alan whicker
Whicker’s World Foundation launches inspiring Funding Award at Radio Festival
Whicker’s World Foundation launches
inspiring Funding Award at Radio Festival
- Whicker’s World Foundation launches the Radio & Audio Funding Award (RAFA) at the Radio Festival, the annual celebration of all things audio at the British Library. The festival brings together a full media scope of leading figures from the UK’s audio industry.
- Supporting authored storytelling in the UK, taking us into new or hitherto unseen worlds, RAFA will help fund independent audio documentary makers.
- RAFA Awards are worth a total of £7,000.
- Submissions for this and existing Whicker’s World Foundation Awards 2017 are now being accepted.
Whicker’s World Foundation will today, at the UK’s popular Radio Festival hosted by broadcaster Paddy O’Connell launch a brand-new funding award – the RAFA – to help aspiring independent audio documentary makers. The awards were created to celebrate and encourage excellence in audio documentaries, and have been generously funded by a legacy left by the celebrated journalist Alan Whicker who died in 2013. Whicker wanted to encourage curiosity, stimulate the senses and empower talent which might otherwise never find a place in today’s highly-competitive industry.
The Whicker’s World Foundation, launched in 2015, has already awarded over £100,000.The award prizes consist of £5,000 for the winner and a runner-up prize of £2,000. The winning pitches will offer new and exciting ideas for audio documentaries, meeting Whicker’s World Foundation criteria of: taking us into a new or hitherto unseen worlds; being personal but not partisan; and with an emphasis on strong original storytelling and development of the medium. Applicants need to supply up to six minutes worth of audio in support of their proposals.Deadline for entries is 23rd December 2016, there is no application fee and candidates can apply online. The best five will be invited to pitch at an event in March 2017 and the winners will be announced at next year’s Radio Festival.Whicker’s broadcasting career began in radio and he went on to join Radio 2 in the late 1990s, adding what Jim Moir, the then Controller, described as “Great lustre to my network”. Alan was an avid fan of radio documentary and told the press he wanted to return to it because, unlike TV, it didn’t ‘dumb down’ – radio and ‘assumed an intelligent audience’. Alan Whicker’s passion continues into new generations with awards such as RAFA, created to empower emerging talent.The panel of judges will be looking for imaginative storytelling, either breaking new ground or taking a familiar path in a new and innovative direction. Valerie Kleeman , Whicker’s partner in life and work for over 40 years, said: “Alan was well aware that he had been lucky enough to start working at a time when serious journalism was respected and presenters given the freedom to fashion their own programmes. He and his colleagues were writing the grammar of what was to follow; they were given support and opportunities and often allowed to learn on the job. He was aware that this scenario is not replicated today; money is scarce and commissioners are reluctant to green light without a celebrity name fronting a subject with which they often have little connection. Alan, who felt the best shot of himself was the back of his head, abhorred this trend. He was apolitical; he sought to intrigue and stimulate but not to influence. He strived to uncover the unusual as well as entertain. Above all he was a writer and observer who wrote and filmed what he saw. At the Foundation we seek to use Alan’s legacy to further his vision and to help those with talent to take the first step up a ladder which is increasingly difficult to climb.“
Jane Ray, Consultant Artistic Director for Whicker’s World Foundation said: “I am thrilled that the Radio Festival are partnering this new funding award for audio. I am a passionate believer in the enduring power of the well made, thoughtfully produced audio documentary. The other day we were contacted by someone looking for a series Alan Whicker had made 18 years ago. They knew the title and could describe the pictures vividly – then remembered they’d actually ‘seen’ radio broadcasts. Those who inspire us to listen, I mean really listen, and take us deeper into understanding the notions and motivations that shape our human story need to be nurtured. If this award goes some way to helping talented independent audio producers realise their documentary dreams Alan Whicker’s legacy will be wonderfully well served.”Roger Cutsforth, The Radio Academy Managing Director added: “The Radio Academy is proud to be partnering with Whicker’s World Foundation on this fantastic initiative to encourage and support new talent in audio documentary making. The Radio & Audio Funding Award [RAFA] is a wonderful legacy of the late, great Alan Whicker and his passion for the medium and will be a wonderful addition to the Radio Festival.”
Francesca Panetta, last year’s runner up for ‘The Dhammazedi Bell’ and multimedia special projects editor at The Guardian said: “It’s wonderful to see this new funding award. There is so much talent out there but few avenues for funding creative audio. I’m looking forward to seeing or more appropriately hearing the results.”
