France-Japan title Drops of God scoops best drama as Spain scores double win

All3Media and Banijay UK labels were triumphant at the International Emmys last night as Drops of God scooped best drama. 

All3Media’s Story Films and North One won gongs in the documentary and sports documentary categories, respectively, for Sky Documentaries’ Otto Baxter: Not a F***ing Horror Story, alongside Archface Films, and Disney+’s Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story. 

1. Timothy Spall as Peter Farquhar in The Sixth Commandment coming soon to BBC One and iPlayer

Timothy Spall as Peter Farquhar in The Sixth Commandment

In other UK news, Harry Potter star Timothy Spall was honoured with the best performance by an actor Emmy for his turn as Peter Farquhar in Banijay UK label Wild Mercury’s true-crime drama The Sixth Commandment, produced in association with True Vision. 

In a tough drama series category, France Télévisions and Hulu Japan’s wine-themed thriller Drops of God (Les Gouttes de Dieu) beat ABC Australia’s The Newsreader, Disney+ Hotstar’s Indian drama The Night Manager and Yosi, the Regretful Spy (Iosi, El Espia Arrepentido) from Argentina.

Legendary Entertainment, Dynamic Productions, 22h22 and Adline Entertainment-produced Drops of God was snapped up by Apple TV+ in a splashy deal last year, with the tech giant also acquiring series two. 

Tabby McTat

Tabby McTat

There was other British success as Magic Light Pictures won the kids animation Emmy for its hit series, Tabby McTat. Additionally, Belgian indie Roses Are Blue won the non-scripted entertainment category for Restaurant Misverstand – series two, its adaptation of CPL Productions-originated social experiment The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes.  

The Sixth Commandment narrowly missed out on a double win with German drama Dear Child (Liebes Kind) pipping the BBC1 title in the TV movie/miniseries category, also edging out Paramount+ Brazilian show Anderson Spider Silva and NHK in Japan’s Deaf Voice: A Sign-Language Interpreter in Court. 

StudioCanal-owned Spanish label Bambú Producciones won the telenovela gong for turn of the century romance The Vow (La Promesa), while 3Cat TV3 Catalonia took home short-form series Point of no Return (Punt de no Retorn). 

Full list of winners: 

Arts Programming 

Pianoforte 

Telemark / HBO / The Fryderyk Chopin Institute / Ventana / ZDF / Arte / Mazovia Warsaw Film Fund / MX35 / Polish Film Institute 

Poland 

A coming-of-age portrait of young pianists taking part in the International Chopin Piano Competition.  

                                                            

Best performance by an actor             

Timothy Spall in The Sixth Commandment 

Wild Mercury Productions / True Vision 

United Kingdom 

BBC1 drama exploring the story surrounding the deaths of Peter Farquhar (Spall) and Ann Moore-Martin (Anne Reid). 

 

Best performance by an actress 

Aokbab-Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying in Hunger 

Sound Sound Production / Netflix 

Thailand 

A talented young street-food cook pushes herself to the limit after accepting an invitation to train under an infamous and ruthless chef. 

 

Comedy 

División Palermo 

K&S Films / Netflix 

Argentina 

A ragtag civilian patrol squad created to improve the image of the police force faces an unexpected danger after stumbling on a drug trafficking operation. 

   

Documentary 

Otto Baxter: Not a F***ing Horror Story 

Story Films / Archface Films / Sky Documentaries 

United Kingdom 

Filmmakers follow their friend Otto who has Down Syndrome, over 5 years as he writes/directs an allegorical horror based on his life. Through the process, Otto discovers a vocabulary to tell his story in his own words for the first time. 

  

Drama Series 

Drops of God (Les Gouttes de Dieu) 

Legendary Entertainment / Les Productions Dynamic / 22H22 / Adline Entertainment / France Télévisions / Hulu Japan 

France 

Camille inherits her father’s wine collection, but to claim it, she must outshine, Issei, her fathers protegé, in a challenging test. A tale unfolds as she competes for the world’s greatest wine collection, facing a rival for her inheritance. 

  

Non-scripted entertainment 

Restaurant Misverstand – Season 2 [The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes] 

Roses Are Blue / CPL Productions / Motion Content Group / Seven.One Studios International 

Belgium 

In this social experiment, a group of people living with dementia are helping run a restaurant led by a successful chef, challenging perceptions around the disease.  

  

Short-form series

Point of no Return (Punt de no Retorn) 

3Cat TV3 Catalonia 

Spain 

Exploring humanity’s critical juncture, this docuseries captures the world’s transformation through personal stories at a paradigm shift.  

            

Sports documentary 

Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story 

North One / Disney+ 

United Kingdom 

Keanu Reeves tells one of the greatest sagas in Formula 1 history.  

  

Telenovela 

La Promesa [The Vow] 

Bambu Producciones, a StudioCanal Company 

Spain 

Set at the beginning of the 20th Century, Jana, a maid for the waning yet ruthless House of Luján, seeks revenge for her mother’s murder. But there is one element she did not anticipate: falling in love with Manuel, son of the Count of Luján. 

  

TV movie/mini-series 

Liebes Kind [Dear Child] 

Constantin Television / Netflix 

Germany 

A mysterious woman’s escape from her harrowing captivity points investigators towards the dark truth behind her unsolved disappearance 13 years ago. 

  

Kids: animation 

Tabby McTat 

Magic Light Pictures 

United Kingdom 

Tabby McTat and his busker friend Fred delight crowds with their duets until an unexpected separation tears them apart. 

  

Kids: factual & entertainment 

The Secret Life of Your Mind (La Vida Secreta de tu Mente) 

Warner Bros Discovery / Pictoline / Mighty Animation 

Mexico 

Do you have a hard time understanding why you think or behave the way you do? Don’t worry, your mind can be a complicated place.  

                        

Kids: live-action 

One of the Boys (En af Drengene) 

Apple Tree Productions / ITV Studios / Viaplay 

Denmark 

The socially awkward Lau goes on the traditional Man Camp with the town boys to prove that he’s a “real man”. But things get tricky when he develops feelings for another boy.