2014 Digital Storytelling Contest, Short Feature, 2nd prize

Silent Night: The Kandahar Massacre

The Kandahar Massacre is considered the most severe war crime by a member of the U.S. Armed Forces since the Vietnam War. In the early morning hours of 11 March 2012, U.S. Staff Sergeant Robert Bales allegedly killed 16 Afghan civilians in villages near the military camp where he was based. On 5 June 2013, Staff Sgt. Bales pleaded guilty to the 16 murders and six attempted murders in a deal to avoid the death penalty and was later sentenced to life in prison by a military court - to the disappointment of many survivors and their relatives. ‘Silent Night’ is a documentary that moves the focus away from the suspect and tells the story of the victims who lost their closest relatives in the night of Bales’ rampage.

Production team