Nina Garthwaite, founding director of In the Dark Radio, added: “While the Internet has opened up new platforms for independent audio production, it’s still not always easy for producers to find the funding to do the work they’re passionate about and you need money to have the time to really explore your ideas. So it’s great that the Whicker’s World Foundation Awards want to support radio makers with a strong independent voice and a desire to develop the medium. I’m excited to hear the results!”
Will Jackson, managing Director of the Radio Independents Group commented: “RIG greatly welcomes this new funding award, which gives the next generation of Britain’s audio documentary makers an invaluable opportunity to join the ranks of Britain’s highly successful indie production sector.”
Alan Hall, previous Whicker’s world Foundation audio judge and CEP of Indie Falling Tree said: “It’s exciting to welcome a new funding award that encourages documentary production to go beyond worlds (literal or figurative) known already to us and, in so doing, to develop the unique qualities of a medium now entering a new golden age!”
Whicker’s World Foundation’s pre-existing awards are also opening entries for submissions today.
The Audio Recognition Award
This is moving to The Radio Festival. This is for a documentary, 15 minutes or over, broadcast or published online in the previous year. It was won this summer by Cathy Fitzgerald’s Little Volcanoes. The award is for £5,000 to the winner and £2,000 for the runner-up. The winners will be announced at next year’s Festival.
The Film and TV Funding Award
This is the primary focus of Whicker’s World Foundation. Each year £80,000 will be awarded to a new director with the most promising pitch for an authored documentary which fulfils the core criteria of the Foundation and can be completed for screening with this award. The money will be paid in instalments to the director’s film company, enabling a project which deserves to reach as wide an audience as possible. This year it was won by Alex Bescoby for Burma’s Lost Royals. The closing date for entries is 31st January 2017 and the shortlists will be announced in May 2016. The first winners will be announced by Whicker’s World Foundation at the Sheffield Doc/Fest Award Ceremony, which will take place on the final night of the 2017 festival, 13th June 2017.
The Whicker’s World Sage Award
‘Retirement’ was not a word in Alan’s vocabulary. He was 83 when he wrote and presented Whicker’s War, a much acclaimed account of his army experiences in Italy for Channel 4. He made his last series for BBC Two, Journey of a Lifetime, in his late eighties. The Sage award will recognise a TV or audio professional who has come to air with an authored story for the first time, a prize of £5,000 will be awarded annually to an applicant aged 50 plus. Submissions of no more than 10 minutes; this can be for presentation but must be their own work. A runner-up will receive £2,000. Keith Earnest Hoult won this award for for Fluechtlinge – Refugee. Keith, a fan of Alan Whicker’s ‘gentle approach’ to interviewing, was inspired to create a ten-minute film about Syrians seeking refuge in a disused airport used for the Berlin Airlift. When he witnessed his friend’s wife Caroline trying to help refugees against a growing backlash he ‘felt the urge to film it if only for her family to reflect on later in life’. Keith learnt his film-making skills at the SAE Institute after redundancy and divorce turned his life upside-down. Judges were impressed that he made this entirely self-funded film as ‘a simple tale of ordinary people helping other ordinary people at their time of most desperate need.’
For further details on the awards and entry forms please go to
www.whickersworldfoundation.com
-ENDS
Notes to editors:
For images, media information and interviews please contact:
Siobhan Connor at Connor PR siobhan@connorpr.com + 44 (0) 7966 177025
For Terms and Conditions and award Criteria please go to http://whickersworldfoundation.com/application-forms/
Join the conversation: facebook.com/whickersworldfoundation
https://twitter.com/whickersworld @whickersworld
About Whicker’s World Foundation
On 7 June 2015 Whicker’s World Foundation, whose principle aim is to give a much needed fillip to authored documentary storytelling in the UK, launched three new documentary awards worth over £100,000 for the promotion of curiosity in programme making, generously funded by a legacy left by the celebrated broadcast journalist Alan Whicker. The launch took place in the Sheffield Winter Gardens led by Alex Graham, chair or Doc/Fest, Jane Ray, Artistic Director for the foundation and Kim Longinotto, multi award winning filmmaker. Entries for 2017 Awards opened on September 26th 2016 www.whickersworldfoundation.com
Radio Festival
Radio Festival is an annual event organised by Radio Academy, a registered charity dedicated to the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK radio broadcasting and audio production. www.radioacademy.org
Connor PR, Whicker’s World Foundation, Siobhan Connor PR
ALAN WHICKER COLLECTION NOW AVAILBLE TO VIEW AT BFI SOUTHBANK AS PART OF LATEST ACQUISITIONS EXHIBITION
