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Asian Academy Creative Awards welcomes multiplatform submissions
The Asian Academy Creative Awards (AAA) are still open for submissions by artists vying for recognition at the award night later this year.
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Golden statuettes for winners of the Asian Academy Creative Awards (AAA) (Instagram/asianacademycreativeawards/File)
T
he coveted golden trophies of the Asian Academy Creative Awards (AAA) will be presented in December this year, and artists have until the end of July to submit their works for the award night.
Supported by the Singaporean government’s Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), AAA recognizes excellence in content creation and media production on multiple platforms, including movies, television and streaming.
The AAA was open for entries from March 1 to July 31, the organizers announced in late April.
Entries must be content or productions first broadcast or transmitted on any media or platform between May 1, 2018, and July 21, 2019. As the awards program looks to promote Asian talent and creativity, only artists from the following regions are eligible: Australia and New Zealand, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Michael McKay, president of the AAA, told The Jakarta Post in a media briefing that the awards program had been established because [artists] needed to create something new for today’s industry that has changed a lot.
“[It is created] so [that] we don’t have any confusion or any real disagreement about [for instance] what is a feature film,” said McKay.
He went on to say that big discussions in prestigious awards such as the Oscars revolved around whether a Netflix film was a feature film or a TV show. Meanwhile, the AAA was built from the ground up from day one to welcome content from pretty much any platform, without discrimination.
“If it’s good work, [whether it is] Viu or Hooq or Netflix, iFlix or box office, that’s the best feature [film], we just want to say the best feature film,” said McKay.
Indonesia won several awards last year at the inaugural AAA held at Singapore’s Capitol Theater, namely Best Actress in a leading role for Adinia Wirasti in the movie Critical Eleven, Michael Kho for Best Actor in a leading role in Kenapa Harus Bule?, Khikmawan Santosa for Best Sound in Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts and Yunus Pasolang for Best Cinematography in Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts.
Read also: Adinia Wirasti crowned Best Actress in Asian Academy Creative Awards 2018
Mouly Surya, the director of Marlina the Murderer, who attended the media briefing, expressed her gladness for her movie to be awarded.
“I was really happy, especially [because] these are technical achievements […]. You know, Indonesian films are not really known for technical achievements,” said Mouly, who received the award on behalf of Khikmawan and Yunus at the AAA award night last December.
McKay also pointed out that the AAA had judges from around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and South America.
“We have quite a lot of Emmy Award-winning judges; I think for Best Unscripted [category], if I remember correctly, we don’t have a single judge that isn’t an Emmy Award-winning judge,” said McKay, adding that the AAA judges included Gary Sinyor, a veteran feature film writer from London and a lead actor from the US who led an NBC series.
To provide a big variety of works and perspectives, the AAA appoints ambassadors from each participating country.
The ambassadors are tasked with identifying works they believe should enter the competition. They are expected to reach out to shows or movies and suggest that the creators considered qualified submit their works.
Nelia Molato-Sutrisno, the CEO of The Group Entertainment, who was recently appointed as the Indonesian ambassador for the AAA, said the duty of the AAA judges was challenging, as the president would check whether or not she had watched a submission on a daily basis.
“But I will tell you that I was pleasantly surprised by the Indonesian entries, all of them, I don’t say only the winners. I will encourage Indonesian filmmakers, directors, cinematographers, actors, to be active, to participate [in international award programs], because we can,” said Nelia.
To see award categories and how to enter, click here.
