New York Festivals® International Television & Film Awards℠, honoring the World’s Best TV & Films℠, announced the 2015 Finalists. The TV & Film Awards Grand Jury of international award-winning industry experts selected the Finalists from entries submitted from 50 countries.

“This year’s Finalists engaged audiences world-wide with their innovative storytelling,” said Rose Anderson, Executive Director, New York Festivals Television & Film Awards. “The wide variety of high quality programming reflected an increase in our submissions - a 30 per cent rise over last year in entertainment programs & specials, as well as a significant rise in promos, news programs, and documentary entries.” 

This year, CNN led the way with a spectacular 54 entries achieving Finalist status, followed by ESPN with 37 Finalists, HBO with 24, and The Edge Picture Company with 17 Finalists. Entries engaged juries with a wide variety of programs from news to entertainment to documentaries and sports. 

CNN achieved stellar results for their news coverage and feature programming.  Finalists in the spotlight include:  Anderson Cooper 360°, Sanjay Gupta MD, Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown This is Life with Lisa Ling, CNN NewsCenter and Morgan Spurlock Inside Man. Long form Finalists include: “South Korea Ferry Disaster,” “The Sixties,” “UK Jihadists,” “Congo: Tracking the Ivory Trade,” “Ebola : At the Heart of the Outbreak,” and “Every Day in Cambodia, A CNN Freedom Project Documentary.”

ESPN had 37 entries score Finalist status ranging from special events to sports journalism including: “2014 FIFA World Cup Final” and “Indianapolis 500 Transcends Time.”

SportsCenter, ESPN’s flagship program, saw 6 entries move on including “Origin of Species” and “Pete’s Challenge.” In addition, ESPN’s examination of critical issues on Outside the Lines saw 10 achieve Finalist status and E:60 investigative news magazine saw 9 entries move on to the medal round including: “Qatar's World Cup,” “Friday Night Lies,” and “Children of the Ring.” 

2015 categories singled out long form entertainment with entertainment specials taking center stage. Finalists include: “The White House Correspondence Dinner" VEEP/HBO;  “Judy Collins Live in Ireland“ Wildflower Records/PBS;  “iHeartRadio Music Awards” and “Nickelodeon Kids Choice Sports Awards 2014” Done and Dusted; “A Capitol Fourth 2014” and “2014 National Memorial Day Concert” Capital Concerts;  “Murphy Brown: A 25th Anniversary Celebration” Starz; “The Witness House” MOOVIE - the art of entertainment GmbH; “The Bane of My Existence” MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation); and “The Investigator (OT: Die Fahnderin)” WDR - WESTDEUTSCHER RUNDFUNK KOLN.

Star-powered mini-series entries were propelled to the medal round including: “Houdini” for History with Adrien Brody; “Cilla” for ITV with Sheridan Smith; “Victor Ros,” for RTVE / TVE with Carles Francino; and “The Pilgrim,” UFA Fiction GmbH with Josefine Preuss. 

New categories for 2015, including Culinary and Lifestyle Programs resulted in a robust number of entries achieving Finalist status: “Top Chef Canada Season 4” Insight Production Company Ltd.; “Barefoot Contessa: Celebrations” North Pacific Ltd; “Simply Ming: The Ultimate Comfort Food: The Egg” and "Moveable Feast with Fine Cooking: Little Italy "  WGBH Educational Foundation; and “Kevin Dundon's Modern Irish Food” RTE Cork.

Reality TV Drama entries scored high, Finalists include: “Antiques Roadshow” PBS; “The Amazing Race Canada Season 2” Insight Production Company Ltd.; “Texas Trocas” Discovery Latin America; and “The Quest” Profiles Television Productions, LLC.

