MANILA – GMA Network documentary program Front Row has won the UNICEF Asia-Pacific Child Rights Award for Television.
Its winning documentary, Ulilang Lubos (Orphaned) follows the daily life of a ten-year-old girl, Princess, who has had to take care of three younger siblings since their mother abandoned them. Princess washes produce at a wet market to earn money, receiving only five to 20 pesos for this.
After working the entire morning, Princess then scavenges to feed herself and her siblings.
Front Row: Ulilang Lubos was praised by the jurors for reflecting the vulnerable children’s world in their own eyes. “It was very effective,” they said. “There are many heartbreaking moments in this film. The interviews were handled with sensitivity and the three children came across as everyday kids. Their interaction during bath and meal times was very naturalistic, as if the cameras weren’t there. This is a powerful story that really captured the plight of these children.”
“Front Row: Orphaned is a powerful piece of television. It shows the importance of protecting and nurturing children, and the strength and resilience they possess, through the eyes of four abandoned children trying desperately to make the most of their lives,” added Christopher de Bono, Chief of Communications, UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific.
At the same time, Dr. Javad Mottaghi, Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Secretary-General, said: “To know there are documentary makers of this quality working in our region, chronicling the lives of our most vulnerable children and celebrating the triumph of their young spirits over great adversity, must spur us all on to be the best media messengers we possibly can.”
Managing producer Joseph Israel Laban accepted the prestigious UNICEF prize last October 27 at the ABU awards ceremony held in Macau. He shared the viewers’ positive response to the program. “Since the documentary aired, one of the children’s relatives has reached out to them. Viewers are now sending two of the children to school and more help is still coming in. But we are hoping for a more permanent and comprehensive solution to address the plight of Filipino orphans, perhaps with better Government facilities to take care of them and their basic needs,” he said.
The UNICEF Asia-Pacific Child Rights Award was established by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), CASBAA and UNICEF in 2001. It recognizes the efforts of broadcasters and producers in pursuing high quality children’s television and better coverage of children’s issues, and is given each year to the best programme on children’s rights produced in the Asia-Pacific region.
Front Row’s “Ulilang Lubos” also previously won a Silver Screen Award at the 2014 United States International Film and Video Festival and received a Finalist citation at the 2014 URTI Grand Prix for Author’s Documentary in Monaco, the sole Philippine program to be honoured this year.
