CGTN wins nine awards at 2019 New York Festivals TV & Film Awards

The 2019 New York Festivals TV Film Awards was held in Las Vegas on April 9.

Sixteen shortlisted entries from CGTN's (China Global Television Network) English Channel won nine awards including two Gold World Medals, four Silver World Medals and three Bronze World Medals.

The award-winning works covered wide-ranging topics from current affairs, finance and economics, humanities and society and other categories, fully demonstrating the diverse creative strength of CGTN as an international media network.

'The Gift of Life'

"The Gift of Life" won the Gold World Medal for the best documentary in the human rights category. The 60-minute documentary tells the stories of four "organ transplant" families in China.

It records how families of organ donors struggle to make their final decisions, how patients suffering terminal diseases wait anxiously for a matched organ that has no due date to be found, and how donation coordinators and transplant surgeons collectively run against time to enable life relays.

The director of "The Gift of Life" Wang Fan expressed his gratitude to all the doctors, organ donors and patients involved in the documentary. Wang said: "Their stories highlight the situation of China's organ transplant reform while the country has been endeavoring to shift away from its decades-long reliance on organs taken from executed prisoners."

"The documentary introduced the audience to China's new organ transplant system, how it works, and the challenges it faces today," Wang added.

'Life and Death, In Focus'

The documentary "Life and Death, In Focus" won the Gold World Medal for the best documentary in the human interest category.

The film follows the emotional journey of photographer Nancy Borowick as she documents the final days of her parents' lives with cancer.

Borowick channeled her grief into a book, "The Family Imprint: A Daughter's Portrait of Love and Loss." The tragic story ended up being more about life and love than cancer and death.

First launched in 1957, the New York Festivals TV Film Awards is considered one of the most prestigious competitions in the global film and television industries. It honors content in all lengths and forms from over 50 countries, embracing wide varieties of categories such as feature films, news and promos that cover all aspects of the Television and Film industries.

In collaboration with the United Nations Department of Public Information, the NYF established the United Nations Awards in 1990 to honor programs and advertising that best exemplifies the aims and ideals of the United Nations.

About CGTN

China Global Television Network (CGTN), which was launched by CCTV on December 31, 2016, is an international media organization. With increasing global influence, it develops rapidly in all aspects from content production to international communication capability.

CGTN swept 18 awards in the 2018 New York Festivals International Television and Film Awards, showcasing its capability and proficiency as a world leading international broadcaster. This year's gold medal-winning documentary "The Gift of Life" has won numerous awards in the domestic and global competitions before. It shows that CGTN's programs and its global presence are recognized by the industry worldwide.

Earlier in January, CGTN also took home two awards at the 23rd Asian Television Awards (ATA) in Kuching, Malaysia, with programs like "China's Youth Roasted for Becoming Buddhas" and "Mosul After ISIL" receiving the honors for the Best Single News Story/Report and Best Current Affairs Program respectively.

As a multi-language and multi-platform media organization, CGTN operates in television and online, while its six TV channels – English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian and Documentary – are available in more than 170 countries and regions.

CGTN is also a pioneer of media convergence in China, delivering content through digital platforms. CGTN Digital is accessible via CGTN.com, CGTN mobile applications, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Weibo and other social media platforms, with over 175 million followers across the globe.

(CGTN)