ALAN WHICKER COLLECTION NOW AVAILBLE TO VIEW AT BFI SOUTHBANK AS PART OF LATEST ACQUISITIONS EXHIBITION
Inside Whicker’s World: The life and travels of Alan Whicker
- Alan Whicker collection on view now as part of an exhibition of material from the BFI National Archive’s Special Collections; ‘Latest Acquisitions’ is free to view in the Mezzanine Gallery at BFI Southbank until October 23
- Items on display include Alan Whicker’s passports, a BBC Audience report for Whicker Down Under, interview question cards for Papa Doc: The Black Sheep (1969) and The World of James Bond (1967), photographs, correspondence, and shooting schedules
- Test your knowledge by taking part in a travel quiz made by the Whicker’s World Foundation – https://whickersworldfoundation.com/2016/10/quiz-how-well-do-you-know-whickers-world/
- Submissions for Whicker’s World Foundation Awards 2017 are now being accepted
As well as caring for one of the world’s richest and most significant moving image collections, the BFI National Archive also holds world-class Special Collections of scripts, posters, designs, photographs and other documents, including the archives of some of Britain’s most important film and programme makers. This exhibition presents highlights from some of our exciting recent acquisitions including the papers of Oscar-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan, television journalist and documentary-maker Alan Whicker, and S John Woods, the man behind many of the best-loved Ealing Studios posters. The exhibition is open now and free to view until October 23rd 2016 at BFI Southbank, Mezzanine Gallery, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XT.
The BFI National Archive is now home to the archives of pioneering investigative TV journalist, Alan Whicker, donated by Valerie Kleeman, Whicker’s World Foundation. The collection contains meticulous records of one of the most enduring and influential careers in British television history, spanning the late 1950s into the 21st century.
This is an extensive and significant donation covering the entire career of a world-renowned broadcaster, and represents a unique insight into the production methods of a master documentarian. Alan Whicker’s name is a by-word for brilliantly crafted and revealing studies of people and places, whether exploring behind the scenes of the Miss World competition, interviewing Papa Doc in Haiti, or exposing the lifestyles of the hippies of San Francisco, with an enquiring mind and a sceptical tone. This unlikely figure, clad in Gucci tie and blazer, found his way into the nation’s hearts as he went where his audience was unlikely to follow.
The meticulously kept Alan Whicker archive spans the years 1938-2014. It includes a school report from 1938, documents relating to his war career and letters, photographs, extensive production files, audience reports, interview notes and questions (including Whicker’s hand-annotated question cards) and transcripts of every TV programme he made, along with some, as yet, unidentified films. The archive gives an insider’s view of some of the key events, social trends and personalities of the 20th century, while fully documenting the changing world of television reportage across more than five decades.
Around Whicker’s World in 13 Guesses
Test your knowledge of Alan Whicker’s Life and Work by taking part in our quiz
https://whickersworldfoundation.com/2016/10/quiz-how-well-do-you-know-whickers-world/
Submissions for Whicker’s World Foundation Awards 2017 are now being accepted
The Funding Award
This is the primary focus of Whicker’s World Foundation. Each year £80,000 will be awarded to a new director with the most promising pitch for an authored documentary which fulfils the core criteria of the Foundation and can be completed for screening with this award. The money will be paid in instalments to the director’s film company, enabling a project which deserves to reach as wide an audience as possible. This year it was won by Alex Bescoby for Burma’s Lost Royals. The closing date for entries is 31st January 2017 and the shortlists will be announced in May 2016. Entrants must be aged 35 years or younger on the closing date for applications. The first winners will be announced by Whicker’s World Foundation at the Sheffield Doc/Fest Award Ceremony, which will take place on the final night of the 2017 festival, 13th June 2017.
The Whicker’s World Radio and Audio Funding Award (RAFA)
For 2017 we are introducing a new Funding Award for Radio and Audio documentary projects in association with the Radio Academy. This is for a documentary, 15 minutes or over, broadcast or published online in the previous year. The Whicker’s World Radio and Audio Funding Award (RAFA) has a £5,000 first prize and £2,000 runner up award. The deadline for this award is the 23rd of December, with the best pitch being announced at a special event in March 2017.
The Recognition Awards
In addition to our funding awards there are two further annual prizes to recognise completed work: the ‘Audio Award’ and the ‘Sage Award’, the latter of which is for the finest industry newcomer over the age of fifty.
