Challenging Heights rescue list film has won America’s Emmy Award 2021, in the Outstanding Social Issue Documentary category.

The Rescue List has previously won three major international awards; at the Heartland International Film Festival, and the Bendfilm festival.  

In the year 2015, Challenging Heights entered into an agreement with a San Francisco-based documentary film makers, The Collective Hunch, who produced an ethnographic film about the work they do. The resultant film, titled “The Rescue List”, which took three years to produce, was eventually released in 2018.

The Rescue List was Premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival and subsequently screened at several other international film festivals such as the North Carolina’s Full Frame Film Festival, the New York Documentary Film Festival, The Heartland International Film Festival, and the ever-popular Mountain Film Festival, in Telluride.

In 2019, the Rescue List aired nationally across the US on PBS stations as part of the acclaimed series POV.

Challenging heights in a statement following the announcement expressed gratitude to all partners who supported the film in diverse ways.

It further noted, “We especially celebrate the courage of the two American film makers, Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink, whose untold sacrifice made all these possible”.

“We also wish to thank our US-based advisors on the film, Mark Hamilton and Lisa Halsted, for their unflinching faith, not only in the work of Challenging Heights but also being such loyal cheer leaders of the film makers.”

Founder and President of challenging heights James Kofi Annan also acknowledged the role of his staff and family.

‘To all of the many staff, children, and associates of Challenging Heights who played key roles, in facilitating the production process; we say thank you’.

In the words of the San Francisco International Film Festival, “The Rescue List portrays an artful balance of ethnography and visual poetry while it brings to light the overlooked reality of child labor and slavery in Ghana”.

The 42nd Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards honored contents from more than 2200 submissions, judged by a pool of 950 peer professionals from across the television and streaming/digital media news and documentary industry.