Esther Schapira
Encyclopedia
Esther Schapira is a German journalist and filmmaker, currently politics and society editor at the German public television network, the Hessischer Rundfunk
.
Schapira is co-author of The Act of Alois Brunner
, and producer of two award-winning documentaries, Drei Kugeln und ein totes Kind ("Three bullets and a dead child") (2002), about the death of Muhammad al-Durrah
in Gaza in 2000, and Der Tag, als Theo van Gogh ermordet wurde ("The day Theo van Gogh was murdered") (2007), about the killing in 2004 of Dutch filmmaker, Theo van Gogh
. The latter won her and her co-producer, Kamil Taylan, a Prix Europa
award. In 2009, she produced a second documentary about the death of al-Durrah, Das Kind, Der Tod, und Die Wahrheit ("The Child, the Death, and the Truth").
at the Frankfurt Helmholtzschule in 1982, and went on to study German and English language and literature, as well as theatre, film and television. She has been the politics and society editor at the German public television network, the Hessischer Rundfunk
, since 1995.
for the Theo van Gogh documentary.
Hessischer Rundfunk
Hessischer Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the German state of Hesse. The main offices of HR are in Frankfurt am Main. HR is a member of the ARD.- Studios :...
.
Schapira is co-author of The Act of Alois Brunner
Alois Brunner
Alois Brunner is an Austrian Nazi war criminal. Brunner was Adolf Eichmann's assistant, and Eichmann referred to Brunner as his "best man." As commander of the Drancy internment camp outside Paris from June 1943 to August 1944, Brunner is held responsible for sending some 140,000 European Jews to...
, and producer of two award-winning documentaries, Drei Kugeln und ein totes Kind ("Three bullets and a dead child") (2002), about the death of Muhammad al-Durrah
Muhammad al-Durrah
The Muhammad al-Durrah incident took place in the Gaza Strip on September 30, 2000, on the second day of the Second Intifada, amid widespread rioting throughout the Palestinian territories...
in Gaza in 2000, and Der Tag, als Theo van Gogh ermordet wurde ("The day Theo van Gogh was murdered") (2007), about the killing in 2004 of Dutch filmmaker, Theo van Gogh
Theo van Gogh (film director)
Theodoor "Theo" van Gogh was a Dutch film director, film producer, columnist, author and actor.Van Gogh worked with the Somali-born writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali to produce the film Submission, which criticized the treatment of women in Islam and aroused controversy among Muslims...
. The latter won her and her co-producer, Kamil Taylan, a Prix Europa
Prix Europa
Prix Europa is the Europe's largest annual tri-medial festival and competition. Its open juries sample and select the best television-, radio- and online productions of each year...
award. In 2009, she produced a second documentary about the death of al-Durrah, Das Kind, Der Tod, und Die Wahrheit ("The Child, the Death, and the Truth").
Background
Schapira completed her AbiturAbitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
at the Frankfurt Helmholtzschule in 1982, and went on to study German and English language and literature, as well as theatre, film and television. She has been the politics and society editor at the German public television network, the Hessischer Rundfunk
Hessischer Rundfunk
Hessischer Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the German state of Hesse. The main offices of HR are in Frankfurt am Main. HR is a member of the ARD.- Studios :...
, since 1995.
Awards
Schapira's awards include the Elisabeth-Selbert-Preis (1987), the Radio-, TV- und Neue-Medien-Preis (1995), the German Critics Prize (1996), and the Civis – Europas Medienpreis für Integration prize (2002). She won first prize twice at the International Festival Law and Society in Moscow, for Drei Kugeln und ein totes Kind and Der Tag, als Theo van Gogh ermordet wurde. In 2007, she won the Buber-Rosenzweig-Medaille with Georg M. Hafner, and a commendation during Prix EuropaPrix Europa
Prix Europa is the Europe's largest annual tri-medial festival and competition. Its open juries sample and select the best television-, radio- and online productions of each year...
for the Theo van Gogh documentary.
Death of Muhammad al-Durrah
Schapira has made two documentaries questioning the events surrounding the death of Muhammad al-Durrah in 2000, a Palestinian child reported to have been shot by Israeli soldiers. Schapira's first documentary hints that al-Durrah may have been shot by Palestinian gunmen however she has stated that she sees no proof of this. Her second suggested that two boys were killed in that area that day and that they may have been mixed up.Books
- with Hafner, Georg M. Die Akte Alois Brunner. Campus Sachbuch, Frankfurt 2000. ISBN 9783499613166