Alan worked in radio before TV and was snapped up by Radio 2 in the late 1990s, adding what Jim Moir, the Controller from 1996 to 2003, described as “great lustre to my network”. Initially Alan’s radio programmes revolved around re-visiting his most memorable encounters from Whicker’s World: from the ‘Ten Pound Poms’ to Margaret Rutherford’s transsexual adoptee who ‘gave birth’ to a mixed-race daughter in South Carolina. He went on to create a radio history of television called It’ll Never Last.
Whicker’s World Foundation will award an annual £5,000 prize for the best audio project of over 15 minutes in length, broadcast in the last year. A runner-up will receive £2,000.
The Whicker’s World Sage Award
‘Retirement’ was not a word in Alan’s vocabulary. He was 83 when he wrote and presented Whicker’s War, a much acclaimed account of his army experiences in Italy for Channel 4. He made his last series for BBC Two, Journey of a Lifetime, in his late eighties. The Sage award will recognise a TV or audio professional who has come to air with an authored story for the first time, a prize of £5,000 will be awarded annually to an applicant aged 50 plus. Submissions of no more than 10 minutes; this can be for presentation but must be their own work. A runner-up will receive £2,000. Keith Earnest Hoult won this award for for Fluechtlinge – Refugee. Keith, a fan of Alan Whicker’s ‘gentle approach’ to interviewing, was inspired to create a ten-minute film about Syrians seeking refuge in a disused airport used for the Berlin Airlift. When he witnessed his friend’s wife Caroline trying to help refugees against a growing backlash he ‘felt the urge to film it if only for her family to reflect on later in life’. Keith learnt his film-making skills at the SAE Institute after redundancy and divorce turned his life upside-down. Judges were impressed that he made this entirely self-funded film as ‘a simple tale of ordinary people helping other ordinary people at their time of most desperate need.’
For further details on the awards and entry forms please go to
www.whickersworldfoundation.com
-ENDS
Notes to editors:
For images, media information and interviews please contact:
Siobhan Connor at Connor PR siobhan@connorpr.com + 44 (0) 7966 177025
For Terms and Conditions and award Criteria please go to http://whickersworldfoundation.com/application-forms/
Join the conversation: facebook.com/whickersworldfoundation
https://twitter.com/whickersworld @whickersworld
About Whicker’s World Foundation
On 7 June 2015 Whicker’s World Foundation, whose principle aim is to give a much needed fillip to authored documentary storytelling in the UK, launched three new documentary awards worth over £100,000 for the promotion of curiosity in programme making, generously funded by a legacy left by the celebrated broadcast journalist Alan Whicker. The launch took place in the Sheffield Winter Gardens led by Alex Graham, chair or Doc/Fest, Jane Ray, Artistic Director for the foundation and Kim Longinotto, multi award winning filmmaker. Entries for 2017 Awards opened on September 26th 2016 www.whickersworldfoundation.com
ALAN WHICKER COLLECTION DONATED TO BFI NATIONAL ARCHIVE
ALAN WHICKER COLLECTION
DONATED TO BFI NATIONAL ARCHIVE
London – Thursday, 5th May 2016. The BFI National Archive is pleased to announce that it has received the archives of pioneering investigative TV journalist, Alan Whicker, donated by Valerie Kleeman, Whicker’s World Foundation. The collection contains meticulous records of one of the most enduring and influential careers in British television history, spanning the late 1950s into the 21st century.
This is an extensive and significant donation covering the entire career of a world-renowned broadcaster, and represents a unique insight into the production methods of a master documentarian. Alan Whicker’s name is a by-word for brilliantly crafted and revealing studies of people and places, whether exploring behind the scenes of the Miss World competition, interviewing Papa Doc in Haiti, or exposing the lifestyles of the hippies of San Francisco, with an enquiring mind and a sceptical tone. This unlikely figure, clad in Gucci tie and blazer, found his way into the nation’s hearts as he went where his audience was unlikely to follow.
The meticulously kept Alan Whicker archive spans the years 1938-2014. It includes a school report from 1938, documents relating to his war career and letters, photographs, extensive production files, audience reports, interview notes and questions (including Whicker’s hand-annotated question cards) and transcripts of every TV programme he made, along with some, as yet, unidentified films. The archive gives an insider’s view of some of the key events, social trends and personalities of the 20th century, while fully documenting the changing world of television reportage across more than five decades.
