Israel’s ‘Traffic Light’ wins best comedy at Int’l Emmys

Sitcom gets prize at ceremony dominated by British television productions; Bob Hoskins, Helena Bonham Carter capture top acting awards.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS, JPOST.COM STAFF
adir miller emmy (photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
adir miller emmy
(photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Israel’s Traffic Light, a series about the friendship and romantic relationships of three 30-something childhood friends, was rated the best comedy TV production at the International Emmy Awards in New York on Monday.
Ramzor, as the show is called in Israel, starring and written by Israeli comic Adir Miller, was the only Israeli series to take home an award at the ceremony, which was dominated by the British.
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Bob Hoskins and Helena Bonham Carter captured the top acting awards as British TV productions won five Emmys, including two for the BBC drama, The Street.
The highlights of the 38th International Emmy Awards Gala at the Hilton New York Hotel included the presentation of two special honorary awards to former American Idol judge Simon Cowell, who was recognized for his role in reshaping TV talent competitions and his widespread charitable work, and Lorne Michaels, the creator and producer of Saturday Night Live.
Writer-producer Jimmy McGovern’s The Street, which follows the individual stories of neighbors living on the same road in Manchester, received the Emmy for best drama series.
Hoskins took the best actor award for his role in the 2009 season of The Street as a recovering alcoholic pub owner whose morals lead him to stand up to the local gangster.
Bonham Carter, who is currently appearing as a villainous female Death Eater in the latest Harry Potter film and may be a supporting actress Oscar contender for playing the British queen in The King’s Speech, was chosen best actress for the biopic Enid. Bonham Carter portrayed the popular British children’s author Enid Blyton, whose escapist fantasies stood in contrast to her dark and troubled family life.
The other British winners announced at the awards ceremony, hosted by former Beverly Hills, 90210 star Jason Priestley, included Shaun the Sheep in the Children & Young People category and Small Island in the TV movie/mini-series category, based on Andrea Levy’s novel about the lives of Jamaican immigrants who face racism and poverty in London during and after World War II.
While Britain got its share, the remaining awards were spread out among five different countries. Thirty-nine nominees from 15 countries were contending in 10 categories for International Emmys, honoring excellence in TV programming outside the US.
In the telenovela category, Portugal won its first-ever International Emmy for My Love, which follows three women whose lives intertwine after a plane crash.
The non-scripted entertainment award went to the Argentine weekly satirical news review, CQC, which finally won its first Emmy after being nominated nine times since 1999.
Two non-fiction shows about struggling underdogs also received Emmys. South Korea’s Mom and the Red Bean Cake, which tells the story of a single mother with terminal stomach cancer who supports her family by selling cakes, was chosen as best documentary. The arts programming award went to Romania’s The World According to Ion B., about a homeless man living in Bucharest who became one of the country’s leading contemporary artists after his collection of collages was discovered by a young gallery owner.