Ben Fundis accepted the award for their documentary "Border Stories." Internews, a media development organization, hosted the ceremony, which celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and was attended by world leaders and celebrities.

"It was quite a special moment to give a short acceptance speech before President Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, Mariane Pearl, Richard Branson, and Peter Gabriel," said Fundis, 29, who freelances with Powderhouse Productions. "It was not something we could have expected when we were camped out on Boca Chica beach at the mouth of the Rio Grande talking about the many miles and months to come."

"Border Stories" took home the public award, voted on worldwide through the Internet. Fundis and Long started the project on December 6, 2007, exactly a year before they won the award.

"We were frustrated by the level of dialogue in the mainstream media," said Fundis, who also made a film called "Que Mira?" about street children in Nicaragua. "We wanted to let people who live and work along the border offer a point of view that is more than sound bites; we wanted to let them tell their own stories."

"Border Stories" is a web-based documentary series. The team also includes John Drew, of New York, and web developer Sophia Dengo. Each short video they make tells it's own story. Long calls it a mosaic.

"We want a full understanding of the border region and the issues. The way we did that was look at different characters that might be able to tell different sides of the story. They function as a piece, a part, of the documentary," said Long, 28, a student at Harvard Law School. "Those videos are meant to make you feel like you sat down with that person and had to a moment to understand them."

After receiving a small, private grant, Long and Fundis traveled along the border for three months, meeting people and capturing their stories. They drove from Brownsville, Texas to Tijuana, Mexico in a 1986 Volkswagen Vanagon. They had thousands of dollars worth of equipment hidden under the seats and a Rottweiler mutt mix for security. Long, formerly a reporter for the Patriot Ledger, said they used journalistic techniques for their stories.

"Sometimes we would meet people who would change our plans or who would be really compelling," said Long, of Inman Square.

The compelling character that helped win the award in Paris is a 19-year-old Mexican man who grew up in this country as an illegal immigrant.

"He's Mexican by birth, but he doesn't feel Mexican," Long said. "It's hard to figure out where you're supposed to be.

"You really feel that the line is so thin at the end of the day and we're connected."

The team plans to keep telling the stories of the US-Mexican border. They are sponsored by Projectile Arts, a New York non-profit organization of filmmakers, but after spending nearly $20,000 they are at the end of their grant. Long said they are excited about the award and the 1,000 Euro prize that came with it.

"We're thrilled," Long said. "It's nice to have that recognition that will help us to continue developing this model."

With the help of the Columbia Education School, they hope to create a curriculum out of the films for teachers to start a dialogue in their classrooms.

"I will be really happy if this project can contribute in some way towards making debate more open and honest about immigration issues," Long said. "I'd be really happy if the project can appeal to people to watch it and maybe watch somebody whose opinion they don't agree with, but find a way to listen to what they're saying."