The material will be stored at the BFI National Archive’s paper store at Berkhamsted where it joins over 600 named collections from individuals such as producers Michael Balcon, David Puttnam and Betty Box, directors including David Lean, Joseph Losey, Michael Powell, Carol Reed, Mike Hodges, Muriel Box and Derek Jarman, writers such as Emeric Pressburger, Janet Green and Trevor Griffiths, and documentary filmmakers such as Humphrey Jennings, Derek Armstrong and Michael Orrom. Among the most recent additions to the collection are the archives of Ken Loach, Alan Parker, Jenny Beavan, Richard Lester, Karel Reisz, Jack Clayton and Halas & Batchelor. The Whicker papers will be able to be consulted by researchers and students of television history once cataloguing is fully completed.
Robin Baker, Head Curator, BFI National Archive said, “This is a major collection that gives us a unique insight into one of the great figures of 20th century television. Alan Whicker was a household name, famed for his daring and insightful investigations of people from all walks of life, from close to home and around the globe. His standards were meticulously high and his programmes set a benchmark for longform television documentary. The Alan Whicker collection is a very generous and important donation from Valerie Kleeman of the Whicker’s World Foundation, for which we are extremely grateful. We’re delighted that Whicker’s papers are now part of the national collection of film and television. “
Valerie Kleeman, Whicker’s partner in life and work for over 40 years and founder of the Whicker’s World Foundation said, “The Whicker’s World archive is now where it belongs – in the safekeeping of the BFI – where, I hope, its content will be of help and guidance to generations to come.
The 90 boxes, carefully curated by archivist Catherine Kirby, contain an intimate and personal take on the last half of the 20th century. Beginning with a letter informing him he has passed his School Certificate and continuing throughout his life in the Army Film and Photographic Unit, journalism and television, Alan Whicker observed both the light and the shadows of life.
Often he witnessed history in the making: war trials in Strasbourg, race riots in Alabama. He had access to the unaccessible: dictators, witch doctors, cults – and even the occasional royal. ‘Whicker’s World’ covered everything from bullfighting and the first gay weddings to the horrors of Papa Doc’s Haiti, always with intelligence, often with humour.
Whicker wrote and filmed what he saw, he had no preconceived ideas, no axe to grind. His motivation was to stimulate, to interest, to entertain…..and to allow viewers to come to their own conclusions.
The archive contains 60 years of carefully documented work: transcripts, notes, diaries and photographs, a lifetime of watching the world through thoughtful, quizzical eyes.”
Alan Whicker CBE (1921-2013) was a renowned journalist, broadcaster and television presenter. During the Second World War he joined the Army Film and Photo Unit, and by the 1950s he was working as a foreign correspondent for a Fleet Street agency, and then as a broadcaster for BBC Radio. In 1957 he was spotted by producer Alasdair Milne (later Director-General of the BBC) who gave him a regular ‘Whicker’s World’ slot on the ground breaking Tonight programme. This paved the way for the longer format Whicker’s World which began in 1965 and ran for 40 years on the BBC and ITV.
His reportage spanned the globe and covered a huge range of subjects which reflect all aspects of 20th century culture, politics and history. These include race relations, gay marriage, gun culture, bullfighting, haute couture and interviews with significant (and often controversial) figures of the 20th century, for example, Francois Duvalier (‘Papa Doc’), the notorious Haitian dictator, and oil billionaire John Paul Getty. At the height of his popularity Whicker’s programmes commanded audiences of 15 million people. Whicker’s work was also significant in terms of style and format, for example, he was an early pioneer of the ‘blue light’ programme, a format that is now well-established and perennially popular (shadowing police in their daily and nightly duties). Alan Whicker is a significant cultural figure and a household name for a whole generation. He won many awards during his career including the BAFTA Richard Dimbleby Award and the Screenwriters’ Guild Best Documentary Script (in 1963). His legacy lives on through the Whicker’s World Foundation which supports new documentary talent.
About the BFI
The BFI is the lead organisation for film in the UK with the ambition to create a flourishing film environment in which innovation, opportunity and creativity can thrive by:
- Connecting audiences to the widest choice of British and World cinema
- Preserving and restoring the most significant film collection in the world for today and future generations
- Championing emerging and world class film makers in the UK – investing in creative, distinctive and entertaining work
- Promoting British film and talent to the world
- Growing the next generation of film makers and audiences
The BFI is a Government arm’s-length body and distributor of Lottery funds for film. The BFI serves a public role which covers the cultural, creative and economic aspects of film in the UK. It delivers this role:
- As the UK-wide organisation for film, a charity core funded by Government
- By providing Lottery and Government funds for film across the UK
- By working with partners to advance the position of film in the UK.
Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter.
The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Josh Berger.
