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The 2008 Grierson Awards go Supersize with Sue Perkins, Giles Coren and a ´óÏó´«Ã½ÌýFour mini-season
Hot from filming their current Supersize series, Sue Perkins and
Giles Coren will take to the podium as hosts for the 2008 British
Documentary Awards – the Griersons – on Thursday 20 November.
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Celebrating the best in documentary film making, The Griersons
are the ultimate accolade in the documentary world.
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Nine awards will be presented by the duo, selected by a
distinguished panel of judges made up of documentary makers,
channel commissioners, industry experts and journalists.
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The
nine categories are: Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue,
Best Documentary on the Arts, Best Historical Documentary, Best
Science Documentary, the Jonathan Gili Award for Most
Entertaining Documentary, Best Drama Documentary, Envy Best
Documentary Series, UK Film Council Best Cinema Documentary and
Bloomberg Best Newcomer.
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In the build up to the awards, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Four will also play host to a
Grierson mini-season, celebrating some of the best of British
documentary making by broadcasting three of the short-listed
films on nights leading up to the ceremony.
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Kicking off on Tuesday 11
November the three featured shortlisted films are:
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What Did You Do In The Great War, Daddy?:
shortlisted in the Best Historical Documentary Category
(´óÏó´«Ã½ Four, 11ÌýNovember 2008).
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What Did You Do In The Great War, Daddy? tells the tragic story
of the greatest loss of fathers in British history. When the
nation was called to arms in the patriotic fervour of 1914 it was
difficult to imagine that, four years later, half-a-million
children would have lost their fathers in battle. The impact of
their deaths was devastating and never forgotten by their sons
and daughters. Now in their nineties, they go on an emotional journey
to remember their lost fathers, culminating in a visit to their
graves in France.
Produced by Steve Humphries for Testimony Films. Ìý
Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives: shortlisted in the Best Science Documentary Category
(´óÏó´«Ã½ Four, 17 November 2008).
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Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives followed the lead singer of the
US rock band Eels, Mark Oliver Everett, who embarked on a journey
of discovery across the United States to learn about the father
he never knew – the brilliant physicist Hugh Everett III, whose
theory of parallel worlds had profound implications for quantum
mechanics and the study of the subatomic world.
Produced by Louise Lockwood for ´óÏó´«Ã½ÌýScotland. Ìý
Please Vote For Me: shortlisted for the Jonathan Gili Award for Most Entertaining
Documentary
(´óÏó´«Ã½ Four, 20 November 2008).
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Weijun Chen's comic but profound film charts the election of the
class monitor in a Chinese school. At first all goes well but
soon parents join the campaign. And then manipulation and dirty tricks
start – posing the question of whether democracy could ever exist
without them.
Produced by Weijun Chen for Steps International for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Four.
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Murray Weston, Chairman of the Grierson Trust, said: "The
Griersons night is the highlight of the documentary calendar and
announcements of the 2008 results are eagerly awaited.
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"´óÏó´«Ã½ Four's
mini-season will build the excitement in the lead-up to the big
night and the evening will clearly go with a swing – orchestrated
by the maestro herself, Sue Perkins along with her Supersize
partner Giles Coren."
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David Okuefuna, Channel Executive for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Four, said: "We're delighted
to be screening three very different ´óÏó´«Ã½ Four documentaries that
have been shortlisted for the Grierson Awards 2008.
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"Steve
Humphries' sensitive and absorbing What Did You Do In The Great
War, Daddy?, Weijun Chen's entertaining study of parent rivalry
in a Chinese school, Please Vote For Me, and the exceptionally
inventive science film Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives by the
talented young director Louise Lockwood are indicative of the
diversity, ambition and quality of the channel's factual output
in the past year."
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The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 20ÌýNovember 2008 at
The Royal Institution, Albemarle Street, London W1. Ìý
FW
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