2009 Winners
Greg Hemmings, a Canadian film-maker, won First Prize in the 2008/9 Commonwealth Vision Awards. His prize was presented by Academy Award winning Director, Lord David Puttnam, at a ceremony held on 24 June 2009, at the Commonwealth Club in London. Hemmings' entry 'Papikatuk', looks at the effects of climate change and cultural transformation in a small community in the Canadian Arctic region of Nunavik. It is narrated by a young Inuit boy named Papikatuk.
Pooja Pottenkulam of India/UK and Ambjorn Elder of UK/Sweden received the Highly Commended prize for their joint entry in the competition. 'The Boy Who Spoke Moomoo', an animated and allegorical story, addresses the issue of disappearing lanaguages. According to reports by UNESCO, by 2100 more than half of the world's 7,000 languages may disappear, many without ever having been recorded or documented. This would result in a wealth of knowledge about human nature, history, culture and the natural environment also vanishing.
Four other short-listed entries came from Uganda, India, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Lord David Puttnam, presenter of the 2008/9 Award:
"This innovative award encourages talent across the Commonwealth, with themes that provoke and stimulate creative films and to date, have helped convey the Commonwealth message in an exciting and imaginative way."