'Oras Na' finalist in the 2012 Int'l URTI Awards

CEBU, Philippines - There’s a reason why deadlines are called deadlines – the cost of not being able to meet them may be deadly. And in what could be one of Philippine television’s most ambitious productions, the GMA News and Public Affairs environmental documentary “Oras Na,” viewers were presented with the possible grim consequences of failing to respond to the so-called environmental deadlines.

Today, “Oras Na” was selected as one of the 10 finalists for the 31st International Union Radiophonique et Télévisuelle Internationale (URTI) Grand Prix for Author’s Documentary.

The 60-minute special is the fourth environmental documentary hosted by Kapuso star and award-winning environmental advocate Richard Gutierrez. In recent years, GMA News and Public Affairs has produced other relevant and award-winning documentaries including “Signos,” “Planet Philippines ,” and “Wildlife for Sale .”

“Oras Na” took many months in the making to give viewers the never before seen impact of ecological exploitations from the most remote to the highly urbanized areas in the country. These exploitations mirror what some scientists consider as the planet’s most crucial environmental deadlines.

Through time lapse filming, the documentary presented visual evidence of the degradation of the country’s rainforests, shortage of clean water, the significant decline of fossil fuels, and the looming collapse of marine resources due to over harvesting and destructive fishing. If scientific estimates are correct, vital resources could run out within the current generation - from the year 2025 to the year 2050.

Angeli Atienza, program manager for “Oras Na,” shares her thoughts on the film’s recent nomination: “We are honored that ‘Oras Na’ (It’s Time) has been chosen as one of this year’s finalists at the URTI awards. We’ve always believed that ‘Oras Na’ is an important documentary that each Filipino should watch. Today we are humbled that this documentary can be shared with the rest of the world at the film screening in Monte Carlo .”

With the support of the specialized agency of the United Nations, UNESCO, the International URTI Grand Prix for Author’s Documentary was created in 1981 by the French writer Armand Lanoux. It honors documentaries that stand out not only in terms of technical and editorial quality, but also by the originality of the subject and of the expressed point of view. It favors the expression of the humanistic values of tolerance, mutual respect, peace, friendship and understanding between peoples.

The 31st International URTI Grand Prix for Author’s Documentary award-giving ceremony will be held in Monte Carlo on June 11, 2012.