WorldScreenings: AAAs Celebrate Asian Storytelling Excellence

Korea’s Crash Landing on You, India’s Queen and Malaysia’s The Garden of Evening Mists were among the shows that walked away with a coveted Goddess of Creativity trophy at the Asian Academy Creative Awards (AAAs) in 2020. Now in its fourth year, the celebration of Asian storytelling excellence operates on a unique model, first presenting a series of national winners across a wave of categories for shows from 16 countries, followed by best of Asia regional wins, with a jury consisting of content executives from across the globe.

The AAAs “curate the best content from AsiaPac,” says Michael McKay, the president of the AAAs, who created the event with his partner Fiona McKay, CEO of the AAAs. “If I was a buyer, I know where I’d be looking.”

The AAAs have traditionally been held in Singapore at the beginning of December, serving as a vital part of the Singapore Media Festival alongside the Asia TV Forum. Last year, as Covid-19 disrupted events across the globe, the ceremony’s organizers quickly put in place a plan to deliver a next-generation virtual awards ceremony. “Our virtual awards weren’t without challenges, but I love the fact that we stood right out on the cliff face—we took a big swing,” Michael says.

That big swing included a virtual red carpet streamed live with partner Facebook. “We were able to put people from all these different countries on a single red carpet talking to hosts as they normally would,” Michael says. “We did that for the artists and their fans. They’ve been disconnected for most of the year.” The AAAs utilized studios across the region, including in Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia and Singapore. “We had virtual tracking devices on cameras in Singapore and Sydney,” Michael explains. “Wherever the camera moved, the set would move with it. So we were able to put [presenters] Bobby Tonelli and Yvette King as if [they were next to each other]. We had major weekly production meetings. I think we all felt a weekly mixture of excitement and trepidation. And we did it live. It was challenging. We were pushing the boundaries. The biggest challenge though in any [virtual] award show is bringing in all the Zoom feeds!”

The entry period is now open for the 2021 awards, with shows produced in Asia and first transmitted between July 1, 2020, and August 1, 2021, eligible to be submitted for consideration in 30-plus categories. Some categories have been paused for this year due to Covid-19, among them sports and feature films. New for the 2021 awards is the best voice actor category. “There’s a lot of animation that gets done in our region,” Michael says. “It also covers narration. And we brought back best wildlife and natural history. Given the standard right now, we thought they deserved their own category rather than competing with all the other documentaries.”

The deadline for submissions is August 15, 2021, with an early bird discount in effect until May 31. “This year, we gave some emerging nations and independent start-up producers a discounted rate to support them,” says Fiona. “And we added a special rate for bulk entries.”

Michael and Fiona also stress the importance of the AAAs learning and networking program, The Academy Campus, chaired by NBCUniversal’s Christine Fellowes and consisting of a Producers Summit and a Masterclass Series. “There are a lot of conferences that focus on the business of TV and the business of distribution,” Michael notes. “There are not too many focused on the business of actually making content.”

The Academy Campus, Michael adds, “is a signature piece that has enabled people to see we’re serving the industry as a true academy should. The Masterclasses are aimed more at students and the Producers Summit is aimed at the industry. But I was surprised when we were going through the stats how many industry professionals attended the Masterclasses. It shows there’s a real appetite from within the industry to upskill. That informed us to include the industry more in all the programs. This year, Fiona’s approach will be a bit broader in terms of who attends.”

Fundamental to the AAAs, Michael says, is the integrity of the judging process. As such, he adds, “The award has immense value. People understand what they’ve won and just how hard it is to win. Beyond the prestige, the Goddess also adds to a winner’s bottom line. We did some industry research and the feedback was that winning a Goddess can increase your international sales by between 8 and 16 percent.”

See the AAAs 2020 Spotlight here.