Documentary Audio Recognition Award Finalists 2019

Six Americans who differ widely in their politics and personal identities share their fears, hopes and concerns as they record their lives during the first two years of the Trump administration.

Lead producer John Fecile is a documentary maker based in Oakland, California.

(Co-produced by Elizabeth Nakano. Reporters: Lenore Bajare-Dukes, John Fecile, Delaney Hall and Elizabeth Nakano.) 

Judge David Prest said: “Two Years evokes the spirit of oral historian Studs Terkel, interlocking multi-headed tales that explore the grey fuzzy areas of America’s relationship with Trump. Brave, bold and ultimately revealing of perhaps the way utter confusion has led to extremism in American politics.”

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A documentary that follows a line of connection through four women across two referendums to explore the unexpected consequences of talking about abortion.

Eleanor McDowall is a Director at Falling Tree Productions, the series producer of Short Cuts on BBC Radio 4 and the founder of Radio Atlas – a podcast for subtitled audio from around the world.

Judge Roger Graef said: “A Sense of Quietness takes you on an intimate journey of a very private matter that became Ireland’s most hotly debated issue. It made the political deeply personal.”

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In the 1970s, thousands of Vietnamese refugees were left on the remote Anambas Islands in Indonesia, stranded without food, water, or shelter. Now, almost 40 years later, one woman wants to go back to those distant islands, one last time.

Liz Mak is a multimedia journalist living in Oakland, California, where she works as a producer at the award-winning radio program Snap Judgment. 

Judge David Prest said: “There is real power here in capturing an unreported “boat people” story.  A simple, unadorned script wrapped around the experience of one woman and, as she puts it, her troubled relationship with the brutality and beauty of an island that many people can’t even find on a map, but which became a holding camp with a tragic twist. Subtle but searing in its final chapter.“

Sayre Quevedo takes us on a journey to understand what happened to his grandmother, the secrets that his mother kept from him, and the family that he never knew.

Sayre Quevedo is an audio documentarian based in New York City whose work focuses on intimacy, relationships, and human connection.

Judge Isis Thompson said: “This is a deeply personal but somehow completely universal story of how families both hurt and protect each other through generations. Lovingly crafted with real heart.“

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Can being naked in public be good for you? Dr. Keon West explores the good and bad of shedding your clothes.

Philippa Geering is a freelance audio producer whose clients include the BBC, Audible, 7Digital and Overtone Productions. She is currently working on a variety of projects, from modern slavery to the Rwandan arts scene.

Judge Roger Graef said: “The Benefits of Nakedness is off the wall in the great tradition of Alan Whicker himself. Funny, insightful, globe-trotting – with an unexpected reach into the parts normally kept hidden.“

LISTEN HERE