MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Media giant GMA Network is set to proudly represent the Philippines at the 2023 New York Festivals TV & Film (NYF) Awards with nine entries making it to the short-listed candidates — again earning the most number of nominees for the country.
Spanning three decades of blazing the trail in producing compelling stories, GMA Public Affairs leads the Kapuso contingent with eight entries, while GMA Entertainment cements its world-class programming with primetime masterpiece “Maria Clara at Ibarra.”
2022 NYF Gold World Medal awardee The Atom Araullo Specials is gunning for another win this year with two entries. “Mata sa Dilim (Eye in the Dark),” Atom Araullo’s documentary on the online sexual exploitation of children, was shortlisted under Documentary: Social Issues. “Ang Nawawala (The Missing),” which chronicled missing persons and their loved ones’ heartbreaking search, is also nominated under the Documentary: Human Concerns category.
Likewise earning double nominations is 2022 NYF Bronze-winner Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS) hosted by GMA Public Affairs pillar Jessica Soho. KMJS is short-listed for “Onse (Eleven)” and “Sugat ng Pangungulila (Wounds of Woes)” under the Documentary: Human Concerns and Documentary: Health/Medical Information categories, respectively. “Onse” tells the story of a teenager who thought her growing stomach was a tumor, but it turned out that she was pregnant, while “Sugat ng Pangungulila” was about a 14-year-old boy who was suffering from wounds all over his body that was discovered to be lamellar ichthyosis.
Nine-time World Medalist Reporter’s Notebook returns to the NYF stage with its entry “Baha to School (Our School is Sinking)” nominated under the Documentary: Community Portraits category. The said episode narrated the story of students who had to trek through floods to go to school in the Philippines. Reporter’s Notebook is hosted by Maki Pulido and Jun Veneracion.
Long-running public affairs program I-Witness earns another short-list nod this year with Atom’s documentary “Ang Langaw na Hindi Binubugaw (Black Soldier Fly).” The story about the black soldier flies and their benefits is nominated under the Documentary: Science & Technology category.
Environment and wildlife show Born to be Wild is nominated for “Primate Planet” under the Documentary: Environment & Ecology category. In the said special, Doc Ferds Recio and Doc Nielsen Donato enabled viewers to learn more about the life of primates in Banton, Romblon and in New Israel Makilala, North Cotabato.
Completing the list of GMA Public Affairs entries is “Runaway Child Brides: Ang Kuwento ng mga Tumakas sa Buya (Stories of Escape from the Manobos’ Buya)” which made it to the Documentary: Cultural Issues shortlist. The documentary by Lilian Tiburcio, produced by GMA Public Affairs and GMA Digital Lab’s online newscast Stand for Truth, tackled arranged marriages or a tradition called “buya” among Manobo tribe.
After making waves on-air and online, GMA Network’s groundbreaking historical fantasy series “Maria Clara at Ibarra” looks to raise the Philippine flag globally as it earned a short-list nomination under the Entertainment Program: Drama category. The show follows Klay Infantes, a nursing student who is transported to the world of Dr. Jose Rizal’s novels “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo.” The highly-successful series was headlined by 2016 Fantasporto International Best Actress and Kapuso Primetime Princess Barbie Forteza as Klay, Asia’s Limitless Star Julie Anne San Jose as Maria Clara, and Kapuso Drama King Dennis Trillo as Ibarra.
At the 2022 New York Festivals, GMA Network was the sole Philippine awardee and gave the country four World Medals.
