MUMBAI: In a bid to create more awareness about the products that the global television industry has to offer, The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Iatas) has announced that the first International Emmy World Television Festival will take place on 19 and 20 November 2005 in New York.
The festival will showcase the best in television from all over the world. It will incorporate the seven year old iEMMYs Festival, which traditionally offers festival goers an opportunity to screen the International Emmy Awards nominated programmes and meet with their producers and directors.
The festival will serve as a percussor to the 33rd edition of the International Emmy Awards which takes place on 21 November 2005. On 11 August 2005 Indiantelevision.com had organised the semi final judging round for the Asia and Africa region for the International Emmy Awards. The nominees will be announced at Mipcom on 17 October 2005.
Iatas president and CEO Bruce Paisner said, “The International Emmy World Television Festival is a natural extension for our iEMMYs Festival, as the Academy continues to recognize the best in television worldwide. This Festival is definitely a first for television, a forum for outstanding programming from around the world.”
The newly expanded festival will feature screenings, panels and presentations from TV organisations in different countries, as well as breakfasts, lunches and cocktails hosted by international sponsors. Traditionally, over 600 participants attend the iEMMYs Festival each year. The International Emmy World Television Festival will open its doors to a larger audience of both industry professionals and television enthusiasts.
Highlights will include a news coverage panel, where television journalists debate on a news topic, and the presentation of two Academy Foundation fellowships: the Renato Pachetti Fellowship for News and the Sir Peter Ustinov Young Scriptwriter Award. Partners include Sofitel, the Hong Kong based Phoenix Television, Microsoft, Savvis, which is encoding the International Emmy Awards nominated programs and HBO.
The International Emmy World Television Festival has already inked deals to showcase the newly launched Ariana Television Network (ATN) from Kabul, Afghanistan, and the sub-Sahara African Broadcast Network (ABN). Discussions with several other networks from Europe and Asia are in advanced stages.
As far as the International Emmy Awards gala on 21 November is concerned, it will be co-hosted by Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Michael Lynton and Chinese television personality Yang Lan. Lan is the co-founder of the Chinese media group Sun Media Investment which has interests in television, newspapers, magazines and online media.
