'Warts and all' Afghanistan film wins Najibullah Quraishi second Rory Peck award

Najibullah Quraishi spent 10 days embedded with insurgents in Afghanistan for his film Behind Enemy Lines

Afghan-British freelance journalist Najibullah Quraishi won the features prize at last night's Rory Peck awards for his film Behind Enemy Lines, which documents 10 days spent embedded with insurgents in Afghanistan in 2009.

The judges praised his film, which was broadcast by Channel 4's Dispatches, for its journalistic integrity and its "warts and all" access to insurgents. Last night's prize makes Quraishi the first person to win two Rory Peck awards for different films, having previously received the accolade in 2002.

US photojournalist Roger Arnold was named winner of the Rory Peck Award for News for his coverage of the Red Shirts protest in Bangkok, shot between April and May 2010. Produced for WSJ.com, Arnold's film is the the first footage made for the web that has been recognised by the awards.

British director Nick Read won the Sony Professional Impact Award for his film 'The Slumdog Children of Mumbai', also broadcast by Dispatches. Judges described Read's film as "beautifully-shot, deeply moving and profoundly shocking".

Tina Carr, director of The Rory Peck Trust says: "Once again these awards demonstrate just how enterprising and talented the freelance community is. All of this year's finalists and winners produced stories that required exceptional dedication and commitment, and it is important that we continue to recognise and support their work."

The awards were set up in memory of freelance cameraman Rory Peck, who was killed while filming in Moscow in 1993, to recognise the work of freelance cameramen and camerawomen covering international news.

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