LIBYA, FIRST-EVER 360 VIDEO FROM SPACE GET TOP HONORS AT US INTERNATIONAL FILM & VIDEO FESTIVAL

MOSCOW, JUNE 16, 2017 - In total, RT took home three golds and one silver at the 50th annual US International Film and Video Festival. RT’s list of prize-winning works includes news reports from war-torn Libya, a special project filmed in space in 360-degree video format and two documentary films.

RT’s series of war reports titled Libya Heat was awarded gold in the category ‘Documentary: News Programming: Investigative/Special Reports’. RT correspondent William Whiteman reported from the frontlines as the Libyan Army worked to liberate the city Sirte from Islamic State terrorists, coming under fire several times.

Gold for ‘Documentary: 360 Video’ went to RT’s groundbreaking report filmed in the panoramic video format on the International Space Station as part of RT’s ‘Space 360’ special project. The video series brought audiences the first-ever panoramic view of Earth as seen from space in November 2016. The project, filmed in partnership with Russia’s Roscosmos State Corporation and Energia Rocket and Space Corporation, takes viewers on a 360 tour aboard the ISS with Russian cosmonaut Andrey Borisenko as host and tour guide.

RT's documentary ‘H2wOe’, which addresses the water crisis in Indian, took home the top prize among ‘Documentary Films: Environment, Ecology’. The film also earned the competition’s special honor of ‘Best Festival Nominee-Documentary’.

Meanwhile, RT Spanish won silver for its film ‘España: la memoria enterrada’ (Spain: Buried Memory) in the ‘Documentary: History’ category. The film tells the story of the ongoing investigation into the crimes that occurred under the rule of Francisco Franco.

Earlier this year, both H2wOe and a series of reports on the ongoing conflict in Libya won gold medals at the New York Festivals.

The US International Film & Video Festival has been held in Los Angeles since 1967. The Festival runs competitions across five categories seeking to recognize outstanding Corporate, Education, Entertainment, Documentary and Student productions. Entries are judged by a panel of members of the International Quorum of Motion Pictures Producers.