New York Festivals® Television & Film Awards unveiled the 2020 Storytellers Gala award-winners. This year leading-edge entertainment from 50+ countries around the globe was honored, with the following achievements earning Grand honors:
- “Fleabag – Series 2” Craft – Best Writing (Two Brothers Pictures/BBC Three/ Amazon Prime Video) was honored with the Grand for their multi award-winning dark comedy series written and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The series also earned Gold World Medals for Best Performance by an Actress, Best Performance by an Actor, and Comedy.
- “Very Ralph” Craft – Best Original Music/Lyrics (Brian Keane Music, Inc./HBO) Multi-award-winning composer Brian Keane received the Grand for composing the original music for the first documentary portrait of fashion icon Ralph Lauren.
- “Okavango – River of Dreams” Documentary – Nature & Wildlife (Terra Mater Factual Studios GmbH), was recognized for their Grand award-winning documentary that tells the story of the Okavango river in Botswana in Southern Africa while exploring the wildlife and landscapes along the river’s path.
- “Apollo: Missions to the Moon” Documentary – Science & Technology (1895 Films/National Geographic) The Grand award-winning documentary recounts the key moments of NASA’s Apollo space program and America’s goal to land on the Moon before 1970 through TV coverage, radio broadcasts, home movies, NASA film, and never before heard Mission Control audio.
A global crisis could not prevent the TV & Film Awards Grand Jury from its commitment to judging world-class work from storytellers worldwide spanning entertainment, documentaries, journalism, sports, promos, and corporate image films. To view the 2020 winner’s gallery, click here.
“We at New York Festivals also wanted to honor our commitment to honor the men and women of the creative community around the world whose work so impressed the Grand Juries this year by keeping to the original date of the storytellers gala even though we are all at home,” said Rose Anderson, VP/Executive Director of New York Festivals.
Al Jazeera, The Edge Picture Company
For the fourth consecutive year, Al Jazeera English’s news analysis and investigative programming earned the network the prestigious title of Broadcaster of the Year. The network’s award-winning entries explored a robust number of global topics and garnered an impressive number of medals for their programming including “Al Jazeera Investigations,” “Witness,” “101 East,” “Fault Lines,” “The Big Picture” and “Earthrise.”
This is the 14th year consecutive year that The Edge Picture Company UK earned the prestigious title of Production Company of the Year.
The National Press Club was honored with the 2020 York Festivals® Storytellers Gala Lifetime Achievement Award. The National Press Club, since 1908, has been recognized as the World’s Leading Professional Organization for Journalists™.
Annually New York Festivals, in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Global Communications, selects entries that exemplify the aims and ideas of the United Nations and honors them with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (UNDGC) awards. 2020 UNDGC winners include: “Tipping Point” (CNA, Mediacorp Pte Ltd) was honored with the Gold UNDGC Award; “Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds” (Endemol Shine Australia, ABC) earned the Silver Award; and The Nonfiction: Monk and Vulnerable Souls, (Fuji Television Network) was awarded the Bronze UNDGC Award.
Gold winning Documentaries dominated this year including “Gretchen Carlson: Breaking the Silence” (Lifetime), Surviving R. Kelly” (Lifetime), “American Swamp” (MSNBC),“The Big Picture – The World According to AI” (Al Jazeera English), “Yohji Yamamoto: Rebel in Black” (NHK), “Britain’s Viking Graveyard” (Windfall Films, NOVA) Rebellion! Stonewall“ (MSNBC), “The Face of a Stranger” (CBC/Radio-Canada (émission DÉCOUVERTE), “Masterpiece: Turner” (POSVIDEO), “The Last Igloo” (Swan Films, BBC Four), “180 Days / 180 Jours” (Avanti Groupe), ”GloboNews Documentário: Allies” (Globo News) and “Borneo – Earth´s Ancient Eden “ (Terra Mater Factual Studios GmbH).
On the Entertainment front, Gold World Medalists include: “Shakira in Concert: El Dorado World Tour” (Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC “Bauhaus – A New Era” (ZDF German Television), “Secret in the Mountain” (ORF / ZDF / ARTE (Mona Film / Hager Moss Film), “My Greatest Dishes” (Sidney Street/Food Network UK), and “No Te Puedes Esconder” (Telemundo International Studios).
Top scoring Sports content earned Gold: “30 for 30 42 to 1”(ESPN Films) “E:60 “2-Player” (ESPN) “Football is US: The College Game” (ESPN, “Saturdays in the South: A History of SEC” (ESPN), “Patricio Manuel: A Fighter’s Chance” (CBS Sports Network), “MLB Now” (MLB Network), “Rugby World Cup 2019 Campaign” (beIN SPORTS Asia) and “Blink of an Eye” (Taublieb Films). Silver World Medalists include: “Brick by Brick: Inside Access with the San Francisco 49ers” (San Francisco 49ers) and Football is US: The College Game (ESPN).
Promos engaged viewers, entries achieving Gold included: “Climate Change The Facts” (BBC Studios), “Tragedies Special” (The Walt Disney Company Europe & Africa),”Winter Solstice Special” (AMC Networks International Southern Europe), “Sounds of Future Ocean” (The Walt Disney Company Latin America) and “Monday Night Football Open” (ESPN).
Corporate and Brand Image Films were honored with Gold trophies with companies including: The Edge Picture Company, The Walt Disney Company Latin America, The Walt Disney Company Europe, and Africa, MerchantCantos, Sonova AG, Causal Films, Quite Frankly Productions and Plastic Pictures.
New York Festivals TV & Film Awards Grand Jury honored content creators across all platforms and in all genres and awarded in total 122 Gold World Medals, 136 Silver World Medals and 142 Bronze World Medals.
Oscar and Emmy-Winning Composer Kris Bowers Joins Barking Owl For Advertising, Branded Content
Music, audio post and sonic branding house Barking Owl has taken on exclusive representation of Oscar and Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers for advertising and branded content.
Bowers’ recent film scores include The Wild Robot and Bob Marley: One Love, alongside acclaimed past works such as The Color Purple (2023), King Richard and Green Book. His contributions to television are equally impressive, with scores for hit series like Bridgerton, When They See Us, Dear White People, and his Daytime Emmy Award-winning score for The Snowy Day.
In addition to his work as a composer, Bowers is a visionary director. He recently took home the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject for his directorial work on The Last Repair Shop. The emotionally touching short film spotlights four of the people responsible for repairing the musical instruments used by students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The Last Repair Shop reflects the positive influence that musical instruments have on the youngsters who play them, and the adults in the LAUSD free repair service who keep them working and in tune.
Barking Owl CEO Kirkland Alexander Lynch said of Bowers, “His artistry, diversity of style and depth of storytelling bring an unparalleled edge to the work we create for global brands. His presence on our roster reflects our continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of sound and music in advertising.”
Johanna Cranitch, creative director, Barking Owl, added, “Kris first caught my attention when he released his record ‘Heroes + Misfits’ where he fused together his jazz sensibility with a deeply ingrained aptitude for melody, so beautifully.... Read More