Echoing the Filipinos’ innate resiliency and ingenuity to soldier on amid the pandemic, GMA Network remains the frontrunner in representing the country as five Kapuso entries reached finalist status at the 2021 New York Festivals (NYF) “World’s Best TV and Films” Competition.
Primetime giant “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” makes waves in the international scene as its story “The Woman Slashed On Her Face” was named as a finalist in the category Documentary: Social Justice. The story tackled domestic abuse and how cases of gender-based violence further increased during the implementation of the community quarantine in the country at the height of the pandemic.
Shortlisted in the Documentary: Heroes category is “Reel Time’s” “This Abled” episode about a man with no legs and arms seeking to reach a mountain’s peak. It also tackled the issue of discrimination and how limited the job opportunities are among PWDs (persons with disability) in the country.
The episode “Miguel’s Wounds” of “Reporter’s Notebook” emerged as a finalist for the Documentary: Health/Medical Information category. It investigated the plight of a 21-year-old man afflicted by a mysterious condition that left his skin peeling and his body full of wounds.
Nominated under the Program: Sports Documentary category, “The Atom Araullo Specials: Dreams of Gold” tells the story of Filipino athletes and how competitive the country is in the international sports scene. This is the third consecutive NYF nomination for The Atom Araullo Specials since it premiered in 2018. The public affairs program already gave the Philippines a back-to-back Silver World Medal win in the past two years for its “No Leftovers” episode (Social Issues category) in 2019 and its “Babies4Sale.PH” documentary in 2020 (Best Investigative Report category).
Finally, “Alden’s Reality: The Virtual Reality Concert” earned its first international nomination via the NYF under the Entertainment Special: Special Event category. Held last December, “Alden’s Reality” was the country’s first ever concert of its kind. It combined cutting-edge technology and performances to produce a full-length concert and online interaction between Asia’s Multimedia Star Alden Richards and his fans as part of the Kapuso actor’s 10th anniversary in the entertainment industry. The record-setting concert, produced by Synergy: A GMA Collaboration, is contending with entries from the USA, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Singapore, Spain, and Norway.
The five GMA finalists will be moving on to the medal round. Winners of this year’s NYF will be announced on October 12 in Las Vegas.
For more updates about GMA Network, visit www.gmanetwork.com.
