30th May 2019, Novi Sad, Serbia
The documentary The Girl From Utøya by NRK Rogaland in Norway is announced (30 May 2019) as the winner of the Prix CIRCOM for the best programme made by Europe’s regional public service broadcasters.
The announcement was made at a gala awards show this evening in Novi Sad, at the CIRCOM Regional Annual Conference hosted by RTV Vojvodina. It is the second successive year in which Norway has taken the top trophy.
The Girl From Utøya was chosen from more than 200 entries from 23 different states across 11 genre categories from Investigative Reporting to Music and Arts. The NRK Rogaland programme was winner of the category Documentary.
The Grand Prix winner – the Best of the Best – receives a trophy and 2000 euros in addition to the trophy, 1000 euros plus travel and accommodation at the conference for winning the category Documentary.
The programme follows the rehabilitation of one of the victims of the terrorist shootings on the island of Utøya in 2011 when 69 innocent young people were massacred.
After receiving the award, Eirik Gjesdal said: “I feel elevated and I'm really honoured!”
David Lowen, President of Prix CIRCOM and chair of the jury of 14 international judges, said: “The judges were impressed by the quality of the film. It gives hope and proof that some young people can be stronger than terror and will not bow to it.”
NRK Rogaland was one of three category winners from Norway – the others were NRK Trondelag (Entertainment and Drama) and NRK Nordland (News Report). The full list of category winners was announced after the judging in The Netherlands in April.