BWTVF Announces Nominees for Awards

LONDON/TORONTO, April 18:
The Banff World Television Festival (BWTVF) has revealed the 100 nominees for
the 29th annual Banff World Television Awards, with the U.K. notching up the
most nods.

Canada and the U.S. came
in a close second in terms of nominees. Australia and Germany are strong
contenders across a variety of categories as well. The nominees were selected
from the 900-plus entries received this year in 22 program categories. The
winners will be announced at the Banff World Television Awards Show, presented
by Canwest, at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada, on
Monday, June 9.

New program categories at
this year's awards include Environmental Programs and Social Humanitarian
Programs, which address the larger social and humanitarian issues in the world
today.

The countries and
territories represented in this year's program competition includes Argentina,
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, the Czech
Republic, Liberia, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary,
India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, New
Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South
Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Trinidad, the U.K. and the U.S.

In addition to the 100
nominees for the Banff Awards, an additional number of programs have been
selected for out-of-competition (Hors Concours) recognition.

Host juries include
Aboriginal People's Television Network (APTN), Alberta Motion Picture
Industries Association (AMPIA), American Public Television, Banff New Media
Institute (The Banff Centre), Canadian Film Centre (CFC), Channel Zero,
Documentary Organization of Canada, Fox21TV, IBW Wales, Instituto de Estudos de
Televisao – Brazil, Just for laughs/Juste pour rire, Korean Broadcasting System
(KBS), Marblemedia, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), NHK (Japan
Broadcasting Corporation), Paw Paw/Penguin Films, RAI Educazione, Rogers
Communications, UKTV and Whizbang Films.

"The Banff World
Television Awards (Rockies) are among the world's most coveted television
awards,” commented Jennifer Harkness, the executive director of the Banff World
Television Festival. “The high number of entries from the more than 44
countries and territories, representing a 15-percent increase from last year,
proves the Awards’ continued growth and recognition within our international
television community.”

—By Irene Lew