As part of the a three-day festival which includes several gala award ceremonies, screenings and parties, the 49-year-old New York Festivals held back-to-back gala dinner and awards ceremonies last night for two of its competitions, the Film & Video Awards and Television Programming and Promotions Awards. Movie and Television industry people from around the world gathered at the Hudson Theater in Times Square to applaud the 9 Grand Award top prizes as well as Gold, Silver and Bronze World Medals at these evening ceremonies.
In NYF's Film & Video Awards, one of the oldest extant international film festivals, England and the United States took top honors with Grand Awards, and the U.S. received the most Gold World Medals with 12, followed by the United Kingdom with 8 and Germany with 6. The four Grand Awards, which were selected from the highest scoring Gold World Medal winners, are as follows:
Grand Award: Best Information Program
Straker Films
Youth Justice Board
"Never Going Back"
England
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Grand Award: Best Public Relations
New Moon Television
"London 2012: Sport at Heart"
England
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Grand Award: Best Internal Use / Training Production
The Edge Picture Company Limited
Aviva
"Embracing Diversity"
England
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Grand Award: Best Sales Production
HBO
New York City
"NYC Inc. Music Video"
USA
View "NYC Inc. Music Video"
Medalists in the Film & Video competition were selected from a pool of 600 entries from 31 countries this year. Judges chose the best work in various categories, including short and feature-length films, documentaries and information, and educational and industrial productions. The competition is chaired by Katy Eyre, founder of Jacaranda in London.
In the evening's second ceremony, NYF's Television Programming & Promotions Awards, Canada and the United States each took top honors with Grand Awards, and again the U.S. received the most Gold World Medals with 35, followed by the Canada with 5 and the United Kingdom with 3. The 5 Grand Awards, which were selected from the highest scoring Gold World Medal winners, are as follows:
Grand Award: Best Promotion Spot / I.D.
HBO
"Curb Your Enthusiasm: Going Global"
USA
View "Curb Your Enthusiasm: Going Global"
Grand Award: Best News Program / Insert
CNN Productions
"CNN Presents: Impact of Terror"
USA
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Grand Award: Best Documentary
Starz Entertainment Group
"The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing"
USA
View "The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing"
Grand Award: Best Entertainment Program
SFA Productions
"Comedy Inc.: Season 2"
Canada
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Grand Award: Best Children's / Youth Program
WGBH Educational Foundation
"ZOOM"
USA
View "ZOOM"
Medalists in the television competition were selected from a pool of 1,600 entries from 34 countries this year. Judges chose the best work in various categories such as entertainment, news and documentary programming, as well as categories for music videos and promotional spots.
Also at the television awards event, the United Nations' Department of Public Information (UNDPI) honored documentaries with a special award for public service advertising. Since 1990, the UNDPI has recognized outstanding work at the New York Festivals annual gala that best exemplifies the goals and ideals of the United Nations.
This year's Gold UNDPI Award went to BBC TV News (United Kingdom) for "Niger", a news report in July 2005 on the widespread famine in Niger, especially in the southern part of the country, and the need for the international community to act to stop before the population dies of starvation.
The Silver UNDPI was presented to ITN (United Kingdom) for "Congo's Tin Soldiers", a report on the thousands of tin miners trudging miles through the forests in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, risking their lives and living in sub-human conditions to bring out casseterite (tin), an ore used in electronic components.
The Bronze UNDPI went to the History Channel for "Rwanda: Do Scars Ever Fade?", a news documentary exploring the country's 100-year history that preceded and contributed to the Genocide in 1994.
Both award shows were emceed by Billy Harris and produced by ByDesign.
Friday night's Television Programming & Promotions Awards and the Film & Video Awards ceremonies were part of a three-day festival which includes screenings of the award-winning work and three gala awards ceremonies for advertising, television and film. On Wednesday, the festival opened at the Millennium Broadway Hotel with a Welcome Reception with special guest, Assistant Commissioner Julianne Cho of the New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting, followed by a party at The Newspace titled "The Ball" which celebrated this winter's winners of New York festivals Interactive and Media Awards and honored digital rights activist John Perry Barlow of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. On Thursday, the festival held a gala at the Hudson Theater for NYF's Television, Cinema & Radio Advertising Awards.
View the TV Programming & Promotion Winners
About New York Festivals
The 49-year-old New York Festivals (NYF) produces six annual international awards competitions including Film & Video, Television Programming and Promotions, Radio Programming and Promotions, Television and Radio Advertising, Design, Print & Outdoor Advertising, and Interactive Media. Entries for each competition are judged both in the United States and overseas by panels of peers in their respective industries. Founded in 1957, the Manhattan-based NYF now has representation in 62 countries. For more information about NYF, visit www.newyorkfestivals.com.