NBCUniversal and The Essex Serpent honored at inaugural Global Production Awards

NBCUniversal and its affiliates, including Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and NBC Universal Television, were honoured with the special recognition award at the inaugural Global Production Awards on Monday, for the studio’s myriad efforts in the field of sustainability, diversity and innovation across the globe.

Launched by Screen and sister brands KFTV and Broadcast and supported by UK-based screen consultancy firm Olsberg SPI, the awards celebrate outstanding and sustainable work from the world of film and TV production, locations and studios around the globe.

One innovation was Universal’s below-the-line traineeship on the set of Jordan Peele’s sci-fi horror Nope, which one judge said was “scalable and transferable and could benefit many individuals and industry as a whole”.

See-Saw Films’ Apple TV+ drama The Essex Serpent won the Outstanding Use of Locations - Film or TV Series prize, for a production that demonstrated a creative use of a location. One judge said: “The location is inherent and central to the storytelling, and yet was replete with challenges. The filmmakers met the challenges to deliver an outstanding creative result, while respecting and protecting the natural environment.”

Studio of the Year went to London’s Garden Studios. A technically advanced film production complex with versatile stage configurations and an in-house Virtual Production studio, it was praised for its commitment to training and growing talent, to sustainability and to welcoming underrepresented people.

The Sustainable Production Award was won by Nordic TV reality show The Farm (Farmen), produced by Fremantle-owned Strix Norway and following a group of contestants living together on a farm, working as a normal farmer. Judges were impressed how The Farm was innovative in myriad areas and covered much more territory than a typical sustainability plan.

Bristol’s Bottle Yard Studios and its TBY2 Studios’ solar rooftop won the Sustainable Initiative Award, for an outstanding single green initiative that shows demonstrable results. How Bottle Yard partnered with the local community on the rooftop, was praised by judges. Another joked that the “the sheer bravery of trying to harness the sun in the UK should be applauded.”

Sarajevo won the City of Film award, which rewards a city that helped deliver for international filmmakers and boosted the local economy. The judges praised Sarajevo and its Obala Art Centre for demonstrating a record of creative and commercial success, looking to be net zero emissions free by 2030, and its “more holistic approach to being a film and TV city”.

The Location of the Year Award went to Calgary’s Standing Sets. The Canadian location “provided decades of filmmakers with a rock-solid filmmaking venue, bringing a high level of production support in a stunning natural setting,” according to one judge.

The Emerging Location Award went to Film Friendly Samaná, a region of the Dominican Republic, which was commended for an increased number of productions, attractive incentives, improved levels of service, growing crew base and infrastructure, and variety in the filming spots offered. Judges praised Dominican Republic Film Commission for its understanding of film tourism and the impact film was going to have on the region.

Australia’s continent wide commission Ausfilm won the Film Commission Team Award, which rewards a commission with an established international reputation for exemplary service to productions. “I’ve worked with companies who have gone to Australia and have been very complimentary about Ausfilm as an organisation,” said one judge 

The Community Impact Award went to Jordan’s Workforce Development: A Local Foundation with Global Impact. The hotly contested category honoured a film commission or production demonstrating commitment to the local community during filming. One judge said Jordan and the foundation programme gave a “clear demonstration of creating a sustainable economic footprint for film, placing of interns into paying jobs, creating the channels for up-and-coming filmmakers that will create jobs for others.”

Fashion Dis: Season 1 from Canada’a Nikki Ray Media Agency won the Diversity & Inclusion Award, which drew the most submissions of all the GPAs this year, and rewarded a production demonstrating a commitment to diversity, inclusivity and accessibility in their production crews and on set. One judge noted that Fashion Dis, a show celebrating the head-to-toe overhaul of a frustrated style-seeker discouraged by an industry that lacks adaptive options, was “created by individuals with disabilities for those with disabilities.”

Call It!, a smart phone app which enables film and TV industry workers to report incidents of harassment, bullying and abuse to executives or senior producers on their sets, picked up the Production Innovation Award. Judges were impressed that the app, from Creating Safer, Fairer Productions, is “accessible in any territory and can be used in any stages of a production, no matter the budget range of the production.”

The GPAs were voted on by expert judges including senior vice president at HBO Jay Roewe; Elvis producer and president of production and development at Bazmark Schuyler Weiss; Amazon Studios’ head of worldwide production and post-production, Tim Clawson; producer and former Sundance executive Bird Runningwater; and the Association of Film Commissioners International’s (AFCI) executive director, Jaclyn Philpott.