Freelancers for Dispatches get two nods in annual Rory Peck Awards

Channel 4's Dispatches has received two nominations in the Rory Peck Awards, which recognise the work of freelance cameramen and camerawomen covering international news.

The finalists for the prize were announced late last week. There are three shortlisted entries across three categories, which cover features, news and a special Professional Impact Award. The work nominated ranges from a report on violence following the 2008 elections in Zimbabwe to footage of anti-government protests in Bangkok in May 2010.

Najibullah Quiraishi's 'Behind Enemy Lines' report on the two weeks he spent with Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Aghanistan for Dispatches is up for the features prize; while Nick Read's 'Slumdog Children of Mumbai' for Dispatches (pictured) is in the running for the professional impact category.

"This year's finalists demonstrate how, more than ever, today's media industry relies on freelancers to go to places that broadcasters are reluctant to go to, and to bring back stories that would otherwise not be told. They also show how freelancers have raised the bar technically, demonstrating what small cameras can do in difficult situations," says a release from the Rory Peck Trust.

The winers will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on 17 November. The full shortlist, which shows the dates when filming took place, can be seen below or on the Rory Peck Awards' site.

Features Award
Hopewell Rugoho Chin'ono, 'A Violent Response', 2008-9
Part broadcast by ITV News, and part-funded by Television International for K24

Najibullah Quraishi, 'Behind Enemy Lines', October-November 2009
Clover Films for Channel 4 Dispatches

Paul Refsdal, 'Behind the Masks', October 2009
Novemberfilm and Norwegian Film Institute for NRK

News Award
Roger Arnold, 'Bangkok Street Protests', April-May 2010
Commissioned and broadcast by WSJ.com

Robin Forestier-Walker, 'Kyrgyzstan Aftermath', June 2010
Commissioned and broadcast by Al Jazeera English

Sebastian Rich, 'Afghanistan Bomb Disposal', February 2010
Commissioned and broadcast by NBC News

Sony Professional Impact Award
Greg Brosnan and Jen Szymaszek, 'In the Shadow of the Raid', May 2008 - February 2009
Broadcast by PBS

Nick Read, 'Slumdog Children of Mumbai', July-September 2009
True Vision Productions for Channel 4 Dispatches

Liviu Tipurita, 'Gypsy Child Thieves', December 2008-April 2009
Commissioned and broadcast by BBC Two

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