Congratulations to Maggie Ayre, BBC radio producer, for winning the prestigious Prix Europa Award 2014 for Best European Radio Music Program “Strange Fruit,” that featured my storytelling about lynching among others. The award was presented in Berlin on October 24, 2014. Click here for a link to the Prix Europa winners and award-winning ‘Strange Fruit’ program. The award ceremony will be streamed on the website through November 8.
“The song, Strange Fruit. memorably encapsulates a poetic depiction of the brutal lynchings in the southern United States. The winning programme used this Billie Holliday song to explore the deep wounds, encountering people with close connections to the events; the stories were calmly recounted, adding intensity to the words, and allowed time for reflection. The song is delicately woven into a tapestry of sad memories. Strange Fruit demonstrates the ability of radio to communicate strong emotions and profound insights,” stated the Prix Europa Award 2014 announcement.
History: “PRIX EUROPA – The European Broadcasting Festival awards the best European Television, Radio and Online productions each year with the aim of publicising them throughout Europe and supporting their continental distribution and use. It calls on all media professionals and their commitment to quality to compete against each other with their best productions.”