About the BFI National Archive
The BFI National Archive was founded in 1935 and has grown to become the one of the largest and most important collections of film and television in the world with over 180,000 films and 750,000 television programmes. For over 80 years the BFI has been an international leader in film preservation and guardian of Britain’s unparalleled film and TV heritage. The BFI is an innovator in presenting films to audiences in new and dynamic ways, from cinemas to film festivals, outdoor events to online video-on-demand. At the heart of all its activities is the BFI’s central aim to ensure that everyone in the UK has access to the widest possible range of film and their own film heritage.
That heritage includes all time great British directors Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean and Powell and Pressburger; and the rich vein of documentary filmmaking, in which Britain led the world, including the lyrical work of Humphrey Jennings. The archive also boasts a significant collection of filmmakers’ papers as well as extensive stills, posters and production and costume designs along with original scripts, press books and related ephemera.
Expert teams undertake the time-consuming and complex task of restoring films at the BFI John Paul Getty Jr Conservation Centre in Hertfordshire. The BFI’s most precious film materials are kept in optimum conditions in the world-leading Master Film Store in Warwickshire.
Stills
A selection of stills for press use in connection with this story can be found at:
www.image.net/BFI/BFI National Archive/Whicker
Press contacts:
Brian Robinson, Communications Manager, Archive & Heritage, BFI
Email: brian.robinson@bfi.org.uk
Tel +44 (0) 207 957 8940
Mobile: 07740 171968
Judy Wells, Head of Press and PR , BFI
Email: judy.wells
Tel +44 (0) 207 957 8919
Mobile: 07984 180501
For press enquiries about Whicker’s World Foundation please contact:
Siobhan Connor CONNOR PR +44 (0)7966 177025 siobhan@connorpr.com
Whicker’s World Foundation launches new documentary awards at Sheffield Doc Fest
Whicker’s World Foundation launches new documentary
awards at Sheffield Doc Fest
-
Three awards worth a total of £100,000
-
Supporting authored storytelling in the UK
-
First winners to be announced at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2016
Sunday 7th June at Sheffield Doc/Fest: the new Whicker’s World Foundation, whose principle aim is to give a much needed fillip to authored documentary storytelling in the UK, today launches three new documentary filmmaker awards worth a total of £100,000 for the promotion of curiosity in programme making, generously funded by a legacy left by the celebrated broadcast journalist Alan Whicker, who died in 2013. Details of the Whicker’s World Foundation and the awards will be announced by filmmaker Kim Longinotto at a special event at Doc/Fest, following the screening of Whicker’s World: Conflict in Kentucky.
Says Mark Atkin, Acting Festival Director, Sheffield Doc/Fest: “I am very enthused that this foundation aims to encourage authored documentary at a time when TV is becoming increasingly formatted and when most foundations have requirements to promote social issues. This is exactly what the industry needs right now”.
The three awards – the Funding Award (worth £80,000 / £10,000 runner up) to a debut filmmaker under 30 years of age; the Recognition Award (worth £4,000 / £1,000 runner up) to the finest industry newcomer aged 50 years of age or over; and the Best Audio Documentary (worth £4,000 / £1,000) to be awarded at the In The Dark audio festival, also part of Doc/Fest – will be looking for a spirit of inquisitiveness that will leave the viewer wanting more, and tell something new and unexpected about the world.
The panel of judges, chaired by Valerie Kleeman, photographer, programme consultant and Whicker’s partner for more than 40 years, will also be looking for projects that are playful with how the story is told, either breaking new ground, or taking a familiar path to come up with a new style.
The Alan Whicker Foundation consultant, top ranking international TV executive Jane Mote, says: “Whicker’s World opened my eyes to the most amazing stories, people and places. Alan’s unique style and sharp wit was inspirational and I am so excited to be part of creating a Foundation to nurture the future trailblazers for international documentary film-making”.
Jane Ray, the Consultant Artistic Director for the Foundation is a multi-award winning documentary maker and executive producer in radio and television with a journalistic background and nearly 28 years’ service at the BBC. Her awards range from the Sony Award for best news programme (2002) and the TRIC award for best children’s programme (1993) to China’s Golden Kapok award for best director (2014). She worked with Alan throughout the 90s on various projects for radio. She also wrote and directed Radio 4’s archive programme about Alan: Around the World in 80 Years, presented by Michael Palin.
The first award winners will be announced by the Whicker’s World Foundation at the Sheffield Doc/Fest Award Ceremony, which will take place on the final day of the 2016 festival.
