Open City Docs and UCL graduate announced as winner of One World Media Award for Best Student Film

Sarah Cowan was presented with the award by Matteo Bergamini, CEO of Shout Out UK, at last night’s awards ceremony celebrating journalistic excellence in international media coverage of the developing world.

She is the fourth UCL Anthropology MA Ethnographic and Documentary Film graduate to receive the award in four consecutive years, after Paul Zhou’s win for his film China in Ethiopia in 2018, Minmin Wu’s win for Waste in 2017, and Fernando González Mitjans’ win for Limpiadores in 2016.

Cowan’s winning film, Anak Malaysia, sheds light on Malaysia’s hidden issue of statelessness, following the filmmaker’s stateless mother during the final stage of her latest citizenship application.

Sarah Cowan was one of the three nominees on the shortlist for the Student Award, all of whom were 2018 graduates of the Open City Docs UCL MA Ethnographic and Documentary Film programme.

Sarah Cowan said: “I’d like to express my utmost thanks to UCL, Open City Docs and my tenacious tutors for giving young, aspiring filmmakers like me the training and platform to make multicultural, issue-based films. Through my mother’s story, my film aimed to shed light on the hidden issue of statelessness in Malaysia, and provide a platform for the voices of thousands like her to be heard.”

Michael Stewart, director of Open City Docs, said: “Not for nothing does UCL describe itself as ‘London’s Global University’. We have run an MA in Ethnographic and Documentary Filmmaking for four years now and every year since we launched a UCL graduate has won the One World Media Student Award which celebrates global storytelling. I salute the amazing achievements of our three students this year who occupied all of the shortlist slots and especially Sarah Cowan and her tutor Lucy Sandys-Winsch, bringing an unknown scandal to world attention.”

Established in 1988, the One World Media Awards recognise the best media coverage of developing countries, reflecting the social, political and cultural life of people around the globe.

The One World Media Awards celebrate work across 15 categories and a wide range of media platforms, highlighting the unique role of journalists and filmmakers in bridging the divide between cultures worldwide.

The One World Media Awards took place on June 17th at BAFTA, and was hosted this year by journalist and television presenter Jon Snow. The ceremony saw some of the world’s finest journalists, reporters and filmmakers - past, present and future - gather to celebrate the industry’s achievements.

Focused on highlighting the vital role journalists and filmmakers have in increasing cultural understanding and supporting equality and justice worldwide, the One World Media Awards have set an industry gold standard for media professionals reporting in, on and from the developing world, throughout Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East, Russia and the post-Soviet states.

One World Media is a non-profit organisation that supports international journalism and promotes media coverage of global issues. For three decades, they have been working with partners in the UK and internationally to enable media that informs and connects the world’s people. One World Media’s mission is to support strong vibrant and independent media that empowers citizens, promotes justice and contributes to international development.

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