(23 November 2005 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: It was a night when the best of the global television industry was on show!

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Iatas) announced the winners of the 33rd International Emmy Awards a couple of nights ago at a star-studded Gala event held at the New York Hilton. The show was hosted by award-winning comedian and talk-show host Graham Norton.

A cast of international stars including Danny Glover, Bebe Neuwirth, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Vivica A. Fox, Jack Wagner and Roger Bart presented the International Emmy statue to the winners from Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany and the UK.

For the first time the International Emmy had prizes for acting. These were awarded to China’s He Lin and France’s Thierry Fremont.

He Lin played A'Xiu in Slave Mother. At a time when women were viewed as tools for giving birth and commodities that could be exchanged, A'Xiu was leased to another man to repay a debt. Adapted from Roshi's novel, Slave Mother is a television movie set in the Zhejiang province of China that not only portrays the tragic experiences of a poor farmer A'Xiang but also depicts the true feelings and stories of the poor mother, A'Xiu.

Frémont played Francis Heaulme in Murder in Mind. Jean François Abgrall, the head of a private detective agency, was just a simple provincial gendarme back in 1989 when he was assigned to investigate a murder on a beach. Instead, his investigation put him on the trail of one of France's most terrifying serial killers, Francis Heaulme, who for eight years wandered the country committing some of the most brutal murders in the annals of modern crime.

Iatas president and CEO Bruce Paisner says, "This year's winners are representative of the growing excellence in worldwide programming and the Academy is proud to be the platform for recognizing outstanding achievement in the international television community".

The International Emmy Founders Award was presented to the queen of the talk show genre Oprah Winfrey by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Winfrey was recognised for her international broadcast career and her philanthropic initiatives. Winfrey has entertained, enlightened and uplifted millions of viewers globally for two decades through The Oprah Winfrey Show which airs in india on Star World.

Through her private charity, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation, which supports the education and empowerment of women, children and families in the US and around the world, she has developed schools for thousands of underserved children internationally. Her foundation currently is building Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls - South Africa, which will open in 2007.

She also formed Oprah's Angel Network, a public charity established in 1998, from an initiative on her talk show. The aim is to encourage people around the world to use their lives to make a difference in the lives of others. In an episode that aired last Sunday on Star World rock star her guest Bon Jovi gave $1 million to the Angel Network.

The International Emmy Directorate Award was presented to ITV for 50 years of excellence in commercial broadcasting in the UK by actress Helen Mirren. ITV CEO Charles Allen accepted the Award on behalf of his company. The award is given to organisations or individuals in management, administration, engineering, news, programming, and/or international relations for their outstanding contributions, over a period of time, to the arts and sciences of international television.

The International Children's Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) Award was presented to Egyptian TV by Unicef Ambassador Danny Glover.

BBC's car magazine show Top Gear picked up an award in the non scripted entertainment category. It is now in its fifth season in the UK. It looks at new cars, new motoring technology, and the very latest in concept cars. The show combines elements of factual entertainment with motoring journalism.

The Emmy for comedy went to Canada's The Newsroom. George Findlay, a self-absorbed news director, heads a team of unlikely producers who frequently find themselves in funny and unusual situations. The first episode of the third season finds Jim, the news anchor, befriending a pig and being sent to Baghdad where he is abducted and held for ransom.

The documentary award went to Germany's The Drama of Dresden. For people in Dresden, the days 13 and 14 February 1945 bring terrible memories. Since the bombing of Dresden occurred shortly before the end of a war, it represents the pointlessness of destruction and war. The Drama of Dresden traces who and what was left behind. By incorporating photography taken by the Royal Air Force's on-board cameras, the documentary goes beyond the obliteration of the city's buildings and explores the points of view of bomber pilots and people who were in the city during the attack.

The award for best drama series went to Denmark's The Eagle. Detective Superintendent Hallgrim Hallgrimsson (A.K.A the Eagle) has to deal not only with international organized crime, but also with his own severe psychological problems.

The award for best television movie went to Denmark's Young Andersen. It is based on the true story of the storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. This mini-series chronicles Andersen's turbulent early years and his momentous encounter with his cynical principal Meisling, a man determined to undermine Andersen's vivid imagination. When his best friend, Tuk, dies, Andersen embarks on the worst period of his life. Not until he is on the very edge of the abyss does he realise how he can get even with his persecutor.