‘It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Alive’ wins Emmy despite campaign to rescind nomination

On September 25, Bisan Owda won the 2024 News and Documentary Emmy for Best Hard News Feature Story: Short Form for “It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Alive,” from Al Jazeera despite earlier calls to rescind her nomination. Check out the list of Emmy winners here.

Since the October 7, 2023, attacks against Israel, the nation has embarked on a military campaign in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 40,000 people according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health. Owda, a Palestinian filmmaker, has covered the campaign on social media since it began.

But upon her nomination for the News and Documentary Emmy, there were calls to take away her recognition by more than 150 members of the entertainment industry. Speaking as the Creative Community for Peace, they said, “NATAS must decide — they can either condone the murder of innocent civilians or they can listen to the entertainment community, and stand in opposition to hatred and violence.”

Among those who signed the letter opposing Owda’s nomination were Haim Saban, Debra Messing, Selma Blair, Rebecca De Mornay;  Sherry Lansing; Rick Rosen; Ben Silverman; Modi Wiczyk; Fernando Szew; Michael Rotenberg; Emmanuelle Chriqui; James Burrows; David Kohan; and Fred Tozcek, amongst others.

Owda won a Peabody Award for her coverage of the Israeli campaign in the Gaza Strip. “Reporting from her makeshift tent outside the medical center, she shows what survival looks like for her and the masses around her, drawing on her indomitable spirit to keep the world informed of the day-to-day reality on the ground in Gaza,” the Peabody board of jurors said in a statement announcing the award winners.

Owda dedicated her Peabody recognition to “all the people who took to the streets. To all the people at home who are participating in boycotts. To all the people worldwide, regardless of their religion, color, and ethnicity. Regardless of what makes them different, they’re united in one mission: in their demands for a free Palestine. You deserve this award. And so do we.”