MUMBAI: The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has begun accepting entries for this year's International Emmy Awards to recognize outstanding achievement in television. The last date for submitting entries is 3 April.

The International Emmy World Television Festival will take place 19 and 20 November. The awards will be presented at the International Emmy Awards Gala on 20 November 2006 in New York City.

Entries are being accepted in 11 award categories: Breaking News, Continuing News Coverage, Best Performance by an Actress, Best Performance by an Actor, Arts Programming, Children & Young People, Comedy, Documentary, Drama Series, Non-Scripted Entertainment and TV Movie/Mini-Series.
Entries are judged during three rounds over the course of six months by some 500 television professionals in 35 countries.

Meanwhile, The Hidden Life, a one -hour documentary produced by Long Island residents, Suzy Shechtman and Dr. Burton Grebin, has been nominated for three Emmy Awards.

The Hidden Life traces the rich history of the first order of Episcopal nuns in the United States, the Sisters of St. Mary. Despite all precedent, the sisters broke a tradition of more than 100 years of silence to allow the creation of this documentary about their order, their beliefs and their lives. The irony is that though they live in silence, they have much to say.

Shechtman says, "Everyone has a story to tell and many of those stories are lost with the passing of generations. I am committed to preserving those stories and bringing them to life."