High profile Documentaries moved forward, Finalists include: “Years of Living Dangerously” Showtime; Terra Mater Factual Studio GmbH with 7 entries achieving Finalist status including “Killer Whales - Fins of Change” and “The Mona Lisa Mystery,” and Conde Nast Entertainment with 3 Finalists including “Strictly Ballet” and “Global Threads.”  Other documentaries in the spotlight include: “The World Wars” Stephen David Entertainment For History; “Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger” RadicalMedia, CNNFilms; “David Bowie is” Done and Dusted; Highways Conversation with Foo Fighters” HBO; “D-Day's Sunken Secrets” NOVA; “Drawing against Oblivion” Final Frame GmbH; “Tide of Grief” May Events; and “KANZABURO: The Kabuki Spirit Lives on” Fuji Television Network, Inc.

Sports Programming advanced: “Sochi 2014 Olympics Opening Ceremony” Channel One Russia; “Hoops Confidential: Veterans Classic” CBS Sports Network; “Miami Dolphins All Access London” Miami Dolphins; “Are You Ready?” San Francisco 49ers; “Chiefs Kingdom: #29” Kansas City Chiefs; and “In Play with Jimmy Roberts: Michael LaBrie" and "Feherty" Golf Channel; and “October Calling” MLB Network.

Prime Time promos include HBO’s: “Game of Thrones,” “True Blood,” “True Detective,” “Boardwalk Empire,” and “The Normal Heart”; and NBC Universal promos achieving Finalist status include: “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” ”The Blacklist,” “The Voice,” and “Chicago Fire.” Additional networks with promos moving on to the medal round include: CBS News, CNN Creative Marketing, Starz, Showtime, Discovery Channel, Canal Plus, BBC Worldwide, Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc., France 3, EPIX, The Walt Disney Company Latin America, Fox International Channels Latin America, StarHub, and Measat Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd.

The Edge Picture Group saw a stunning 18 corporate image films advance to the medal round including: “Business without Barriers” and “Guardians of the Sky.” Additional corporate films advancing include “Patrick Dempsey: Ready for the 24h of Le Mans” Kemper Kommunikation GmbH; “TRD Pro: Go Fast or Go Home” Kaleidoscope Productions; and “On the Shoulders of Giants” Mubadala. The following international production houses saw entries move forward: Buddy Films, Elastique. GmbH, Elephant Productions Australia, Frische Brise Film GmbH, LAKRITZ Film GmbH, drp, Mercator Company, MerchantCantos, Psona Films, Radley Yeldar Ltd, Red Ant Productions, Tamschick Media+Space GmbH, and Ti22 FILMS,

To view the complete list of 2015 Finalists click HERE.

All Finalists proceed to a second round judging by The Grand Jury to determine the Grand Trophy Award recipients, as well as Gold, Silver, and Bronze medalists.

Award-winners will be presented trophies at the 2015 Television & Film Awards Gala on April 14th at the annual NAB Show in Las Vegas. Award winners and ceremony attendees will have access to the 2015 NAB Show. For tickets to the 2015 Television & Film Awards and more information click HERE:

Production Hub is the official media sponsor and Pond5 and Creative Handbook are the official sponsors of the 2015 New York Festivals Television & Film Awards.

All press inquiries are welcome and should be directed to Gayle Mandel: gmandel@internationalawardsgroup.com, Ph: 1 212 643 4800

About International Awards Group, LLC 

International Awards Group, LLC organizes Advertising & Programming Competitions for the following brands:

AME Awards World's Best Advertising & Marketing Effectiveness℠
The Global Awards World's Best Healthcare & Wellness Advertising℠
Midas Awards World's Best Financial Advertising℠
New York Festivals World's Best Advertising℠
New York Festivals World's Best Radio Programs℠
New York Festivals World's Best TV & Films℠

Entries to each of the competitions are judged around the world by panels of peers in their respective industries. For more information, go to www.newyorkfestivals.com.                                                      

About the 2015 NAB Show
NAB Show, held annually in Las Vegas, is the world's largest electronic media show covering filmed entertainment and the development, management and delivery of content across all mediums. With nearly 98,000 attendees from 159 countries and more than 1,700 exhibitors, the NAB Show is the ultimate marketplace for digital media and entertainment. From creation to consumption, across multiple platforms and countless nationalities, the NAB Show is home to the solutions that transcend traditional broadcasting and embrace content delivery to new screens in new ways. Complete details are available at www.nabshow.com.

About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America's broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.