-28.
- ^ "Ice People | Directed by: Anne Aghion, Produced by: Benoit Gryspeerdt". Independent Television Service. Retrieved on 2008-07-28.
- ^ "PBS wins six news and doc Emmys", Associated Press (2005-09-20). Retrieved on 24 July 2008.
- ^ "Resources on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda". Prevent Genocide International (2005-09-21). Retrieved on 2008-07-26.
- ^ "Havana Film Festival: 1996". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-07-24.
- ^ "Guggenheim Foundation 2005 Fellows Page". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (2005). Retrieved on 2008-07-25.
External links
|
