2 Pinoys win at NY PROMAX Awards

Filipinos again proved their mettle in entertainment animation as Raymund Miranda and Juddee Torres won two gold awards for the Disney Channel at the prestigious International PROMAX & BDA Awards held recently in New York, USA.

These are part of the 13 awards received by Walt Disney Television International which also included four gold PROMAX awards, one silver PROMAX award, two gold BDA Design awards, three silver BDA Design awards and three bronze BDA Design awards.

Walt Disney Television International-Asia Pacific (WDTVI-AP) received two World Gold PROMAX Awards for Disney’s Legends of the Ring of Fire, the first animated short story series produced by Walt Disney Television. Indonesia’s folktale Why the Sun Chases the Moon bagged the Gold in the category interstitial/promotainment – Network or Block, executive produced by Raymund Miranda and Ashok Miranda. The other Gold was for Malaysia’s folktale The Chengal Tree, executive produced by Raymund Miranda, Shawn Letts, Kelvin Singh and Ashok Miranda.

Legends of the Ring of Fire recounts stories from Asian folklore passed down from generation to generation. Combining high quality animation and memorable soundtracks with the magic of Disney’s unique storytelling style, the series captures the hearts and imagination of the young and old. It features classic folktales from India, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand and the Philippines.

WDTVI-AP’s creative services team headed by executive producer Natalie Gee also won a Silver PROMAX Award for Promotional Animation for the Studio D opener and a Silver BDA Design Award for Interstitial for Behind the Ears: Lilo & Stitch – Something Stitch. Both were produced by Senior Graphics Producer Juddee Torres.

"We are extremely pleased and honored to be presented with these awards," says Miranda, who is also the managing director.

"These awards are a fitting validation of all the hard work and talent that go through the creation of each Disney program. We’re especially proud of Disney’s Legends of the Ring of Fire as we feel that it perfectly showcases Asia’s diverse, colorful and historic cultures and traditions," adds Miranda.

Miranda manages all Disney Channel operations and new business initiatives. He is also responsible for Disney-branded free TV operations in 10 countries in South East Asia. This year, Miranda helped pioneer Asia’s first dedicated preschool channel, Playhouse Disney Channel, as well as launch Disney Channel in Hong Kong.

Among Torres’ responsibilities are looking after the Disney brand and approving graphics or design-related promos to make sure it is according to Disney Channel’s style guide. He produces or co-produces Disney Channel’s ID, opening and closing billboards, style guides, promo graphics packages and branding graphics package.

With its recent awards, WDTVI-AP has now won 29 Gold Awards and 29 Silver Awards from PROMAX and BDA Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

The PROMAX Awards is organized and presented by PROMAX, the world’s premier association of promotion and marketing professionals in the electronic media. The BDA Awards is organized by BDA, the world’s leading association of designers involved in all aspects of electronic design for the broadcast, broadband and multimedia worlds.