MUMBAI: With the largest number of entries submitted over the past five years, the Banff World Television Festival has announced its 2006 Banff World Television Award nominees.
This year’s festival boasts 101 nominated programmes across 18 categories, from more than 1,000 entries submitted. The Banff World Television Festival takes place from 11to 14 June 2006 in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
TThe program nominees represent 24 countries including Australia, France, Germany, the UK, and the US.
The nominees, as well as the 18 “Best-of” category winners, are chosen by the Banff selection jury. The jury meets for several days prior the Festival to screen the 18 category winners and ultimately decide the Grand Prize winner for the best overall program of the 2006 Banff World Television Awards.
Banff selection jury chairman Jerry Ezekiel says, “This year’s volume signals a resurgence for the Banff competition. Moreover, we believe this year’s programme makers have set a new standard for quality. The cream of this year’s crop is an outstanding line-up from major content-creators in television and related media.”
The jury also decides the winners of the $25,000 NHK President’s Prize, for the best HDTV program, and two Special Jury Prizes, awarded to the producers of two programs chosen from a shortlist of nominees designated by the Selection Jury. A separate all-Canadian jury will select the winner of the Best Canadian Programme in this year’s competition.
Winners will be presented the coveted “Rockie” statuette at the Global Television Banff World Television Awards show on 12 June. Prior to the awards show, the nominees will be featured in Best of Banff World Television Award Tours and in the Best of Interactive Television From Around the World panel.
In the animation category the nominees are Charlie & Lola: I Am Not Sleepy And I Will Not Go To Bed, HBO's Classical Baby, UTV's Jane and the Dragon: Shall We Dance, PBS' John and Michael and Film Australia's The Safe House. Comedies
The comedy show nominees are ABC's hit Desperate Housewives: That's Good, That's Bad,, BBC and HBO's Extras: Kate Winslet, Channel 4's IT Crowd, CBC's The Rick Mercer Report III and Australian Broadcasting Corporation's We Can Be Heroes. The interactive television nominees are Interactive Television BBC's How to Sleep Better, Comedy Network's Odd Job Jack: Odd Job Jack, Worldwide Web's ReGenesis II: Extended Reality Game, BBC's Shakespeare : Shakespeare's Stories and Teletoon's Zimmer Twins.
The mini series nominees are BBC's Bleak House, France 2's De Gaulle, The Laser Man, HBO's Rome and BBC's Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky. Competing for the best unscripted entertainment programme are The Apprentice: Home Shopping Channel, Dragons' Den, Paradise Lost, Setting Sail To The New World: Departure and Young Black Farmers.
