BANFF – Rescue Toya!, from Japan’s public broadcaster NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.), picked up the Interactive Grand Prize and the Immersive Entertainment award on Saturday night at nextMEDIA.
Gaza-Sderot: life in spite of everything, a production from France by Bo Travail in association with Alma Films, Trabelsi Productions, Ramattan Studio and Upian.com was named best Original Online Program.
www.bitchinlifestyle.tv was named the Best Canadian Emerging Digital Brand. Bitchinlifestyle TV is a web destination for the cooking, décor and lifestyle interests of a new media savvy 18-35 demo.
Organizers dubbed it the “first annual nextMEDIA Interactive awards, but prizes were previously included in Interactive categories of the Banff World Television Awards, or the Rockies. It is the first year that the interactive awards – renamed as best Immersive Entertainment and Original Online Program – have been given out separately from the Rockies.
The ceremony was hosted by Montreal native and L.A. resident Shiraz Lazar.
The winners were chosen by 20 jurors from three countries; they include Canada, (CBC-Montreal and The Banff Center), Germany, (HMR Cologne), and Russia, (Sarmath01 Network from Corona Films, St Petersburg).
NextMEDIA runs until June 7, when the four-day Banff World Television Festival, also run by Achilles Media, opens.
– Norma Reveler
