Evan Williams is a BAFTA-nominated investigative journalist specializing in human rights abuses within military conflict zones. Currently producing documentaries for PBS Frontline and Channel 4 Dispatches through his London-based company, he combines on-the-ground access with open-source intelligence to challenge official narratives.
We’ve followed Evan Williams’s three-decade journey as a master storyteller navigating the world’s most complex conflict zones. Starting as the Australian ABC’s Bangkok-based Southeast Asia correspondent in the 1990s, Williams cut his teeth covering historic transitions like the UN’s Cambodian peacekeeping mission and Suharto’s fall in Indonesia. His 2006 undercover documentary Burma’s Hidden War, filmed with Karen guerrillas, established his signature approach: immersive, character-driven investigations that challenge official narratives.
This Emmy-winning 2015 exposé revealed how Nigeria’s military committed widespread atrocities against civilians while combating Islamist militants. Williams embedded with vigilante groups and survivors, obtaining rare footage of mass graves. The documentary’s impact led to Congressional hearings on U.S. military aid to Nigeria and remains essential viewing in counterterrorism policy circles.
The UK version of his Boko Haram investigation, this Broadcast Award winner combined satellite imagery analysis with survivor testimonies to document village burnings. Williams’ team geolocated destruction patterns that contradicted government claims about collateral damage, influencing the International Criminal Court’s preliminary examination.
This 2024 New York Festival Award winner exposed ongoing persecution of Tamil communities a decade after Sri Lanka’s civil war. Through hidden-camera interviews with intelligence officers and families of disappeared activists, Williams revealed systematic surveillance and forced disappearances continuing under international oversight.
Williams prioritizes stories where local collaborators provide ground truth that contradicts institutional narratives. His 2023 Afghanistan documentary succeeded because a former Taliban commander shared interrogation records showing U.S. drone strike miscalculations. Pitches should identify credible local partners willing to share documentation, not just anecdotal accounts.
The 2022 investigation into Pakistan’s blasphemy laws demonstrated how well-meaning international human rights frameworks get weaponized locally. Successful pitches frame issues through the gap between geopolitical alliances and on-the-ground realities, particularly where Western governments fund abusive regimes.
Williams’ team increasingly uses satellite imagery analysis and social media scraping to verify claims. His 2024 Myanmar investigation correlated Facebook hate speech metrics with military deployment patterns. Proposals incorporating verifiable digital evidence receive priority.
“The most tenacious foreign correspondent working today” – 2024 International Documentary Association
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