Inaugural Asian Academy Awards Unveiled

July 23, 2018 Sara Alessi Top Stories

The first-ever Asian Academy Awards will be held in Singapore in December to honor projects across 49 categories.

The Asian Academy Awards were established to serve the creative industries as the pinnacle of their achievement in content creation and media production.
 The Asian Academy Awards celebrate works from Australia and New Zealand, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Categories will include best actor, best actress, best immersive (for 360-degree, VR and AR), best video game, best ad and best branded. There are also children’s and animation categories such as best special FX. Other categories include best digital short-form and more. The first round of judging will take place in each country to find the nation’s best content representative to send to the Asian Academy Awards Final.

“This gives content makers the chance to be acknowledged by their peers as the best in country, which in itself is a huge honor,” commented Ricky Ow, chairman of Awards.

“This new system means you have the honor of being judged the best in your country, then, if you win the Asian Academy Awards, you know you really are the best of the best,” added Asian Academy Awards’ president, Michael McKay. “When you come to Singapore you’re not just representing your own show, you’re representing your country…. No pressure. These awards are for the industry, by the industry.”

He continued, “For those Asian Academy Award winners who qualify for a corresponding International Emmy Award category, we will sponsor their entry and support them through the process. We want to see more Emmy Awards heading to Asia. I’m also proud to have the opportunity to host the prestigious semi-final judging for the International Emmys on August 17 in Singapore.”

Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)’s assistant chief executive (industry development), Angeline Poh, said, “As Singapore’s Infocomm media sector lead, the IMDA welcomes the new television and content awards, which celebrates creative excellence of the vast talent across Asia. We are also currently in discussions on how we can further support the Asian Academy Awards.”