Published on 15 October 2020
SINGAPORE: OCT 15 2020: An industry battered by the COVID-19 pandemic gathered in celebration this evening, albeit virtually, when the prestigious Asian Academy Creative Awards (AAA) announced the 2020 National Winners during a livecast from Singapore.
Under the AAA’s tough awards system, programmes are firstly judged locally in each of the 16 member nations, with only one entry in each category going through to represent their country at December’s Finals.
PRETTY LITTLE WINNERS
The AAA paid tribute to Two hundred and seventy National Winners across 40 categories in an Asia-Pac industry show of strength led by OTT platform Viu Indonesia’s record 9 wins for Pretty Little Liars closely followed by their Malaysian stablemate The Bridge with 8.
OTT heavyweight HBO chimed in with 8 wins of their own with the anthology series Food Lore proving the main attraction for the 2020 Members of Jury.
“This really is a showcase night for our region, the standard is extremely high and the battle for gold come December is immense” says AAA President Michael McKay then added “If content is your business, or even your passion, then you’ll need to lean in to this competition , you can’t afford not to”.
BEST DRAMA SERIES
ABC Australia featured prominently with a hand in 7 of the country’s 12 National Wins including Mystery Road (S2) which will represent the nation in the Best Drama Series category. The Aussies face tough opposition from 10 other nations including major productions backed by Netflix, Amazon Prime and Viu. It is here too that CJ ENM’s Korean blockbuster Crash Landing On Youstakes its claim for gold.
Host nation Singapore demands added attention by not only competing in 37 of the 40 categories, but fielding a formidable line-up by virtue of the fierce local battle just to win through to the Final. Their Best Drama entry comes from August Pictures’ Mind’s Eye for Mediacorp.
ABS-CBN proved there’s plenty of life left in the Filipino powerhouse by notching up 13 wins including Best Drama entry A Soldier’s Heart.
India’s Delhi Crime cleaned up last year so all eyes will be Amazon Prime’s The Family Man, while Hong Kong have staked their claim with Viu TV’s Leap Day. Global giant Canal+ enters the competition for the first time with Lake Pyer representing Myanmar. Thailand’s judges have put forward GMMTV’s Who Are You and Taiwan weigh in with the highly fancied Netflix thriller The Victim’s Game.
The Official Announcement was a cavalcade of content from across the region but standouts were Hong Kong’s veteran Anthony Wong’s superb lead performance in Sonic Jail (the only on-screen performer in the entire episode). Miller Khan is up for Lead Actor Indonesia for Assalamualaikum Calon Imam as well as a Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Malaysia’s The Bridge (could he pick up an unusual double come December?).
Emmy Nominated lead actress Yeo Yann Yann sets herself up for a possible Emmy/AAA golden Double for her exceptional work on HBO’s Invisible Stories.
In the kid’s TV categories Emmy winner “Bluey” continues to fly the flag for ABC Kids with local judges putting it forward for Best Pre-School. Of the seven nations in the running Singapore will be represented by its three-time International Emmy nominated Oddbods. In Best Children’s Programme India’s two-time AAA winner Lamput (Cartoon Network) is seeking the first ever AAA three-peat.
Australia has its very own three-peat contender with VFX powerhouse Method Studios in the running for their work on Jumanji: The Next Level. This follows their previous wins for Christopher Robin (2019) and Game of Thrones (2018).
The Grand Awards and Gala Final will be live streamed on December 3rd and 4th.
