By Leah Hochbaum Rosner
Poland made history at the 35th annual International Emmy Awards, held at the New York Hilton on Monday night.
Hosted by U.S. stage and screen actor Roger Bart, and organized by the New York-based International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the show awarded Poland’s The Magic Tree (from TVP SA) with the prize in the Children & Young People category, garnering the region its first-ever Emmy.
Poland’s win, did not, however, release the grip that U.K. TV companies seem to have on the International Emmys. U.K. productions boasted seven wins.
The ceremony, which ran even longer than an actual Emmy Awards telecast, also awarded prizes to The Chosen One’s Pierre Bokma (The Netherlands) and The Street’s Jim Broadbent (U.K.) in a tie for Best Performance By an Actor and Marie Besnard-The Poisoner’s Muriel Robin (France) for Best Performance By an Actress. BBC Comedy’s Little Britain Abroad snagged the award for Comedy, while The Street (U.K.) picked up the prize for Drama. Additional statues were bestowed in the categories of Documentary, Non-Scripted Entertainment and TV Movie/Miniseries.
An international cast of star-studded presenters was on hand, including Sam Waterston, Kristen Bell, Alan Cumming, Gloria Reuben, Rob Morrow and Katrina Bowden.
Robert De Niro presented the International Emmy Founders Award to 2007 Nobel Peace Prize recipient and former vice president Al Gore for his role in launching cable/satellite channel Current TV, as well as his ongoing efforts to alert the world to the imminent dangers of global warming.
Earlier in the day, Gore (or “Al Bore,” as many dubbed him) served as the keynote speaker at the International Academy luncheon. There, he dully described the merits of his TV network. But since the proceedings were inexplicably “off the record,” we cannot report on it.
Here is a full list of the winners:
2007 International Emmy Award Winners
ARTS PROGRAMMING
Simon Schama’s Power of Art: Bernini
United Broadcasting Corporation/WNET/Thirteen
United Kingdom
Nominees: Simon Schama (Presenter), Clare Beavan (Producer, Director)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR – TIE
Pierre Bokma
The Chosen One
VPRO Television / IdtV Film BV
The Netherlands
AND
Jim Broadbent
The Street
Granada Television for BBC One
United Kingdom
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS
Muriel Robin
Marie Besnard – The Poisoner
Ramona / RTBF / To Do Today Productions
France
CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE
The Magic Tree
TVP SA
Poland
Nominees: Andrzej Maleska (Director), Hanna Probulska-Dzisiów (Editor)
COMEDY
Little Britain Abroad
BBC Comedy / Little Britain Productions
United Kingdom
Nominee: Jon Plowman (Executive Producer)
DOCUMENTARY
Stephen Fry – The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive
IWC Media / BBC Scotland
United Kingdom
Nominees: Stephen Fry (Presenter), Ross Wilson (Producer/Director)
DRAMA SERIES
The Street
Granada Television for BBC One
United Kingdom
Nominees: Sita Williams (Executive Producer), Roxy Spencer (Script Executive)
NON-SCRIPTED ENTERTAINMENT
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?
BBC Entertainment
United Kingdom
Accepting: John Plowman Executive Producer: Jon Plowman
TV MOVIE/MINISERIES
Death of a President
Borough Films for MORE4
United Kingdom
Nominees: Gabriel Range (Producer, Director, Writer), Simon Finch (Producer, Writer)
