produced by SBS Voices has won the Best Short-Form Series at a red carpet event for the Content Innovation Awards in London, an international award which celebrates companies that are helping transform the current global television industry.
Described as a “brave, modern program designed to both give a voice and promote debate” it was a joint winner with Slo Pitch by Canadian production company Shaftesbury TV.
It is a significant achievement for The Swiping Game Series Producer/Director Nia Nguyen, as it is her documentary debut.
Nguyen, who works as a producer/director for SBS Voices, and is originally from London, said in her video acceptance speech that it had made the award even more special being on her home turf.
She cast, filmed, edited and produced the low-budget documentary series, which was filmed in people’s bedrooms to give an intimate perspective on dating.
Series producer/director Nia Nguyen. Source: Supplied
The 13-minute documentary examined the phenomenon of ‘yellow fever’ from the perspective of young Asian-Australian women, and asked the provocative question of what the difference was between fetishisation and cultural appreciation.
"When the SBS Voices team came up with the idea to do a documentary short on the topic of yellow fever, it struck a chord,'' she said.
"Like some of the Asian women in the episode, I've received various comments from guys in the past regarding my race; 'you're the nicest looking Asian girl I've ever met', 'your skin's amazing', 'where did you get your exotic looks from?' and always wondered if they were compliments or something else. I hope this episode opens up conversations on the topic while also giving you a laugh here and there, and I really want to thank my Executive Producers and SBS for giving me this opportunity."
John Godfrey, Head of Unscripted at SBS, said: “I’m proud that an SBS Voices short film has been acknowledged internationally, and in particular that the talented Nia Nguyen has got the recognition she deserves."
Nia Nguyen filming The Swiping Game. Source: Supplied
Executive Producers Natalie Hambly and Danielle Teutsch, co-managing editors of SBS Voices, said Nguyen was a rare talent in that she made The Swiping Game: What is Yellow Fever almost singlehandedly.
“We are thrilled her talent has been recognised in this way,’’ said Teutsch and Hambly.
“It was important from the start that the documentary capture the views of Asian-Australian women, and that there be diversity on and off camera.”
SBS Voices is SBS’s online platform which champions the work of emerging, diverse creatives, particularly women.
The team was in impressive company on the awards night. Other winners include Masked Singer UK (Best Entertainment Format), Holey Moley (Competition Show Of The Year), Departure (Best Returning Drama Series), Inside Chernobyl with Ben Fogle (Best Documentary) and I Hate Suzie (Best Debut Drama).
Three new episodes of have just been released on SBS On Demand – ‘Love Me, Love My Anxiety’, ‘Is Sex A Deal-Breaker?’ and ‘Must Love Kids’
The new episodes will be translated into Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Arabic.
