The most internationally-awarded broadcast network in the Philippines continues its winning streak this year as it earns for the country 10 medals and six certificates at the 2019 U.S. International Film & Video Festival—including three gold medals and two “Best of Festival” nominations.
Leading the roster of GMA Network awardees anew are the News and Public Affairs programs.
Earning two Gold Camera Awards this year is the monthly documentary program The Atom Araullo Specials hosted by Atom Araullo. The episode “Babies For Sale.PH” bested all other entries in the Documentary: Investigative/Special Reports category.
The documentary, which is also a nominee in the prestigious “Best of Festival” Awards-Documentary category, investigated the alarming baby transactions prevalent in social media.
Meanwhile, “The Atom Araullo Specials: No Leftovers” won a second Gold Camera Award this time in the Documentary: Social Issues category. The winning piece showed that food wastage remains a big problem in the Philippines by tracing how food is wasted from production to consumption.
Giving the country its third Gold Camera Award is Bawal ang Pasaway kay Mareng Winnie: Nadenggoy ng Dengvaxia?, which won in the Documentary: Interview category. The episode featured program host Winnie Monsod probing Department of Health (DOH) Usec. Rolando Enrique Domingo and former DOH USec. Dr. Teodoro Herbosa about the dengue vaccination campaign amid the rising deaths of dengue patients and doubts on Dengvaxia’s safety.
The program also secured a nomination for “Best of Festival” Awards-Documentary category.
Late-night newscast Saksi earned a Silver Screen Award, this time for Breaking News Stories for its “Typhoon Mangkhut Coverage”. Saksi provided live-reports from eight towns and cities in the seven provinces that would be greatly affected by typhoon Mangkhut—the strongest to hit the country since Haiyan. GMA resident meteorologist Nathaniel Cruz also provided weather analyses specific to five of those areas, which were directly in the storm path.
Also taking home a Silver Screen Award is top-rating and award-winning news magazine program Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS) hosted by Jessica Soho. Its “Salay” feature, which won in the Documentary: Social Issues category, showed how students and teachers from Caraga, Davao Oriental risk their lives as they cross the river using an improvised cable car made from rattan called ‘salay’ so that they could go to school and buy basic needs.
Winning another Silver Screen Award is the country’s longest-running documentary program I-Witness. Its “Ang Islang Walang Lupa” documentary by Howie Severino was recognized in the Documentary: Environment, Ecology category. Howie and team went to the ruins of Sitio Pariahan in Bulacan where a once thriving village has now become a water world—reflecting what is happening to coastal villages throughout the Philippines.
Also earning for the country a Silver Screen Award is Front Row’s “Pasan”, which won in the Documentary: Biography category. “Pasan” featured the story of Daniel and Kyle Paculanan who are determined to remain in school and get an education even if they have to do it one difficult step at a time. Despite his gangly and awkward frame, eight-year-old Daniel carries his 10-year-old brother Kyle, to school every day. Kyle is unable to walk because he has polio and their mother cannot take him to school since she has to attend to two of their other siblings who were stricken with polio when they were younger as well.
Meanwhile, Debate 2019: The Senatorial Face-off took home a Silver Screen Award in the Documentary: Political Campaigns category. The debate aimed to empower Filipino voters in the 2019 Philippine midterm elections. Leading senatorial hopefuls faced one another to discuss their positions on various national issues and crucial government policies, as well as to test their knowledge on key issues affecting Filipinos.
GMA’s Entertainment Group took home a Silver Screen award for its weekly infotainment show I-Bilib. Hosted by Chris Tiu, I-Bilib won in the Entertainment: Children’s category. The show not only entertains but inspires and educates Filipino children by featuring scientific experiments, exploring different scientific facts and theories surrounding everyday events, challenges, life hacks, illusions, and trivia presented in a fun, wacky and magical manner.
Rounding off the list of Silver Screen Awardees is GMA News TV’s Investigative Documentaries. Its “Piitan” series won in the Documentary: Social Issues category. Investigative Documentaries documented the struggle of people who live their days in cramped, windowless detention facilities. These inmates are mere suspects in crimes that have yet to be tried.
Aside from 10 medals, GMA Network also received six “Certificate for Creative Excellence” for the following: 24 Oras’ “Natonin Landslide Coverage” (Documentary: Continuing News Stories); Front Row’s “Nebulizer” (Documentary: Social Issues category); Onanay (Entertainment: Drama category); Reel Time’s “Fearless” (Documentary: Biography category);Idol sa Kusina (Entertainment: Cooking category); and GMA News and Public Affairs’ Eleksyon 2019 advocacy campaign,“Pusuan ang Totoo” (Corporate: Public Relations category).