Ends
For further information for Whicker’s World Foundation contact:
Siobhan Connor siobhan@connorpr.com
+ 44 (0) 7966 177025
For further information for Sheffield Doc/Fest contact:
Sarah Harvey Publicity
+44 (0) 207 232 2812
+44 (0) 7958 597426
Sarah Harvey sarah@sarahharveypublicity.co.uk
Nikki Cummins nikki@sarahharveypublicity.co.uk
Joe Bond joe@sarahharveypublicity.co.uk
Join the conversation:
facebook.com/whickersworldfoundation
https://twitter.com/whickersworld
About Doc/Fest:
Sheffield Doc/Fest is the UK’s premier documentary and digital media festival. It is the place to see world and UK premieres of the best creative documentaries from the cinema, television and online arenas, and to hear from and meet filmmakers at Q&A sessions. Highlights of the film programme are honoured with an award programme including the Sheffield Grand Jury, Innovation, Environmental, Interactive, Youth Jury, Inspiration, Student Doc, Short Form and Audience Awards. In 2014, 3,263 full festival pass holders attended the Festival and it attracted over 26,700 members of the film-loving public.
Sheffield Doc/Fest 2015 takes place from 5-10 June
Connor PR launching the Whicker’s World Foundation, Connor PR expert in travel PR, Connor PR expert in presenter PR, Connor PR specialist in TV publicity
Memorial held for TV globetrotter Alan Whicker
Memorial held for TV globetrotter Alan Whicker
Yesterday I attended the Memorial Service of my dear friend Alan Whicker at The Grosvenor Chapel in London’s Mayfair.
Sir Michael Parkinson and Monty Python star Michael Palin were among the guests.
Former BBC boss Michael Grade described Whicker as “one of the corner stones of the golden age of British television”.
Whicker died in July 2013 after a TV career lasting nearly six decades.
He was best known for Whicker’s World which ran from 1959 to 1988 on both the BBC and ITV.
He had… eyebrows that could speak a thousand words when raised slightly at the right moment.”
Lord Grade
“Alan Whicker belonged to that very exclusive club of gifted individuals who over so many decades consistently delivered memorable programmes for what is more usually such a transitory medium,” Lord Grade said.
“He had that unmistakable voice with its delicate inflections so easily mimicked, eyebrows that could speak a thousand words when raised slightly at the right moment… and an unerring instinct to know when to listen.”
Whicker’s dapper dress sense – which included his trademark smart blazer and tie – made him one of the most recognised figures on television.
Palin, who spoofed Whicker in a Monty Python sketch, said Whicker was “a towering figure” in the world of television.
He said Whicker had the “enviable ability to deliver introductions and summings up that were as crisp and precise as the clothes in which he delivered them”.
Palin recalled how he had been the fourth person the BBC had asked to present travel series Around the World in 80 Days, the first choice having been Whicker.
“I was later told – apocryphally I’m sure – that the reason he turned it down was that the BBC, in soliciting the great man’s services, had taken him out to lunch at the Pizza Hut in Shepherd’s Bush.
“Alan didn’t do Pizza Hut.”
Sir Michael Parkinson said Whicker had “inspired an entire generation of young journalists” to seek a television career.
“He never let celebrity cloud the business of being a proper journalist,” he added.
Whicker’s long list of famous interviewees included Peter Sellers, Joan Collins, the Sultan of Brunei and notorious Haitian dictator ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier.
Reference Tim Masters, BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27606893
Connor PR expert in publishing PR, Connor PR expert in Travel PR, Siobhan Connor worked with Alan Whicker
Enjoying the documentary on my dear friend Alan Whicker on ITV, arguably the greatest TV reporter ever
Tune into Alan Whicker: Journey’s End tonight, ITV at 10.15pm
My memories of working with Alan Whicker
I first met Alan Whicker and his partner Valerie Kleeman in 2008. I was working with September Films’ Chairman, David Green, who as a young director made 24 episodes of Whicker’s World.
BBC 2 commissioned Journey of a Lifetime, a series to celebrating Alan Whicker’s 50 years in television.
In the series, Alan Whicker takes us on an autobiographical journey through the second half of the 20th century. Classic clips from Whicker’s World are inter-cut with new material as the nation’s best-known international reporter retraces his steps, catches up with past interviewees and reflects on how the world has changed – for good and bad – over the last six decades.
An extraordinary archive reveals the number of genuine TV firsts established by Whicker – moments that have been endlessly copied ever since. Apart from landmark interviews with a diverse mix of characters ranging from Papa Doc to John Paul Getty, Whicker was a pioneer who brought subjects including plastic surgery, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, gay weddings, polygamy, swinging and gun-toting cops, fly-on-the-wall style, to British screens for the first time.
