The World Is Watching
Directed byPeter Raymont
Written byPeter Raymont
Harold Crooks
Produced byHarold Crooks
Peter Raymont
Jim Munro
CinematographyJonathan Collinson
Martin Duckworth
Dan Holmberg
Edited byRobert Benson
John Kramer
Music byDoug Wilde
Production
company
Investigative Productions
Release date
1988
Running time
59 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

The World Is Watching is a Canadian short documentary film, directed by Peter Raymont and released in 1988.[1] The film examines media coverage of the Nicaraguan Revolution through the lens of an ABC News crew on the ground in the country,[2] documenting the various production pressures and limitations that can hamper the efforts of journalists to fully and accurately report a story;[3] its thesis hinges in part on the fact that Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega's key announcement that he would negotiate with the Contras was made only after the network's news production deadline for the day, leaving the network's initial reports on ABC World News Tonight able to report that he had made a speech but almost completely unable to say anything informative about it.[4]

The film was made with the full participation and support of ABC News anchor Peter Jennings.[5]

Produced for TVOntario and Britain's Channel 4,[6] the film premiered at the 1988 Festival of Festivals.[7] It was subsequently screened at the 1989 Berlin Film Festival,[8] where it received an honorable mention for the Peace Award.

It won the Genie Award for Best Short Documentary Film at the 10th Genie Awards in 1989.[9]

Sequel

In 2003 Raymont released The World Stopped Watching, a sequel film which returned to Nicaragua to document the effects that the Nicaraguan Revolution still had on life in the country.[10] Raymont received a Gemini Award nomination for Best Direction in a Documentary Program at the 19th Gemini Awards in 2004.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Noel Taylor, "Careers change direction for three documentary-makers". Ottawa Citizen, June 4, 1988.
  2. ↑ Noel Taylor, "Covering Nicaragua for TV: 'Just 10 more seconds'". Ottawa Citizen, November 28, 1988.
  3. ↑ Marke Andrews, "Canadian film on the media insight on how world reported". Vancouver Sun, February 2, 1989.
  4. ↑ Peter Trueman, "Newspapers and TV face same limitations of speed and space". Toronto Star, March 4, 1989.
  5. ↑ Bill Prentice, "Still the first casualty, truth has many shapes". The Globe and Mail, February 4, 1989.
  6. ↑ Greg Quill, "Canadian film looks behind TV cameras". Toronto Star, October 1, 1988.
  7. ↑ Greg Burliuk, "Canadian filmmakers flex it at the festival". Kingston Whig-Standard, September 17, 1988.
  8. ↑ David Overbey, "Canadian movies and makers the shakers of Berlin festival". Toronto Star, February 21, 1989.
  9. ↑ Rick Groen, "10 Genies for Dead Ringers: Best picture among awards for Cronenberg film". The Globe and Mail, March 23, 1989.
  10. ↑ Marke Andrews, "When the world stopped watching, Nicaragua changed for the better". Vancouver Sun, January 26, 2004.
  11. ↑ "The 2004 Gemini nominees". Playback, November 8, 2004.


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