Daphne Matziaraki on “Story in the Public Square” June 24, 2017

Each year, the Pell Center at Salve Regina University presents the Pell Center Prize for Story in the Public Square to a storyteller whose work makes a vital contribution to the public dialogue. This year, we honor Daphne Matziaraki, a documentary filmmaker who reminds us of our shared humanity.

Born and raised in Greece, Daphne Matziaraki holds a bachelor’s degree in politics and sociology from the University of Bristol, United Kingdom; a master’s in international relations from the University of Bristol; and a masters in journalism (documentary filmmaking) from the University of California, Berkeley. Matziaraki has worked as a radio, television and multi-media journalist in America and Greece. She lives now in the San Francisco Bay area.

Matziaraki directed, produced, photographed and edited “4.1 Miles,” first published by The New York Times. The documentary was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Peabody Award, among other honors. “4.1 Miles” depicts a Hellenic Coast Guard captain and crew from the island of Lesbos who, against odds, undertake many missions to attempt to save thousands of children, women and men who are attempting to cross the Aegean Sea to Greece as the European migrant crisis unfolds. Shot in the tradition of cinéma vérité, its cinematography and graphic presentation of life-and-death drama distinguish the film.

“Story in the Public Square” airs on Rhode Island PBS in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts on Sundays at 11 a.m. and is rebroadcast Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. An audio version of the program airs Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. & 10:30 p.m. ET and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. ET on SiriusXM’s popular P.O.T.U.S. (Politics of the United States), channel 124.

Story in the Public Square is a partnership between the Pell Center and The Providence Journal. The initiative aims to study, celebrate, and tell stories that matter.