Event Title: Gry Winther - Intl. Women's Issues, Norwegian Journalist & Independent Documentary Filmmaker

When: Tuesday, November 9, 2010 (Dinner)
Where: Gainey Ranch Golf Club
Time: Cocktails 6:00 p.m. - Dinner 7:00 p.m. - Program 8:00 p.m.

By PCFR Member Susan Shultz

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The Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations is pleased to welcome Gry Winther, an award-winning Norwegian journalist and independent documentary filmmaker --who has covered international news and current affairs for 18 years. She moved to the U.S. in January 2004 and has been working as a political correspondent registered with the U.S. Foreign Press Center for Norwegian television (TV2), radio (P4) and newspapers (Aftenposten). One of few journalists granted an exclusive sit down with “Bush’s brain,” Karl Rove, in 2005, she also interviewed California's governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. With unprecedented access to international leaders, her work includes conversations with Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, as well as an interview with former Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Khatami.

In total, Gry has made 10 documentaries for the major networks in Norway and for international television.

In the summer of 2009 as a news reporter for Norway's TV2, Gry went to Iran to cover the elections and to shoot “Lionwomen – the fight for freedom in Iran,” her latest documentary. The film was nominated in April, 2010 for best documentary at Norway’s Volda Filmfestival and aired on NRK (Norway’s largest TV channel) in May 2010.

In Cuba in August 2008 Gry filmed “The Women in White--a documentary” which tells the story of “Las Damas de Blanco” and their fight to free their political prisoner husbands on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Castro’s regime. The film was nominated for 2 Golden Butterfly awards at the 2010 Movies That Matter Film Festival held in Haag and won 2^nd place for best documentary at the Southern California Journalist Awards held in Los Angeles in June 2010. The film has screened at several international Film Festivals.

Gry is on the board of LA Press Club, and is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy in California. She has presented several speeches on journalism for media students, and a segment on “documentaries and movies, focusing on foreign policy” with Oscar winner Lawrence Bender (Producer of An Inconvenient Truth) for the Pacific Council on International Policy.

Among her international subjects for documentaries is a close up portrait of Eva Joly—the Judge who led the largest fraud investigation ever conducted in Europe. It was Judge Joly who uncovered one of France’s worst corruption scandals at French oil company ELF Aquitane. Gry's unique focus and access allowed her to film a documentary about U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Rød-Larsen—and contained interviews with Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Abu Mazen (Mahmood Abbas).

Gry's appearance at PCFR will begin with a short film presentation, and following her remarks will be the opportunity for our members to question her about her work and her experiences.  Come join us for an extraordinary evening with an extraordinary individual.

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