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| (Image Source: Tatler Asia/Asian Academy Creative Awards) |
In what will be the world’s largest spotlight on Asia Pacific content and performances, the Asian Academy Creative Awards recently revealed the National Winners to contend across 40 categories in Singapore this December. Asian Academy Creative Awards Chairperson, Network 10 President, and Paramount Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Regional Lead and Head of Streaming Beverley McGarvey announced an all-time record number of entries for this year’s prestigious competition. Speaking at the opening of the AACA National Winners Announcement 2025, McGarvey noted, “Our region is sending the world a strong message this year, via the Asian Academy Creative Awards, with a record number of entries, a record number of judges for the National Round, up 30% on last year, and a record number of companies entering, 176 in all.” McGarvey also highlighted the “331 National Winners across 16 nations and territories making this the biggest showcase of Asia-Pacific content in the world”, then stated, “For buyers, distributors, casting and talent agents, co-producers, this is a truly one-stop curation of the best our region has to offer.”
Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett will represent Australia courtesy of her Emmy nominated role in “Disclaimer” as AppleTV made an impressive debut at AACA. Thirteen nations and territories will battle it out for Best Actress In A Leading Role with 2022 winner Jodi Sta. Maria (Philippines) back in contention for a rare second golden “Goddess”. “Pachinko” actresses Minha Kim and Youn Yuh-jung will represent Korea while director Arvin Chen will rep the Apple TV series under the Taiwanese banner. “Saltburn” and Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” starrer Jacob Elordi is another hot Hollywood actor featuring at AACA thanks to his lead role in “The Narrow Road To The Deep North”. The Australian actor will face stiff competition including multi award winning Chinese Mainland actor Li Xian and Korean superstar Park Bo-gum. A-Listers Li Xian and Bai Lu will lead the charge for Chinese Mainland. The coveted Best Drama Series is a 13-way battle including “The Narrow Road To The Deep North”, iQIYI’s “Strange Tales Of Tang Dynasty: To The West”, Prime Video’s Indian mystery thriller “Suzhal – The Vortex S2”, and Korea’s much fancied “When Life Gives You Tangerines”. Singapore’s acclaimed “Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story” also contends for Best Drama Series, Best Actress (Jessica Liu) and Best Supporting Actress (9-year-old Ivory Chia).
Netflix dominated the scripted categories across India and Thailand, with “Black Warrant” collecting 6 National Wins, despite missing out on Best Drama. Thailand is the reigning champion in the Best Drama category, and the Netflix series “Mad Unicorn” promises to be a strong contender with 5 nods from the Members of Jury. Australia’s “How To Make Gravy” cooked up 3 National wins including Best Feature film but will face stiff competition from Chinese Mainland, India, Indonesia, defending titleholder Japan, Malaysia, Philippines and Taiwan. India’s “Traitors” heads into December’s Gala Final ceremony boasting 4 National wins and will hope to emulate the format’s recent Emmy success. The Asian Academy Creative Awards will be staged by the Asian Academy of Creative Arts at Singapore’s Capitol Theatre on December 4, 2025. The Asian Academy’s annual winners conference, NWC25, will be staged over 2 days on December 3-4, 2025 while the theme for this year’s Red Carpet festivities is “Culture Glamour - One Red Carpet A World Of Colour”. Here is the full list of National Winners from the Philippines.
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Dennis Trillo for “Green Bones” (GMA Pictures, GMA Public Affairs and Brightburn Entertainment)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Piolo Pascual for “The Kingdom” (MQuest Ventures, APT Entertainment and M-Zet Productions)
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Jodi Sta. Maria for “Untold” (Regal Entertainment)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Dimples Romana for “The Caretakers” (Rein Entertainment Productions)
Best Adaptation of an Existing Format (Non-Scripted): “The Voice Kids” (GMA Network and ITV Studios)
Best Adaptation of an Existing Format (Scripted): “Saving Grace” (ABS-CBN Studios, Nippon TV and Prime Video)
Best Children’s Program: “Ready, Set, Read!” (Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc.)
Best Cinematography (Fiction): Jay Abello for “Beauty Empire” (Viu, GMA Network and Creazion Studios)
Best Comedy Program: “Pepito Manaloto – The Story Continues” (GMA Network)
Best Direction (Fiction): Jose Lorenzo Diokno for “Isang Himala (A Miracle)” (UXS)
Best Documentary Program (One-Off): “Lost Sabungeros (Missing Cockfighters)” (GMA Network)
Best Documentary History: “iJuander: History for Sale” (GMA Network)
Best Documentary Series: “Reporter’s Notebook: Asia’s Scam Cities” (GMA Network)
Best Drama Series: “Incognito” (ABS-CBN Studios)
Best Entertainment Host: Jose Sixto “Dingdong” Dantes III for “Family Feud Philippines” (GMA Network)
Best Factual Presenter: Gretchen Ho for “Morning Matters” (Cignal TV – One News)
Best Feature Film: “Isang Himala (A Miracle)” (UXS)
Best General Entertainment Program: “Merry ang Vibes ng Pasko (The Vibe of a Merry Christmas)” (MQuest Ventures)
Best Infotainment Program: “One at Heart, Jessica Soho: Inside the Crocodile Cage” (GMA Network)
Best Lifestyle Program: “Biyahe ni Drew: YOLO sa Antique (Drew’s Travels: Carpe Diem in Antique)” (GMA Network)
Best Music or Dance Program: “Stars On The Floor” (GMA Network)
Best News Program: “Money Talks with Cathy Yang” (Cignal TV – One News and MediaQuest Holdings
Best Non-Scripted Entertainment: “Sing Galing Season 3” (MQuest Ventures)
Best Original Production By a Streamer (Fiction): “How to Spot a Red Flag” (Viu and ABS-CBN)
Best Promo or Trailer: “JSM Travel and Tours” (The JSM Channel)
Best Screenplay: Ricky Lee and Anj Atienza for “Green Bones” (GMA Pictures, GMA Public Affairs and Brightburn Entertainment)
Best Short Form (Non-Scripted): “GMA Integrated News DigiDokyu: The Rice God of the Cordillera” (GMA Network)
Best Short Form (Scripted): “GMA Integrated News Eleksyonaryo: The Dapat Totoo Digital Exclusives” (GMA Network)
Best Single Drama/Telemovie/Anthology Episode: “Maalaala Mo Kaya: The Silent House (Maguad Family Story)” (ABS-CBN Studios and iWant)
Best Theme Song or Title Theme: “Gemini” by Anjo Baraquel and Julie Anne San Jose for “Slay” (Viu and GMA Network)
