With her first smartphone news report, Gisella Rojas Rodriguez has taken the top prize at the Thomson Foundation 2018 Mobile Journalism Competition. An Ecuadorian studying investigative journalism in Mexico, Rodriguez used an iPhone 7 to shoot “The Migrant Bus,” a four-minute mini-doc about migrants seeking a safer place to live.

Edited with the Kinemaster app, the movie combines traditional doc shots, such as interviews, with tweets to provide context.

Commenting on the production, Glen Mulcahy founder of Mojofest and a mobile journalism pioneer said: “Of all the stories [in the competition] this one kept my interest and I can see genuine journalistic potential as well as visual storytelling in Gisella.”

The Thomson Foundation works with journalists, media management, governments and NGOs worldwide to raise standards and inspire innovation. You can see more of the work showed by the Thomson MoJo Competition on their youtube channel. The foundation also offers online courses on mobile journalism via their Journalism Now e-learning platform.

“The Migrant Bus” was chosen as a Mobile Movie of the Week by the editors of MobileMovieMaking Magazine.