Finalists for the €50,000 documentary prize are Armadillo, Bag It, Budrus, Gasland and Weapon of War.

PUMA.Creative and the Britdoc Foundation have announced the five finalists for the 2012 PUMA.Creative Impact Award.

The €50,000 prize honours the documentary that has made the most significant positive impact on society or the environment.

The finalists for 2012 are:
Armadillo (Denmark), Directed by Janus Metz, Produced by Ronnie Fridthjof & Sara Stockmann
About young Danish soldiers fighting in Afghanistan.

Bag It (US), Directed by Suzan Beraza, Produced by Judy Kohin
A man pledges to stop using plastic bags, while investigating plastic’s effects on humans and the environment.

Budrus (US), Directed by Julia Bacha, Produced by Ronit Avni, Rula Salameh and Julia Bacha
Palestinian political factions and Israelis unite in a struggle to save a village from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier.

Gasland [pictured] (US), Directed by Josh Fox, Produced by Trish Adlesic, Molly Gandour
Fox goes on a 24-state investigation into the drilling process known as fracking.

Weapon of War (Netherlands), Directed and Produced by Ilse & Femke van Velzen
Explores rape within the military by giving voice to soldiers who try to reconcile their past using rape as a weapon in the Democrative Republic of Congo.

“The PUMA.Creative Impact Award is part of PUMA’s ongoing commitment at the intersection of film and activism, and is in line with our mission to contribute to a better world, a world that is safer, more peaceful, and more creative than the one we know today,” said Mark Coetzee, Programme Director, PUMAVision and Chief Curator, PUMA.Creative.

“These are outstanding works of independent filmmaking which have been leveraged to remarkable effect,” added Beadie Finzi, Britdoc Founding Director. “We are all intrigued to know who will be selected as the winner, given the breadth and depth of each film’s achievements.”

The five finalists — which were selected by Britdoc after consultation with an independent peer review committee — will be judged by a jury that includes Hollywood actors and activists, Danny Glover and Djimon Hounsou; director Mira Nair; writer and campaigner Jemima Khan; and Executive Director of Greenpeace International Kumi Naidoo.

Juror Danny Glover said: “As an artist who has been involved in storytelling my entire adult life, I can think of few things more important than the journey from apathy to empathy. Culture is a profound value to champion, and nonfiction storytelling is a path to reinforcing freedom of expression and a more informed, aware and vigorous citizenship.”

This is one of six awards presented through PUMA.Creative’s partnership with Britdoc.

The winner will be announced at a gala in Berlin on Nov 13.