Documentary Exec Nick Fraser to Receive BAFTA Special Award

Documentary executive Nick Fraser, who is best known as the former commissioning editor of Storyville, is being honored with the Special Award at the Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards.

Fraser served as commissioning editor of Storyville from 1999 to 2016, and during that time, films from Storyville won a total of five BAFTAs, four Oscars, 15 Griersons, three Peabody Awards and three International Emmys. Fraser is known internationally for documentaries such as the BAFTA- and Academy Award-winning Man on Wire (2008), BAFTA-nominated Notes on Blindness (2016) and Project Nim (2011), India’s Daughter (2015), Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer (2013), Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008) and Academy Award-winning Taxi to the Dark Side (2007).

He has also worked as series editor for the global documentary project Why Democracy? (2007) and as executive producer on Why Poverty? (2012). He will be a series editor for the upcoming Why Slavery? documentary as part of the ongoing project. In addition, Fraser has written five nonfiction books, is a contributing editor of Harper’s Magazine, New York and frequent contributor to British newspaper The Observer. His recent pamphlet on the cultural importance of documentary filmmaking, Why Documentaries Matter, was published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. He is currently writing a book about the history of documentaries and is honorary president of the Sheffield Doc/Fest. After leaving his position at Storyville in 2016, Fraser founded documentary streaming platform Yaddo, where he is currently the editor.

The BAFTA ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 14, at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Sue Perkins will host.

Krishnendu Majumdar, the chair of BAFTA’s television committee, said: “I am absolutely thrilled that the Special Award this year will be going to one of the world’s key players in the field of documentary, Nick Fraser. Throughout his career, he has been dedicated to telling the stories which aren’t often heard and bringing these to new audiences—from his multi-award-winning thought-provoking commissions through Storyville to recently launching an innovative online platform for documentaries, Yaddo. It is no surprise that such ambition, creativity and originality will be recognized at the ceremony on Sunday.”

Fraser added: “To be recognized by BAFTA for my work is such an honor, and I would like to thank the Academy for this award. There is an increasing hunger for documentaries, particularly among young people, and it’s time that they are put front and center. They have come into their own as an art form and they help make sense of the world around us. I also want to thank those talented filmmakers that I have worked with along the way. We have made some incredible films together, and will definitely continue to make more in the future.”