Amnesty honour for Jennifer Lopez

Bordertown is set in the Mexican town of Ciudad Juarez, which has witnessed a grisly decade of unsolved rapes and murders of young women.

Lopez, who produced the movie, stars as an investigative journalist reporting on the serial killings.

She was awarded the Artists for Amnesty prize ahead of the film's premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on Wednesday.

The actress, 37, said she was "very humbled" as she was given the award by East Timor's Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel peace laureate.

'Shocking'

No-one knows how many murders have been committed in Ciudad Juarez since the killings began in 1993, but Amnesty says it is more than 400.

Police have made several arrests, and the murders have been variously attributed to serial killers, drug cartels and domestic violence.

Several gangs have also been mentioned as the perpetrators.

But every time the police trumpet an arrest or conviction, the murders continue.

Lopez described the situation as "one of the world's most shocking and disturbing, underreported crimes against humanity."

Also at the Amnesty ceremony in Berlin was Norma Andrade, whose 17-year-old daughter was found murdered in February 2001.

Following her daughter's death, she co-founded Our Daughters Back Home (Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa), a legal support group for victims' parents.

"She's a remarkable woman and a true inspiration," Lopez said.

Bordertown also stars Antonio Banderas and Martin Sheen. It does not yet have a release date.

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