The Ethical Media Award at the Freedom Express Awards honors media professionals who uphold the highest standards in journalism and content creation when addressing the sensitive issues of cults and coercive control. In an era where media can exploit, reveal or misinform, this award celebrates those committed to truth, integrity, and empathy. Recipients of this award exemplify responsible reporting, ensuring their work sheds light on complex issues without sensationalism.
Nominees for the Ethical Media Award demonstrate a verified background in journalism, podcasting, blogging, or documentary filmmaking. Additionally, their work delves deeply into topics related to cults and coercive control, maintaining factual accuracy and avoiding misinformation. Also, they prioritize the well-being of victims and survivors by employing trauma-informed care and ensuring balanced reporting. They engage with the survivor community and experts, producing content that respects ethical standards and positively impacts awareness and policy.
2023 Recipients of the Ethical Media Award
We proudly announce Cecilia Peck and Inbal B. Lessner as recipients of the Ethical Media Award. Their dedication to exposing abuse and empowering survivors through film exemplifies the highest standards of journalism and content creation.
Cecilia Peck and Inbal B. Lessner, Emmy-nominated and Eddie-winning filmmakers, have produced powerful documentaries like “Brave Miss World” and “Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult.” Their recent project, “Escaping Twin Flames,” continues their mission to shed light on high-control groups and cults.
Works
Inbal B. Lessner’s impressive career includes true crime hits and collaborations with esteemed directors. For example, her editing and production work on “Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult” and “Escaping Twin Flames” garnered nominations and awards, highlighting her commitment to impactful storytelling.
Cecilia Peck’s partnership with Inbal has produced award-winning films that honor and respect survivors. That is to say, their films are a celebration of strength, recovery, and advocacy, treating all participants with empathy and dignity.
Together, they have created documentaries that bring awareness to sensitive issues, embodying ethical standards and responsible reporting. Thus, their work positively impacts audiences, policy changes, and the survivor community.
Cecilia Peck and Inbal B. Lessner’s exceptional contributions to media exemplify the spirit of the Ethical Media Award. Their dedication to truth and integrity continues to inspire and inform, making them deserving recipients of this prestigious honor.
About the Recipients
Cecilia Peck
Cecilia Peck (she/her) has a focus on women’s stories and trauma informed filmmaking. She directed, executive produced and was co-show runner of the Netflix documentary series “Escaping Twin Flames.” Cecilia Peck was director, writer and co-showrunner of the four part docuseries “SEDUCED: Inside the NXIVM Cult” for STARZ. She directed and produced the Emmy nominated Netflix feature documentary “Brave Miss World,” and the Academy Award shortlisted documentary “Shut Up & Sing.” She produced “A Conversation With Gregory Peck,” a portrait of her actor and activist father. A graduate of Princeton University, she is the recipient of a DART fellowship for Ethics in Documentary from the Columbia School of Journalism, and is a member of the Documentary Branch of AMPAS. She has served on juries at the Aspen Film Fest and Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and is on the board of the San Diego Film Festival.
Inbal B. Lessner
Inbal B. Lesnner, ACE is an Emmy-nominated and Eddie-winning producer/editor who most recently cut together Sarah Gibson’s Stormy, the explosive documentary recounting the scandal that surrounded Stormy Daniels and former president Donald Trump. Executive-produced by Judd Apatow, Stormy premiered at SXSW and then started streaming on Peacock last March.
Inbal is most well-known for such true crime hits as Starz’ Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult and Netflix’s Escaping Twin Flames, both of which she co-created alongside her filmmaking partner Cecila Peck. As executive producer, showrunner, and editor, Inbal steered both shows towards nominations for Best Edited Documentary (Non-Theatrical) at the ACE Eddie Awards, nabbing a win for the latter. She was previously Eddie-nominated for her work on the “Can We All Get Along” episode of CNN’s The Nineties. Her five-year partnership with CNN culminated in a dream collaboration with executive producer Tom Hanks on the “The Golden Age” episode of The Movies.
Inbal has worked in the cutting rooms of directors such as Davis Guggenheim, Nancy Schwartzman, R.J. Cutler, Kelly Duane, Tricia Regan, Jeremy Simmons, and Tracy Droz Tragos, as well as Natalie Portman’s feature directorial debut. A member of the AFI Conservatory faculty, she has also been a Visiting Professor of Film Editing at UNCSA Film School and a mentor in the Karen Schmeer Diversity in the Edit Room Program. She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.