Granito wins 2014 BritDoc Impact Award

November 23, 2014

A poster for the New Day film Granito. A large, grainy, sepia-toned close up of a person’s face. They stare straight ahead with a serious expression and heavy shadows around their eyes. Behind the head to the left are two sepia toned strips of photos. One strip is a single person sitting in front of a window. The larger strip is a photo of a group of people sitting together. The text reads “Granito” in large, red to orange gradient with the words “How to nail a dictator” in small, white text underneath.

New Day is proud to announce that Granito, by Pamela Yates, Paco de Onis and Peter Kinoy, has received a 2014 BRITDOC Impact Award.

Granito tells the extraordinary story of how the filmmakers’ 1982 film When The Mountains Tremble aided a new generation of human rights activists and helped tip the scales of justice in Guatemala. Ultimately, dictator General Efraín Ríos Montt was pronounced guilty of committing genocide and crimes against humanity against the Maya Ixil people, and sentenced to 80 years in prison.

"Granito serves as a vital reminder that courageous documentary filmmakers can profoundly impact the cause of justice in the world,” said Jury Member Amy Goodman, who is also the Host & Executive Producer of Democracy Now!. “This film helped the Maya people of Guatemala hold the perpetrators of their genocide accountable. It poignantly portrays their suffering, their resistance and their hope for the future.” The BRITDOC Impact Award celebrates “the documentary films that have made the greatest impact on society.”

Granito shares the award with American Promise, Blackfish, The House I Live In and No Fire Zone. Each film receives $15,000 to reward their commitment, passion and achievements in using storytelling to provoke change.

Since 2005, BRITDOC has been developing expertise around impact and evaluation in documentary film. The organization’s Impact Field Guide & Toolkit is a new free online curriculum designed to help those who are working with film improve their impact. For more information about BRITDOC’s impact reports and educational tools visit BritDoc.org.