In Bolivia, activists from among the nation’s 68,000 people with a disability marched in a caravan for 380km over the Andes to confront the government in La Paz. Daniel Fallshaw walked with them for 35 days, filming the journey, thinking that was the story and then they’d meet the president. The protesters were demanding a monthly pension equivalent to $90.
The president refused to meet them; instead they were met with surveillance, riot police, barricades, tear gas and water cannons. Fallshaw was everywhere he needed to be to capture the shots and quotes that made this story so moving. His camerawork tells the story with intimacy and immediacy, highlighting both powerful solidarity and crushing indifference.
Fallshaw’s films are driven by his motivation to shift the balance of power. They include Between The Oil and The Deep Blue Sea, made in Mauritania in 2006, and Stolen, which he co-directed in 2009 and was broadcast on PBS, which exposed slavery in refugee camps in Algeria. This year he directed, produced, shot and edited “The Fight”, published by The Guardian. It won the Doc Dispatch Award and was nominated for the Rory Peck Sony Impact Award and IDA’s Short Film Award. Fallshaw is developing the VR experience Prison X (Tribeca and Screen NSW) and a feature documentary of “The Fight”. He has an honours degree in communications from the University of Technology, Sydney and Saint Martin’s College in London. This is his first Walkley Award.
Judges’ comments:
Daniel Fallshaw’s cinematography intimately connects viewers with the protestors’ journey. He manages to capture tender moments of humanity and humour in an otherwise harrowing story. His ability to shoot despite being subjected to violent assaults and government intimidation is commendable. “The Fight” was a catalyst for change at the UN and within Bolivia – it’s a prime example of the power of journalism.