International Emmy Nominations Announced

CANNES, October 13: The nominations for the 36th In ternational
Emmy Awards were unveiled at a press conference in Cannes today by the
International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, with the U.K. leading
the pack with eight nods, followed by Brazil with five.

Argentina and Japan secured four each and China and Denmark
each received three nods. Jordan and Peru scored their first ever nominations.

Actors who garnered performance nods are Pedro Cardoso for TV
Globo’s The Big Family; Karl Markovics
of Franz Fuchs: A Patriot,
a co-production from epo-film and ORF with
the support of Fernsehfonds Austria, Filmfonds Wien and land Steiermark-Kultur;
David Suchet of the BBC’s Maxwell;
and Wang Chengyang for China Movie Channel’s Thei-go King and His Son. On the female performance side are Lucy Cohu for Forgiven, produced by Betty TV for Channel 4 and More4; Sofie
Gråbøl of The Killing, from DR/Danish
Broadcasting Corporation in association with ZDFE/NRK/SVT; Irene Ravache for TV
Globo’s Eternal Magic; and Yuan
Zhibo for China Movie Channel’s Wait for the Birth of the Husband.

NHK’s I Feel the Words will
face off in the children & young people category against Patito
Feo, la historia más linda (Ugly
Duckling), from Ideas Del Sur/Televisa; Ping-Pong, from Norway’s NRK/SVT/DR/YLE/KRO; and Aardman
Animations/CBBC’s Shaun the Sheep.

Comedy programs competing for the statuette are Geile
Zeit, from Sony Pictures Film and Fernseh
Produktions; The I.T. Crowd, a talkbackTHAMES
production for Channel 4; Mi Problema con las Mujeres (My Problem with Women), from JC Entertainment (JC Films)/Frecuencia Latina
International; and NHK’s NEO-Office Chuckles.

KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) notched up a nomination in
the documentary category for Asian Corridor in Heaven (Tea-Horse Old Road). Also receiving nods are The Beckoning
Silence, from Darlow Smithson
Productions/C4/C4i; Collision over the Amazon, from Discovery Networks Latin America/U.S.
Hispanic; and Steps International’s Please Vote for Me.

Drama series being acknowledged are Penguin Films’ Home
Affairs; The Killing, from DR/Danish
Broadcasting Corporation in association with ZDFE/NRK/SVT; Kudos Film &
Television’s Life on Mars; and Mandrake, from HBO Ole Originals & Conspiraçâo Filmes.

On the non-scripted side, nominations went to The Big
Donor Show, from NPO (Netherlands Public
Broadcasting)/Endemol/BNN; Eyeworks Cuatro Cabezas’ Caiga Quien Caiga
(CQC): Argentina; Canada's Next
Great Prime Minister, from CBC
Television/Magna International; and Tokyo Broadcasting System’s Doors.

Nominations in the arts programming category went to Fuji
Television Network’s Inheriting a Kabuki Legacy: Ichikawa Ebizo: His Fate
and Anguish; TV Globo’s Nara
Leão: All My Life; Richard Serra:
To See is to Think, from Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)/ZDF and 3sat; and Strictly
Bolshoi, from Ballet Boyz Productions for Channel 4.

TV movies/mini-series contending for top honors are Britz, a Daybreak Pictures Film for Channel Four
Television; The Miracle of Berlin,
from teamworx on behalf of ZDF and ZDF Enterprises; Television por la
identidad, from Telefe
Contenidos-Llorente/Villarruel; and China Movie Channel’s Wait for
the Birth of the Husband.

New this year is the telenovela category, which includes
nominations for Arab Telemedia Productions’ The Invasion Igtiyah; Lalola,
a Dori Media International and Dori Media Contenidos production based on an
idea by Sebastian Ortega for Underground Contenidos; One Night of
Love, from AMEDIA/Sony Pictures Television
International; and TV Globo’s Tropical Paradise.

“Every year, The International Emmy Awards put the spotlight
on the best international television and, increasingly, we recognize programs
that are soon-to-be hit shows around the world, including the U.S.,” said Bruce
L. Paisner, the president and CEO of the
International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. “We
congratulate the 2008 nominees for setting a standard of excellence and
inspiring us all with great television.”

The winners will be announced on November 24 at the Hilton
New York Hotel.

—By Kristin Brzoznowski