Diego Juste of Spain’s Unión de Pequeños Agricultores y Ganaderos (Union of Small Farmers and Stockbreeders) was awarded the 2020 Star Prize for Broadcast: Video by the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) on June 26 for his “Barbecho: En El Corazón del Despoblamiento” (“Barbecho: In the Heart of Depopulation”) documentary about the decline of a rural community.
One judge complimented the program as “a most engaging and interesting piece of television, which required an immense amount of research and planning.”
The lush, 83-minute program was released in theaters and online.
Steve Werblow, IFAJ secretary-general, said, “In ‘Barbecho,’ Diego Juste dug deep into a global problem, the depopulation of rural communities and the decline of the interpersonal relationships and physical infrastructure that follows—what he describes as a ‘vicious cycle.’ He challenges his viewers to consider whether small farms and livestock operations could save his country’s rural areas from continuing the cycle. It’s a beautiful, thorough and emotional program.”
Lucy Barbour of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation received the Runner-Up award in the video contest for her harrowing “Day Zero” report on Australia’s devastating drought. One judge pointed to the “solid human interest case studies” that made the broadcast so engaging to a prime-time audience.
This year’s IFAJ Star Prize for Broadcast was judged by Prue Adams of ABC Landline in Australia; retired Canadian Broadcasting Corporation broadcaster Ian Petrie; and Ken Rundle, a retired BBC broadcaster in the UK. Entries from five continents were judged in the competition.
