The 55th New York Festivals® International Television & Film Awards™, announced this year’s winning entries at the 2012 awards ceremony Tuesday, April 17, at the annual National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas. The Grand Jury honored the World’s Best TV Programs & Films™ and awarded three Grand Trophies to the following companies: ESPN, USA; Temolo Productions for BIO, The Biography Channel, USA; and ReelzChannel, USA.
ESPN earned the title of Broadcaster of the Year for the fifth consecutive year, and The Edge Picture Company, England, was honored once again with the title of Production Company of the Year. In total, the 2012 Grand Jury awarded 119 Gold World Medals, 145 Silver, 102 Bronze, and 331 Finalist Certificates for their outstanding work.
In addition to earning Broadcaster of the Year and a Grand Trophy, ESPN swept the awards, taking home 20 Gold World Medals, 14 Silver, 9 Bronze, and 18 Finalist Certificates. The Edge Picture Company also figured prominently in the winner’s circle. The London-based company was honored with 4 Gold World Medals, 5 Silver, 3 Bronze, and 12 Finalist Certificates.
“NYF’s Production Company of the Year award is the ultimate accolade for any corporate production company, and as such, at The Edge we feel extremely privileged to have been awarded this again, for the sixth year in a row. We always say that the most important judges of a film are its intended audience, but we’re overjoyed that the value of producing memorable, high quality work is also recognized by such a prestigious and internationally competitive event,” stated Faye Haggerty, The Edge’s marketing and PR manager.
This year’s spotlight was on Geoffrey Mason, sr. production specialist for ESPN, who was honored with the NYF Television & Film Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. Jodi Markley, sr. VP/operations for ESPN, presented the award. Mason is one of sports television’s most accomplished executives with more than 40 years of domestic and international production experience including: the FIFA World Cup, seven Olympic Games, six World Cups, and multiple America’s Cup races.
ESPN, USA earned the Grand Trophy for “Indianapolis 500 Open: A Walk Through Time” in the Television – Promotion/Open & IDs category. The sports opener commemorates the 100th year of the Indy 500. The award-winning entry takes the audience to the emotional core of Indy’s racing heritage and culminates with a glimpse into the future of Indy. “Indianapolis 500 Open: A Walk Through Time” also earned 2 Gold Awards, 3 Silver and 1Bronze.
Temolo Productions for BIO, The Biography Channel, USA was honored with the Grand Trophy for Ray Charles’ America in the Biography/Profiles category. The entry chronicles the life and times of Ray Charles, singer, composer, and bandleader credited with the early development of soul music.
The ReelzChannel, USA was recognized with the Grand Trophy for The Kennedys in the Television –Entertainment Special category. The mini-series, a Muse Entertainment Production in association with Asylum Entertainment, relives the public and private triumphs and tragedies of the Kennedy clan.
The recently launched Heroes category, recognizing stories of ordinary people whose acts of heroism touched the lives of others, had multiple entrants earning awards: ESPN’s Outside the Lines – The Man in the Red Bandanna and E:60 Josiah’s Time earned a Gold Award; and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s There’s Something About Earl received a Bronze. Campaigns honored in the new in 2012 Green Promotion category include: Cartoon Network Latin America “Green Campaign” received a Silver World Medal and i-CABLE Entertainment Limited, “Save The World: Conserve Energy” garnered a Finalist Certificate.
The trend in Online Programming resulted in the Grand Jury awarding the following companies: The Test Tube with David Suzuki created by National Film Board of Canada, and Who Will Save Dina Foxx? created by ZDF German Television each took home a Gold World Medal. Welcome to Pine Point, National Film Board of Canada, and Food For Thought: Behind Treme Season 2, HBO Creative Services for HBO; CNN Freedom Project CNNi for CNN; and 13,854 seconds, ZIGGY mediahouse GmbH for client Audi earned Silver World Medals. Bronze Medalists include: Thanks Making of Video, DDB Chicago for client State Farm; Boardwalk Empire Facebook Trailer, HBO; Destination One, Red Bull Media House GmbH; Chiefs Kingdom: Joplin, Kansas City Chiefs; and Elite Athlete Workouts sponsored by Dodge for Yahoo! Sports.
