PUMA & BRITDOC Name Most Impactful Doc; Give 50,000 Euro Award

Earlier this week in a gala event in Berlin, PUMA and BRITDOC have given the PUMA.Creative Impact award for Julia Bacha's "Budrus," recognizing it as the film released in the past two years that has made the most significant positive social or environmental impact.  "Budrus tells the story of the coming together of Palestinian communities and Israelis to stage a peaceful protest against Israel's Separation Banner encroachment of their village.  The Creative Impact award both rewards the filmmaker for their accomplishment and honors the film's social campaign with a 50,000 Euro Award.  Josh Fox's "Gasland," a film about the filmmakers' campaign to show law- and policymakers the effects of using the fracking to extract gas from the ground that screened all over the U.S. and world took a Special Jury Prize.

READ MORE: Is The Issue Doc Dead? How 'Gasland' and 'Hillary' Show Things Aren't Looking Great  

Speaking of the award, one of the most generous to honor the work of social issues documentary after they have been relased, PUMA CEO Franz Koch said in a statement, "We believe that our position as the creative leader in Sportlifestyle gives us the opportunity and the responsibility to contribute to a better world for the generations to come. We are proud to continue to support great documentary filmmaking and help to inspire positive change through this award.”

The team behind "Budrus," Just Vision, made up of human rights activists from Palestine, Israel, and the Americas, have been working on reframing the way we talk about Palestinian resistance since 2003.

The jury for the award was made up of:  Director Mira Nair ("Monsoon Wedding," "The Reluctant Fundamentalist"), actors Djimon Honsou ("Blood Diamond") and Danny Glover, Greenpeace Executive Director Kumi Naidoo and activist-writer Jemima Khan.