Last night, Miners Shot Down took home Best Documentary at the International Emmy Awards in New York. The documentary was created to highlight the prevalent issues surrounding the Marikana incident.

If you’re unsure what I’m referring to, then here’s a little recap:

On 16 August 2012, 34 miners were killed – many of whom were shot in the back – when police opened fire on the group for striking. A devastating event in modern-day South Africa’s history, it became known as the Marikana massacre and started a dialogue among fellow citizens about the treatment of Africans for the gain of politics and business.

One man was there and happened to film the event: Rehad Desai. He then created a documentary which was screened over a year and a half later to audiences across South Africa and the world.

Rehad said at the ceremony after winning:

This was very hard to make. It took me three or four months just to recover from dealing with the footage from the massacre. I was born and raised in exile and it was all very close to me.

To date, Miners Shot Down has been shown in 76 festivals across 37 countries and won 20 awards, yet most South African’s will never see it as free-to-air SABC still refuses to broadcast it.

We are continuously humbled by the way the film is being appreciated by audiences all over the world. It shows how deeply disturbed people are about what happened at Marikana on 16 August 2012. It is now three years on and the commission of inquiry came to close a year ago. We await a fair and just outcome for the victims.

Watch the full documentary here.

[source: thedailyvox]