Winners of the 56th edition of New York Festival’s (NYF’s) International Television & Film Awards will be announced at the NAB trade show in Las Vegas on 9 April 2013. The awards aim to honour programming in all lengths and forms from over 50 countries around the world.
Says the NYF’s International Television & Film Awards executive director Rose Anderson: “There are no geographical boundaries for talent and innovation so we have no boundaries in our entry process. Our entrants come from hundreds of production companies around the globe and embody the wide spectrum of programming – news, sports, entertainment, promos, films, and brand / corporate image – being made today.
“Like the Olympics, our competition has a worldwide scope. For example, in last year’s competition, we received feature films from Germany and China; prime-time drama from the US, New Zealand, Spain, Japan, and the Ukraine; and reality shows from Singapore, Canada and the US. Documentary entries came from world leaders in over 25 countries: CNN, PBS, DW-TV, NDTV, ITV, WDR, NDR, NBC, ESPN, RTE, HBO, Televisa, ZEE News, ZDF, ORF, National Geographic and Discovery – and medal-winners covered a wide variety of subjects ranging from Albert Maysles’ and Sir Paul McCartney’s The Love We Make to ZDF’s On the Trail of Easy Rider – Born to be Wild.’
Anderson notes that News and Sports coverage submissions ranged from breaking news of the Arab Spring, to recovery from earthquakes in Japan and Haiti to specials commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The creative services entries inspired viewers everywhere – from AstroMBNS, Fox Italy, HBO, Turner Latin America, Canal Plus in Spain, Showtime USA, BBC Worldwide, NBC Germany, NBC Italy, Walt Disney, NBC Entertainment USA, Warner Bros International, Televisa, Starz, Discovery, National Geographic, Sky Italia, MultiScreen Media in Mumbai, Turner Argentina, CBS News, EPIX, TNT, i-Cable, Canals Globosat, MLB Network, Channel One Russia, ESPN, Bravo, Syfy – to stay tuned with their out-of-the-box promotional campaigns.
“Our agenda is simple – to celebrate the achievements of the many talented men and women who make up the worldwide creative community,’ she stresses.
Past winners from South Africa include: Your Hands are Your Life (Raintree Solutions); In Sickness (The Animation School); Saving Soweto (Left Hand Films); Mothers (the clever little monkey co) and Precious Biscuits (BlackGinger) among others.
In 2010 the awards forged a strategic partnership with the annual NAB Show. Anderson elaborates: “Having the NAB Show as our Official Partner puts our award winners in the midst of more than 90,000 media professionals from over 150 countries at the world’s biggest digital media show. Our strategic partnership brings together today’s award-winning content creators with game-changing technologies for tomorrow. The fact that our winners and the NAB Show attendees come from all over the globe makes it a “sweet spot’ for all.’
She reveals that for the 2013 competition the organisers took a look at the way the categories are listed and freshened up their own terminology to make it more current. “And, in keeping with our desire to stay in touch with our entering community, we increased our Performance categories, expanded our programming categories, and added some craft categories. Our categories and eligibility rules fit today’s worldwide production demands for global programming.
“Today’s storytellers not only have a wide variety of topics to explore – and a wide net of casting possibilities open to them – but also the many technologies at their disposal offer a new way of telling those stories. We allow submission in multiple categories and I ask entrants, “If you earn a medal, what category would you want engraved on the award? What are you most proud of?’’.
This year the organisers initiated an improved online entry process to make it easier for entrants, mirroring their own production methods.
Anderson explains: “We are transitioning to a file-based entry system. That means that now you can upload your entry – even if it is a full –length HD programme. So, no more paperwork or duplication – just enter and upload. In the past, file sizes had to be much smaller in order to be uploaded and that meant documentary films or other programmes had to be sent to us on DVDs.’
For more information about NYF’s Television & Film Awards visit www.newyorkfestivals.com