The show revisits these pioneering, iconic films, including the shocking clips of Whicker taking the first ever look inside a sex club in 1979; the first ever bullfight on British television in 1966 and the first ever gay kiss for British viewers in 1973.
The series also includes a number of landmark Whicker interviews with figures as diverse as Papa Doc, J Paul Getty and Percy Shaw, the inventor of the Cat’s Eye. There’s also the poignant, prophetic last ever interview given by Peter Sellers in 1979 in Beverly Hills, where the actor eerily predicts his own death shortly before tragically suffering a fatal heart attack.
During the series, Whicker provides some captivating fresh material as he returns to some of his favourite locations around the world and meets some of his most famous interviewees again.
In one episode, Whicker revisits one of his most famous encounters, Kurt & Kathy Wagner – the Beverly Hills plastic surgeon and his favourite client, his wife. Plus he returns to Palm Beach, the subject of perhaps his most-watched show, to find out how life has changed for the super-rich on this improbable sandbar in Florida. As gay rights in California once more make headlines as the state argues over whether gay marriage should be legalised, Whicker meets up with the Reverend Troy Perry who has been campaigning for this right ever since Whicker first filmed with him in 1973. He also catches up with his old friend Joan Collins to explore how women can make it to the top in Hollywood.
Baroness Fiona Thyssen, the subject of one of Whicker’s very first in-depth documentaries “The Model Millionairess” (1963), has become a close friend and Whicker interviews her for a third time for this latest series. She visits Whicker at his home in Jersey to look back at the original film which opened up a secret world of glamour and wealth to an eager British audience.
Alan Whicker said,” You might say I’m set in my airways. I’m one of those lucky people whose professional and private lives blend exactly: I can’t tell which is which – and one of the most agreeable things is that many of the people I’ve interviewed have become my friends. These programmes are signed. They’re intensely personal.”
Alan Whicker’s Journey Of A Lifetime is produced by September Films, a division of DCD Media, for BBC2.
Executive Producers are September Films’ Chairman and DCD’s Chief Creative Officer David Green who, as a young director, made 24 episodes of Whicker’s World , and September Films’ Director of Programmes, Peter Davey.
Series Director: Stan Griffin
Producer: Peter Wyles
Associate Producer: Katharine Begg
I then went onto promote the book to accompany the series.
I became good friends with Alan and Valerie, visiting them in Jersey.
Valerie Kleeman, Alan Whicker’s partner said
“A few years ago a poll asked who was the most envied man in the country – and Alan won by a country mile! He said that he didn’t know where work ended and private life began. Quoting Noel Coward ,he would say “work is more fun than fun”
On this last journey he will arrive curious, fascinated, and ready for a new adventure. He had a wonderful life and I was lucky to have shared it with him”.
David Green – Film Director and TV Producer. President & Chairman, September Films USA said:
“He was a television giant – made my first of 24 films with him as a baby director in Alaska 36 yeas ago next month – a true original, his passion for TV and life was unique – a brilliant popular journalist and observer of the human state who achieved legendary status among his peers and was loved by the great British public”.
Alan Whicker would be amazed by the wonderful tributes, I only wish he were here to read and see this out pouring of kindness.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23287351
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2013/jul/12/alan-whicker-tv-world-dies
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jul/12/alan-whicker-dies
http://news.sky.com/story/1114923/alan-whicker-broadcaster-dies-aged-87
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10176240/How-Alan-Whicker-inspired-us-to-travel.html
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/alan-whicker-dies-journeys-end-2047372
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/alan-whicker-dies-journeys-end-2047372
Broadcasting Legend Alan Whicker CBE Has Died
Broadcasting legend Alan Whicker has died at home in Jersey after a short illness. He had been suffering from bronchial pneumonia and leaves behind his partner of 40 years, Valerie Kleeman.
After the Second World War, Alan Whicker became a journalist with the news agency Exchange Telegraph, acting as a correspondent during the Korean War. In 1957 he joined the BBC as part of the Tonight team, television’s first magazine programme. Alan went on to present the television programme for which he is best known, the long-running television series Whicker’s World. These programmes continued for more than 30 years. He was also instrumental in launching Yorkshire Television, producing television programmes for them from 1969 until 1992.
In the New Year’s Honours list published 31 December 2004, Alan Whicker was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to broadcasting.
In 2009, Alan Whicker returned to some of the locations and people who were originally featured in Whicker’s World for the BBC series Alan Whicker’s Journey Of A Lifetime. In this, he met with various people whom he had interviewed decades earlier, seeing how their lives had progressed.
For all media enquiries please contact Siobhan at Connor PR
07966 177025
Contact Us