NYF International Television & Film Awards Announces 2011 Winners

Grand Trophies go to ESPN, USA and Area 51, FOXTEL Management, Australia.

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | April 14, 2011

The 54^th New York Festivals® International Television & Film Awards honoring The World's Best TV Programs & Films™ announced this year's winning entries at the 2011 awards ceremony Tuesday, April 12^th in Las Vegas at the NAB Show. The Grand Jury™ awarded two prestigious Grand Trophies – one to ESPN of the US, and the second to Area 51, FOXTEL Management Pty Ltd., Australia.  In addition, ESPN was named Broadcaster of the Year for the fourth consecutive year in a row, and The Edge Picture Company, England was honored with the title of Production Company of the Year.

New York Festivals saluted the 2011 Television and Film Award winning entries at the Las Vegas Hilton Ballroom.  The spotlight was on legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles of Maysles Films who was presented the inaugural NYF Television & Film Awards Lifetime Achievement Award.  Maysles Films President Bradley Kaplan presented the award to Mr. Maysles, who is referred to as “the dean of documentary filmmakers” by The New York Times and as “the greatest American cameraman” by Jean-Luc Godard.

Clips of award-winning entries were showcased and the Grand Trophy, Gold, Silver, and Bronze award winners were presented with their trophies.

Each award segment was presented by prominent industry executives, including:  Robert Abbott, Senior Coordinating Producer, ESPN, USA; Chris Brown, Executive Vice President of Conventions & Business Operations NAB, USA; Bradley Kaplan, President of Maysles Films, USA; Richard Lancaster, Sales & Marketing Director of The Edge Picture Company, England; Tim Langmaid, Producer for CNN, USA; Michelle Rita Seva of GMA Network Inc, Philippines; Ben Shani, Senior Correspondent for "UVDA", Ch.2 Israel; Tim Scanlon, Vice President of Talent/Production, ESPN, USA;  and Chantal Theoret, Société Radio-Canada.

In total, the 2011 GrandJury awarded 117 Gold Medals, 143 Silver, 103 Bronze, and 270 Finalist Certificates for their distinguished work.

ESPN, USA was awarded the prestigious Grand Trophy in the History & Society category for the documentary “The Two Escobars.”  The film, directed by brothers Jeff and Michael Zimbalist, chronicles the Colombian national soccer team as they set out to blaze a new image for their country during the time rival drug cartels warred in the streets and the country´s murder rate climbed to highest in the world.  The team catapulted out of decades of obscurity to become one of the best teams in the world.  Central to this success were two men named Escobar: Andres, the captain and poster child of the National Team, and Pablo, the infamous drug baron who pioneered the phenomenon known in the underworld as "Narco-soccer."  As Colombia was expected to win the 1994 World Cup and transform its international image; the shocking murder of Andres Escobar dashed the hopes of a nation.  The film investigates the secret marriage of crime and sport, and uncovers the surprising connections between the murders of Andres and Pablo.

“We are honored to be receiving the New York Festivals International TV & Film Awards 2011 Grand Award for “The Two Escobars.” We are immensely grateful to ESPN Films, who made this production possible with their vote of confidence and willingness to risk producing a prime-time subtitled documentary about a subject matter quite foreign to most audiences outside of Colombia. This award is testament to the collaboration of an incredible international production team and the powerful voice of the film's subjects,” said Jeff and Michael Zimbalist, Directors of “The Two Escobars.

ESPN was also awarded an incredible 27 Gold World Medals, 23 Silver World Medals, 18 Bronze, as well as 18 Finalist Certificates.

Area 51, FOXTEL Management Pty Ltd., Australia was awarded the Grand Trophy in the Arts & Humanities category for the 60 minute documentary “Who We Are,” which showcases extraordinary Indigenous Australians.   The film, written, directed, and produced by Dei El-Ayoubi, Creative Director for FOXTEL's internal creative agency “Area 51,”   told the story of FOXTEL'S commitment to reconciliation.  Ms. El-Ayoubi saw an opportunity to expose as many subscribers to positive Indigenous experiences.  She wanted to convey a positive tonality and worked strategically to select artists who would form a cohesive picture of diverse, Indigenous Australia: David Page, Kamahi Djordon King, Buddy Knox, The Medics, Gina Rings and Dan Sultan were chosen. Rhoda Roberts narrated. “Who We Are” also took home 3 Gold World Medals, 3 Silver and 1 Bronze.

"Who We Are" was a wonderful opportunity to tell beautiful Australian Indigenous stories, and the entire journey was an incredible experience.  Being awarded The New York Festivals Grand Trophy for work that I love is such a gift and honor.  There was so much passion and consideration that went into every frame of "Who We Are" and… the award greatly acknowledges the creative generosity and magic of everybody who was involved in the making of the documentary.  I feel very lucky and blessed,” said Dei El-Ayoubi, Creative Director for Area 51, FOXTEL, Australia.

This year, the TV & Film Awards launched a new category to honor exceptional work in Telenovelas. These limited run prime time serialized dramas have gained global popularity as a leading international entertainment genre and are long overdue for recognition.  Telemundo was awarded a Bronze Award for their entry “El Clon” winning in the newly launched Telenovela category.  Don Brown, President of Telemundo accepted the award.  Telemundo also received two Bronze Awards for “El Cartel 2” and “Alguien te Mira” in the promotional programs category, and a Finalist Certificate for “La Reina del Sur” in the Sales category.

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. Their selections are awarded the illustrious UNDPI Award. The 2011 United Nations Department of Public Information award winners are: ESPN, USA receiving the UNDPI Gold World Medal for “Corrective Rape” in the Best Sports News category; ABC, Australia receiving the Silver UNDPI Award for “Afghanistan – Standing on the Sky” in the Social Issues/Current Events category; and Norddeutscher Rundfunk/ DR, Germany receiving the Bronze UNDPI Award for “The Dark Side of Chocolate” in the Social Issues/Current Events category.

The 2011 New York Festivals Television & Film Awards received entries from forty countries around the globe.  All winning entries were selected by our Grand Jury comprised of award winning Television and Film professionals.

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