“If you factor social media into the mix – I’d say the landscape grew a new continent.” – Rose Anderson. Here is an in-depth interview with her.
Inside New York Festivals TV & Film Awards
New York Festivals: Why enter NYF’s TV & Film Awards?
Rose Anderson: Let’s say you and your team have created a great show or a terrific promo or a super film. It was a hit with your viewers. It might have been an escape into another reality or an investigation of an important journalistic story or a brilliant image campaign. Your team – in front of the camera and behind the scenes – all dedicated themselves to put their best on the air. The result? Something you are proud of. Now, how do you translate that into a passport into the wider creative community of your peers? I would suggest entering our awards competition. Let’s face it, no one creates content solely to win awards – awards are a “value-added” to good work.
New York Festivals: If someone attends the NYF TV & Film Awards at this year’s NAB Show in Las Vegas, what can they expect?
Rose Anderson: From the time you arrive, you are surrounded by creative teams from around the world – all there to celebrate creativity and innovation. The red carpet and the press area add to the pre-show festivities.
With award-winning guest presenters and walk-up clips, the show is fast-paced – and the night finishes with a champagne toast to the winners. So, plenty of opportunities to share ideas and bask in the glow of your accomplishments – our portrait photographers capture it all. And by partnering with NAB Show, you have access to the newest of the new.
New York Festivals: What is New York Festivals TV & Film Awards doing for content creators around the globe?
Rose Anderson: We are very serious about being of service to the creative community by honoring innovation and storytelling. Every year, we evaluate our categories to make sure they are relevant and encourage new developments in media and technology.
Since 1990, NYF has partnered with the UN on a very special honor. Finalists whose programs have themes of importance to the United Nations Department of Public Information are evaluated by a panel of experts convened at the UN. Only three each year are selected – a Gold, Silver, and Bronze award – and more importantly, the programs that are recognized go to the heart of what the work of the UN is all about – improving people’s lives. The UN’s Global Goals are designed to inspire governments and individuals to take action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Winners of the UNDPI awards have said that it is a highpoint of achievement.
New York Festivals: How has NYF’s TV & Film Awards changed since it was created in 1957? What are the major evolutions?
Rose Anderson: Now in our 60th year, although the media landscape has drastically changed, our commitment to excellence remains the same. In keeping with the fluid nature of our industry, we merged the TV Programming Awards with the Film & Video awards. More significantly, with the coming of age of streaming technology, we are able to offer a superior online entry process to our entrants and a seamless experience for our many jury members. No DVDs, no buffering, no anxiety.
New York Festivals: Jury selection…how do you consistently achieve such a well-balanced international jury and what is your criteria?
Rose Anderson: The Grand Jury plays a key role in the competition—selecting the World’s Best TV & Films in two rounds of judging. Content creators are by nature seekers of new ideas, always interested in the “how did they do that?” aspect– and our jury members are no exception.
All of NYF’s jurors are directors, editors, graphic designers, producers, journalists, writers, or filmmakers who are passionate about excellence and innovation. They volunteer their time to view submissions – and we invite the previous years’ award winners to quantify fairness in the selection process. By listing our grand jury on our website, we give visibility and transparency to the process – and recognize the individual merit of the jury panel members.
New York Festivals: How do you get such great submissions such as …? (The Roosevelts, Before the Flood etc.)
Rose Anderson: Our agenda is simple – to celebrate the achievements of the many talented men and women who make up the worldwide creative community. We believe that year after year, the caliber of the grand jury and integrity of our process of peer review is very reassuring for our entrants. It inspires trust. Every year, the results from our grand jury validates the faith the hundreds of production companies and networks place in us. That kind of track record speaks volumes.
New York Festivals: Why does NYF TV & Film Awards place importance on honoring all platforms?
Rose Anderson: To say we are platform agnostic is one way of looking at it – the key is that all of our categories are open to all methods of distribution. After all, filmmakers shoot without film for digital transmission that is called TV but seen on phones or laptops. Producers and directors use every advantage at their disposal to engage their viewers and effectively tell their story. We think that it is all about storytelling and so we welcome all formats.
Inside the Evolution of the TV & Film Industry
New York Festivals: How has the content landscape evolved in the past 5 years?
Rose Anderson: There’s no doubt that digital short form has been a sea-change. When you include the exponential growth of the number of scripted shows available to viewers, you see an overwhelming array of content. And, if you factor social media into the mix – I’d say the landscape grew a new continent.
New York Festivals: What emerging trends have you noticed since you’ve been at the helm?
Rose Anderson: Freedom to find what you want to see when you want to see it and how you want to see it when combined with the incredible tech advances in CDNs that make that paradigm possible – it’s a very empowering mixture for consumers and a challenging environment for programmers.
New York Festivals: Can you discuss the overall makeup of the Grand Jury?
Rose Anderson: Right now, the 2018 jury has more than 180+ members from over 30 countries. They are all award-winners recognized for creative excellence, and 37% of the Grand Jury are women. Whether these women are supervising on-air teams, reporting the news, developing a script, bringing a story to life for the screen, or creating magic in the edit suite, they are a dynamic force. As a member of the DGA, it goes without saying how gratifying it is to have so many women taking part in the jury process, adding their voices to the conversation.
New York Festivals: As an international competition, do cultural differences play an important part?
Rose Anderson: As a preface, some history. Last year, we received entry submissions from over 40 countries and thirty countries were represented on our grand jury. So, I would say that there is fluency in excellence. By the way, by international we mean content created in all countries on all continents are eligible. So many films today are multi-national co-production partnerships. The robust syndication market fosters a “think globally” frame of reference. To sum up, today’s creative teams are as far-ranging as their clients need them to be and they engage their audiences by being in tune with those viewers.