The documentary First Do No Harm – The Real France (D'abord ne pa nuire – La France en Vrai) has won the award for ‘the best of the best’ in the Prix CIRCOM 2022. 

The announcement was made at the Gala Award Show (26 May 2022) in Galway, Ireland, at the 38th CIRCOM Regional Annual Conference, hosted by Irish language broadcaster TG4.

The Grand Prix winner is a powerful documentary about how sexual abuse affects the female body and the importance of how these patients are treated by medical professionals, especially when it comes to pregnancies. The judges said it is impressive how the filmmaker gained the trust of the characters and how they openly shared their stories.

The winning station, France 3 Grand Est, based in Alsace, receives a trophy and 2000 euros in addition to a trophy, 1000 euros plus travel and accommodation at the conference for winning the category Documentary. 

The Grand Prix trophy was presented by Jean-Marc Dubois, President of CIRCOM Regional. The sponsor of the Grand Prix, TVP Poland, was represented by Wojciech Malinowski.

At the event, trophy presentations were made to all 11 category winners and commended. The categories were sponsored by: RTÉ, BBC, France TV, RPO, TVR, ORF, TVG/TPA, NRK, SVT, TG4, and the Council of Europe. 

This year's Prix resumed face-to-face judging – in Sitges, near Barcelona, hosted by CCMA - after two years of remote viewing and assessment. 

The choice for The Best of the Best is never an easy one for the 14 judges but this year the decision was unanimous. The final and decisive discussion was led by Prix CIRCOM Co-President, Mojca Recek, from RTVSlo (Slovenia), who said: “It has been an honour to be a Chair of the juries. Such a pleasure to be back to a face-to-face gathering! The Prix CIRCOM sets a benchmark standard of excellence to which all producers, all directors and all stations can and should aspire.”

David Lowen, Co-President, said: “Congratulations to the Grand Prix winner and all the category winners. These awards offer recognition and enhanced reputation. They should be a “must enter” for every public service regional TV station in Europe.”

Fernando Ojea, Secretary General of CIRCOM Regional, said: “It is my pleasure to praise France 3 Grand Est for being the best of the best and also all the Prix winners for the outstanding quality of these productions that are now available for all of our audiences. May I also thank David Lowen for his extraordinary work at the helm of the Prix over the years“.