Entertainment entries receiving Medalist status include: The Bomber, FILM.UA, Ukraine; and The Kennedys, ReelzChannel, USA and The Kitchen Musical, The Group Entertainment, Singapore, each were honored with a Gold World Medal. The Greatest Love, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), Republic of South Korea, took home Silver Awards. Operation Checkmate – Operaci?n Jaque, TVE – Pentagrama Films, Spain; Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), Republic of South Korea; and “East West 101, Season 3,” Knapman Wyld Television each received Bronze Awards.
The Grand Jury awarded the following Documentaries Gold World Medals: On the Trail of Easy Rider – Born to be Wild, ZDF German Television, Germany; Mundos Extremos Ep 2 Menonitas: Tradiciones Violadas, Discovery Networks Latin America, USA; and Unforgettable -Three Family Portraits Fuji Television Network, Inc. Silver Award winners include: The Beethoven Project, Deutsche Welle DW-TV, Germany; History Detectives, Lion Television, USA; The Love We Make, Maysles Films, USA; and Running To America, for The Marathon Project, created by Goodoil Films, Australia.
Promos and Promotional Programs scored high. HBO’s Game of Thrones earned a Gold World Medal, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze, and Finalist Certificate. Other HBO winners include Big Love, Boardwalk Empire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Hung. Showtime’s Homeland garnered a Gold World Medal, 2 Silver, a Bronze, and a Finalist Certificate. Other Showtime winners include: The Borgias, Dexter, and Nurse Jackie. Starz took home a Gold World Medal for Boss. Spartacus: Gods of Arena, and Camelot, each earned Silver; and “Torchwood Tease” and “Camelot Show Open” each received Bronze.
Each year, the New York Festivals, in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Public Information, appoints a judging panel to select work that exemplifies the aims and ideals of the United Nations. 2012 United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI) award winners: BDA, London was honored with the Gold UNDPI Award for L’ABITRE in the Sports & Recreation category for client ESPN; NDTV, India earned the Silver UNDPI Award for Jeene ki Aasha in the Human Interest category; Higashi Nippon Broadcasting, Japan was honored with the Bronze UNDPI Award for Heartache and Hope Through the Viewfinder – 49 Days of Life and Death in the Best News Documentary/Special category.
The 2012 New York Festivals Television & Film Awards received entries from 40 countries. All winning entries were selected by its Grand Jury comprised of award winning TV and film professionals.
For a complete list of this year’s award winners, click here.
Hwang Dong-hyuk On Season 2 of “Squid Game,” Wrapping Production on Season 3; What’s Next?
Viewers may gasp, cringe or cry out watching characters die on Netflix's "Squid Game," but those simulated deaths have a different effect on its creator, writer and director. Instead, Hwang Dong-hyuk feels happiness seeing them go.
The show has a huge cast and Hwang says it was "really difficult" to manage everyone on set.
As characters would die, Hwang recalls saying to the actors on their last day, "'Oh no! How sad! I won't see you tomorrow,' but I was always smiling inside."
"Squid Game" season two premieres Thursday. It once again stars Lee Jung-jae and centers around a secret competition in South Korea that targets people in debt and the winner gets a big cash prize. What they don't know is that losing the game is deadly.
Hwang originally conceived of the show 15 years ago as a two-hour film but it failed to gain traction with financiers or even interested actors. He put it aside and worked on other films instead. He then had the idea to make it a TV series instead and took the project to Netflix. There, it could reach a wide audience.
"I never in my wildest dream thought it was going to be this huge," said Hwang, who spoke about the show and what comes next. Answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Q: What have you learned from "Squid Game"?
HWANG: I learned that I shouldn't give up. If you love something and if you want to create something, it might not work now, but the time might come later. Or that idea could be the source of inspiration for something else.
Q: You've already finished filming season three of "Squid Game." Have you thought about what your next project will be?
HWANG: I'm afraid to talk... Read More