The 50th International Emmy Awards happened on the 21st of November, hosted at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel by Penn & Teller’s Penn Jillette. Overall there were 60 nominees in 15 different categories, with representation from 23 different countries.
The International Emmy Awards is judged by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (IATAS), which is a nonprofit organisation based in North America. The organization is composed of television and media professionals from over 50 countries and 500 companies, with all different kinds of media expertise. The International Emmys award show is held in New York City annually, with approximately 1000 attendees.
This year’s award show also announced the winners for the International Emmy Kids Awards, and saw the debut of a new category – Sports Documentary.
Notably, Miky Lee, the vice chairwoman of CJ Group, was awarded the International Emmy Directorate Award by South Korean actor Song Joong-ki. The Emmy Founders Award was awarded to American filmmaker and producer Ava DuVernay, from Blair Underwood and Benjamin Bratt.
This year marked the first time a K-drama won an International Emmy – the K-drama The King’s Affection (2021) was awarded the Best Telenovela.
South Korean media has been pioneering Asian representation within American media as of late. Earlier this year at the Primetime Emmys, K-drama Squid Game received 14 nominations and 6 wins, being the first non-English speaking TV drama to do so.
However, despite 23 different countries holding nominations, the geographical dispersion of nomination may be interesting to note.
Perhaps there still is a way to go before the name “International Emmys” completely rings true. Out of the 60 nominations, an overwhelming 11 were from the United Kingdom, and they won 7 out of 15 categories. They were the only country to win multiple International Emmy’s, aside from France, who won 2.
This may beg the question, just how “international” are the International Emmys?
Nominees for the 50th International Emmy Awards
Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, any programmes with Russian producers, co-producers or companies were not allowed to participate in this year’s award show.
Feature image credit: International Emmy Awards