Eight entries from the Philippines were nominated in the 2019 New York Festivals “World’s Best TV and Films” Competition.
Three of these were from ABS-CBN while five finalists were from GMA-7.
The magazine program Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS), hosted by News pillar Jessica Soho, was nominated for its “Salay” feature in the Community Portraits category. The segment 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" just to go to school and buy basic needs.
Considered to be the country’s longest-running documentary program, I-Witness, earned two nominations this year: one for Sandra Aguinaldo’s “War Zone ER” documentary, and another for Kara David’s “Bilanggo ng Isipan.”
Short-listed in the Current Affairs category, “War Zone ER,” depicted the stories of those tasked to save the lives of the wounded during the Marawi siege—not in a hospital but inside a makeshift emergency room in Marawi’s battle zone.
“Bilanggo ng Isipan” received a nomination in the Health/Medical Information category. The documentary presented the current state of mental health in the Philippines with three case studies, who for a number of years have been bound by chains by their own families because of their mental condition.
Giving the country another slot in the NYF “World’s Best TV and Films” Competition is The Atom Araullo Specials episode “No Leftovers,” which was nominated in the Social Issues category. In this documentary, Atom showed that food wastage remains a big problem in the Philippines, tracing how food is wasted from production to consumption.
Completing the list of Kapuso finalists this year is GMA News TV’s Reel Time with its “Batang Maestro” documentary getting short-listed in the Heroes category. Viewers learned about the story of 12-year-old Dagul and his fellow volunteer "little teachers" in the province of Sorsogon. They cross the long river of Donsol on board a bamboo raft and walk their way to a village on a mountain just to reach children who often miss their classes because they live so far from school.
ABS-CBN earned three nominations in the New York Festivals Competition, which aims to "celebrate the exceptional and innovative content being created today."
Mission Possible: “Kapit lang Anak” (Hold on, my Child) was nominated in the Best Public Affairs Program category.
This Kapamilya show featured the story of Elsa Badilla, a blind mother, and her 13-year-old daughter Sarah who has Down syndrome. Single mom Elsa lost the ability to provide for her two children when she was blinded by glaucoma in 2011. Elsa was given a white cane and a talking keychain to help her move around easier. The family received appliances as well as a side car to serve as a source of income.
The "Elsa and Sarah" plug for this Mission Possible episode earned for ABS-CBN a nomination in the Station/Image Promotion category.
In the Biography/Profiles category, ABS-CBN was also cited for its Local Legends: Karne Norte episode.
The documentary series Local Legends is known for putting the spotlight on Filipino culture and heritage.
Each episode produced by ABS-CBN News Docucentral focuses on a Filipino product and the master craftsmen who continue to make them to this day to preserve a tradition that has been passed on to many generations.