Women Make Movies (WMM), the independent production and distribution company dedicated to the promotion of films by and about women, has announced that their release, “Sisters In Law”, directed by Kim Longinotto and co-directed by Florence Ayisi, has been recognized with a George Foster Peabody Award for outstanding achievement in electronic media. WMM Executive Director Debra Zimmerman will accept the award at the ceremony on Monday, June 16.
Winner of the Prix Art et Essai at the Cannes Film Festival, “Sisters In Law” has been screened to acclaim at more than 120 festivals around the world. Peabody judges said of the film: “Directors Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi make viewers flies on the wall of a small-town courthouse in Cameroon overseen by two dynamic, wisecracking, larger-than-life sisters – one the court’s president, the other its state prosecutor – who are helping women stand up to abuse.”
Internationally acclaimed director Kim Longinotto is renowned for creating extraordinary human portraits and tackling controversial topics with sensitivity and compassion. WMM distributes thirteen of Longinotto’s films, including her most recent work “Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go”, which captures the triumphs and struggles of emotionally traumatized children attending Oxford boarding school Mulberry Bush and their best last chance to turn their lives around.
“We are thrilled by this honor. It is immensely satisfying to have such an enduring relationship with Kim Longinotto, one of the preeminent documentary filmmakers working today,” said Debra Zimmerman.
The Peabodys, the oldest awards in broadcasting, are considered among the most prestigious and selective prizes in electronic media and accepted more than a thousand outstanding entries this year.