More winners at the Asian Television Awards

(First of two parts)

The story I wrote last Saturday about the victory of Eat, Bulaga! in the recent Asian Television Awards – and those of the other GMA 7 programs, too – piqued the interest of a lot of people and they want to know what other countries figured prominently in this awards race.

GMA 7 is undeniably the top winner because it won the highest award – Terrestrial Channel of the Year – but there were also other winners from other Asian countries.

Below is the complete list of winners (culled from the glossy souvenir program distributed after the awards night) in the 2005 Asian Television Awards, plus the runners-up and those highly commended:

Best Documentary Program (30 minutes or less)

Winner: Building Site, China – A 27-minute documentary produced by Dalian Television, it shows China’s progress by showing the working conditions and ideals of the country’s thousands of migrant workers, many of whom have come to the cities from their villages to be part of China’s boom.

Runner-up: Legend of Fat Mama: Stories from Calcutta’s Melting Wok, India.

Highly Commended: China 21-Beijing Calling and China 21 – Man with a DV Camera, both from Singapore.

Best Documentary Program (31 minutes or more)

Winner: Little School Children, China – In China, boys are preferred over girls and this has made many people abandon their female offspring at the gates of the Ling Feng Temple. The baby girls were adopted by the temple’s Mother Ming Xiu and the documentary shows what became of these unwanted females.

Runner-up: Media Jihad, Japan

Highly Commended: Para Pemberani Di Tengah Tsunami (Those Who Braved The Tsunami), Indonesia and The Last Rice Farmers, Taiwan, ROC.

Best Natural History or Wildlife Program

Winner: A Flash of Blue, Japan – A 52-minute documentary that follows cameraman Tadashi Shimada to Australia and its wildlife.

Runner-up: Temple of the Tigers, Singapore

Highly Commended: Hiss of Death and Samurai Spiders – both from Singapore.

Best News Program

Winner: Waves of Destruction, India – After last year’s tsunami, New Delhi Television devoted 30 minutes a day for a week to bring across India the situation in the devastated areas and showed mostly images of death and destruction brought about by the catastrophe.

Runner-up: World News Asia-Eye on India, Hong Kong

Highly Commended: 24 Oras (24 Hours) – Camp Bagong Diwa Siege, GMA 7 Philippines and India Business Hour, India.

Best Single News Story

Winner: Rebel Impasse, Hong Kong – At the height of the Maoist insurgency in 2004, the sentiments of victims caught in Nepal’s political chaos – including a 14-year-old boy kidnapped by rebels and taught to spy – are recorded in this program.

Runner-up: Bihar Floods-Forces of Nature, India.

Highly Commended: Aceh-US Rescue Mission, Hong Kong and CNBC Uncovered Special, India.

Best Live Events Coverage

Winner: 2005 MTV Asia Aid, Singapore – Hosted by Alicia Keys, this benefit features the performances of top artists from all over the world.

Runner-up: Blast in Srinagar Transport Office, India.

Highly Commended: Misa Malam Natal, Indonesia and Super Basketball League, Taiwan ROC.

Best Drama Series

Winner: Lovers in Paris, Korea – Filipino viewers are familiar with this Korea tele-novela because it must have been ABS-CBN’s highest-rated primetime program not so long ago.

Runner-up: My Lonely Samsoon, Korea.

Highly Commended: Hae Shin – The King of the Sea, Korea and War and Beauty, Hong Kong.

Best Single Drama

Winner: The One and Only, Japan – The poignant story of a couple whose child is diagnosed with Down’s syndrome.

Runner-up: Like River We Flow, Korea

Highly Commended: Born Fighter – Youth, Taiwan, ROC and The Final Gift, Japan.

Best Comedy Program

Winner: Daddy’s Girls – Lulu’s Special Strawberry Cream Cake, Singapore – The story of a single father working as a taxi driver, who wants to marry off his three daughters but is quite unsuccessful with his mission.

Runner-up: Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd. – He’s the Wife, Singapore

Highly Commended: Durian King and Living With Lydia, both from Singapore.

Best Current Affairs Program

Winner: FTV’s Hall of Dissent, Taiwan ROC – A show that explores the meaning of religion in modern society.

Runner-up: Pink Palace, Korea.

Highly Commended: Aku Mau Sembuh – Ngelem, Indonesia and Reporter’s Notebook – Backdoor and Child Hitman, GMA 7 Philippines.

Best Children’s Program

Winner: Gol Gol Gulam, India – Described as "a mad, messy show with crazy games, great prizes and awful dares."

Runner-up: Yoyo Sing and Dance, Taiwan, ROC.

Highly Commended: Henri Matisse – Spreading Joy With Colour, Japan and Mighty Media – Horror Film Secrets Revealed, Taiwan ROC.

Best News Current Affairs Special

Winner: Tsunami – Eyewitness Accounts, Japan – A 52-minute program that shows the aftermath of the great tsunami as told by eyewitness accounts.

Runner-up: Inside Pakistan, India.

Highly Commended: High Stakes – Casino Debates, Singapore and Re-encountering Formosa, Taiwan ROC. (To be concluded)