The winners of the 2021 Asian Academy Creative Awards (AAA) were revealed last week. Australian production companies figured prominently in the competition involving 15 nations and territories across 38 categories.
Australian winner and The Full Box co-founder Bryan Cockerill said: “It’s a great honour to have won this award for a second time, but really Australian Crime Stories is a team effort and congratulations to all the Australian and New Zealand winners who will be representing the best of our region’s creativity at the Gala awards in December.”
The 40-minute presentation was hosted from the AAA’s virtual 3D Theatre by Singaporean-based American actor Bobby Tonelli, who oversaw four tie-breakers (which required an additional round of judging) a double tie-breaker round and at least five count backs (where scores are tied and the AAA reverts to execution scores to separate them).
Under the AAA’s awards system, programs are firstly judged locally in each of the 15 participating nations and territories, with only one entry in each category going through to December’s Grand Awards. The scoring system is based on the International Emmy system.
Netflix scored a total of 26 Awards, while PCCW streamer Viu notched up an impressive 25 wins across Hong Kong (ViuTV), Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
The Netflix series The Naked Director claimed six wins for Japan including Best Drama Series.
For a single nation, Singapore’s Mediacorp was dominant with 20 wins outright and a further 11 via production partners.
Chinese based streaming giant iQIYI claimed eight overall including Best Drama for Humans.
Amazon Prime claimed six wins including the coveted Best Original Program by a Streamer for the acclaimed Mirzapur, Best Actor In A Leading Role to Manoj Bajpayee for The Family Man and a win for veteran Naseeruddin Shah for Best Actor In A Supporting Role for Bandish Bandits.
Thailand delivered three of HBO’s six wins courtesy of the documentary series Traffickers: Inside the Golden Triangle.
The Grand Awards will take place on Thursday December 2nd and the Red Carpet and Gala Awards on Friday December 3rd.
AAA winner Adam Liaw
Asian Academy Creative Awards: Australia & New Zealand Winners
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Ido Drent – The Gulf S2 The Gulf Productions
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Rima Ti Wiata – The Tender Trap Greenstone TV
Best Animated (2D or 3D)
Space Nova – SLR Productions and Giggle Garage Animations
Best Children’s Programme (one-off/series)
Mystic – Libertine Pictures and Slim Film + TV
Best Cinematography
Dave Cameron – The Gulf S2 The Gulf Productions
Best Direction (Fiction)
Robert Sarkies – The Gulf S2 The Gulf Productions
Best Direction (Non-Fiction)
Bryan Cockerill – Australian Crime Stories: Killing Florence The Full Box / Nine Network
Co-conspirators at Australian Crime Stories: Adam Shand, Bryan Cockerill and Gerri Coy
Best Documentary Programme (one-off)
Birdsville or Bust Mint Pictures / SBS
Best Documentary Series
See What You Made Me Do Northern Pictures
Best Drama Series
Hungry Ghosts Matchbox Pictures/ SBS
Best Lifestyle, Entertainment Presenter/Host
Adam Liaw – The Cook Up with Adam Liaw, SBS
Best Original Screenplay Best Short Form Content
Paula Boock, Donna Malane, Jack Wedde – The Gulf S2 The Gulf Productions
Best Short Form Content
INSiDE Luminous Beast
Best Single Drama/Telemovie/Anthology Episode
Toke – Screentime New Zealand / TV3
Best Visual or Special FX in TV Series or Feature Film
Peter Rabbit 2 : The Runaway Method Studios / Columbia Pictures