The Philippines went home empty-handed in the recently concluded 37th International Emmy Awards. The gala night was held earlier today, November 24 (Manila time; Nov. 23, U.S. time), in a black-tie affair at the Hilton New York Hotel.

Prior to the awards ceremony, the Philippines had three nominations. Angel Locsin was nominated as Best Actress for her performance in Lobo, while ABS-CBN's Kahit Isang Saglit (A Time For Us) and GMA-7's Magdusa Ka got the nod for Best Telenovela.

Veteran British actress Julie Walters won Best Actress for her performance in A Short Stay in Switzerland. Walters is best known as Mrs. Molly Weasley in the Harry Potter movie franchise. She was also part of the film Mamma Mia!.

Aside from Angel, the other nominees in this category were Emma De Caunes for Night Birds (France) and Cecilia Suarez for Capadocia (Mexico).

Meanwhile, the award for Best Telenovela went to Brazil's India: A Love Story. 

British actor Ben Whishaw took home the Best Actor award for his performance in Criminal Justice.

Denmark's The Protectors won best drama series, while Japan's Hoshi Shinichi's Short Shorts was chosen best comedy.

The Netherlands won the non-scripted entertainment category for The Phone, while the TV movie/miniseries award went to Germany's three-part The Wolves of Berlin.

Great Britain was the biggest winner that night with five awards. Aside from the performance categories, the other British winners included Dustbin Baby (children & young people), The Mona Lisa Curse (arts programming), and The Ascent of Money (documentary).

Some of the presenters in this year's International Emmy Awards were Matthew Rhys, (Brothers & Sisters), actress Keke Palmer (True Jackson, VP), CSI’s Robert Joy, actress Stephanie March (Law & Order: SVU), fashion designer Rachel Roy, Discovery ID’s Paula Zahn, Spanish actress and model Mar Saura, and Brazilian telenovela star Juliana Paes.

The winners were selected from among 41 nominees from 17 countries competing in 10 categories for International Emmys, honoring excellence in TV programming produced outside the U.S.

Although the Philippines did not bring home any award, to be nominated alone is already a big achievement. This only proves that locally produced TV shows can compete internationally.