by Manila Bulletin Entertainment
GMA Network continues to raise the Philippine flag on the global stage as it reaps honors from prestigious international award-giving bodies.
Just this October 8, GMA Public Affairs’ “The Atom Araullo Specials” won Best Asian Documentary in the 4th Asia Contents Awards (ACA) at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) Theater in Busan, South Korea.
“The Atom Araullo Specials”’ “Munting Bisig (Young Arms),” which was the only Philippine entry shortlisted in the said festival, bested other Asian shows produced by Netflix, Asian Boss (YouTube), and TV Asahi Production (YouTube).
This is the second international award that “The Atom Araullo Specials” won this year. Last April, the same episode gave the Philippines a Gold World Medal at the prestigious 2022 New York Festivals TV & Film Awards. The documentary delved into the plight of children working amid the global pandemic to help their families survive even if they were exposed to the COVID-19 virus.
GMA Network likewise led the Philippines’ National Winners in the News and Current Affairs categories at this year’s Asian Academy Creative Awards.
Besting other nominees to win as ‘Best Newscast” is 24 Oras Weekend. The Kapuso weekend news program anchored by Pia Arcangel and Ivan Mayrina is also the country’s representative for the Best Single News Story category. The Asian Academy Creative Awards lauded Jonathan Andal’s report on Typhoon Odette.
The Atom Araullo Specials continues its winning streak, taking home the “Best Documentary” honor for the documentary “Mata sa Dilim.”
Atom is also the Philippine representative for the “Best News or Current Affairs Presenter/Anchor” category for GTV’s flagship newscast State of the Nation.
Meanwhile, the country’s pioneering wildlife, travel, and conservation program Born to be Wild was named “Best Natural History/Wildlife Show” for its “Primer Planet” episode. This is another milestone for the show hosted by Doc Ferds Recio and Doc Nielsen Donato, which will be celebrating its 15th anniversary this year.
Fresh from its highly successful season finale, Lolong is set to compete on the international stage as well. 2022’s Most Watched Philippine TV show was hailed as the national winner in the “Best Visual/Special Effects” category.
Rounding up the list of Kapuso winners is the award-winning infotainment show iBilib, which took home the National Award for “Best Infotainment.” iBilib is hosted by Chris Tiu.
As National Winners, they will represent the Philippines in the Grand Awards and Gala Finals this December. The awarding will be held in Singapore as part of the Singapore Media Festival.
Considered Asia Pacific’s “most prestigious awards for creative excellence,” the Asian Academy Creative Awards gathers the best of the best from 16 nations representing the region’s content industry.
