Emmy Award-winner David Osit’s Portrait of Palestinian Mayor Musa Hadid
New York, N.Y. – June 9, 2022 – The George Foster Peabody Awards announced today, Mayor, Emmy Award-winning director David Osit’s depiction of Palestinian mayor Musa Hadid was the winner of the Documentary Award. The announcement was made by Hasan Minhaj. Named a New York Times Critics’ Pick, Mayor was broadcast as part of POV’s 34th season on PBS. It is the first Peabody win for Osit and the 27th Peabody Award for POV, currently celebrating its 35th anniversary as America’s longest-running documentary series. Award
Mayor explores the dynamics of public service and international politics, offering a nuanced perspective of the Palestinian struggle for autonomy through the eyes of former civil engineer-turned-mayor, Musa Hadid. Since 2012, Hadid has been the mayor of Ramallah, home to 60,000 people and located in the central West Bank. He approaches his duties with practicality, paving sidewalks, cleaning sewage spills, approving city advertising campaigns, and building new fountains and schools. Yet, not even the most mundane of Hadid’s responsibilities is left untouched by the Israeli occupation, with raids and government strictures casting a continual shadow over the city. Balancing the deadpan, bureaucratic humor of his everyday job with the continued encroachments of global and regional politics, Mayor highlights the constant, less-publicized injustices of the occupation on the public servant as well as on the city he serves. Award
Executive Director and Executive Producer of American Documentary | POV Erika Dilday said: “We are so proud of David and the team and this win for Mayor. This film is so important, deftly capturing the uphill battle of the Palestinian government and what it’s like to live as an ordinary citizen in occupied Palestine.” Award
David Osit is the director, producer and cinematographer, and co-editor of Mayor. Maxyne Franklin and Teddy Leifer are the executive producers. Erika Dilday, Justine Nagan, and Chris White are executive producers for American Documentary | POV. Abigail E. Disney and Laura Durning are the co-executive producers and Eric Daniel Metzgar is the co-editor.