Activist Mwangi’s Softie film nominated for Peaboy Awards
Boniface Mwangi’s “Softie” film is among this year’s documentary nominees for the Peabody Awards.
The documentary revolves around the political activist who decides to run for political office after several years of fighting injustice in his country.
Despite coming face to face with numerous political hurdles, he decides to soldier on with support from his wife, Njeri.
Producers of Softie include LBx AFRICA, American Documentary|POV, We Are Not the Machine, Eyesteel Film, Doc Society, BBC (PBS).
The film premiered in January 2020 at Sundance where it proceeded to win the special jury prize for editing. The film got overwhelming response and consequently, won the Best Documentary at the Durban International Film Festival 2020.
The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors on Tuesday announced its 60 nominees representing “the most compelling and empowering stories released in broadcasting and streaming media” in 2020.
The nominees were chosen by 19 jurors who surveyed 1,300 entries from television, podcasts/radio, and the web in entertainment, news, documentary, arts, children’s/youth, public service, and multimedia programming.
The Peabody Awards are based at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
“During an incredibly turbulent and difficult year, these nominees rose to the occasion and delivered compelling and empowering stories. From Covid-19 coverage to poignant explorations of identity, each nominee not only told a powerful story but also made a significant impact on media programming and the cultural landscape. We’re thrilled to recognize their outstanding and inspiring work,” said former Yahoo! Global Editor-in-Chief Martha Nelson, who now chairs the Peabody jury.
Of the 60 nominations, PBS and Netflix lead with 12 and nine, respectively, followed by HBO with five, Amazon and Showtime have three each, and Apple TV+ and CBS have two each. Thirty winners will be named during a virtual celebration in June. Details about the online event will be announced in the coming weeks.
Out of the nominees, half will be named winners and recognized during a virtual celebration in June this year.