The Philippines’ “Gameboys” has won the Indie Shorts Awards for Best Web Series in Seoul, Korea.
The acclaimed Filipino YouTube series written by Ash M. Malanum and starring young actors Elijah Canlas and Kokoy de Santos was selected as the winner for the web series category in the Quarterly Festival of the Indie Shorts Awards Seoul which is dedicated to recognizing the best short films of all genres around the world.
The victorious IdeaFirst Company behind the hit online series shared the good news to netizens on November 16, 2020, with the caption:
“GAMEBOYS just won BEST WEB SERIES at the SEOUL INDIE SHORTS AWARDS!!! Congratulations Team Gameboys!”
Produced by the IdeaFirst Company in the Philippines and directed by Ivan Andrew Payawal, the recognition is pegged as the first international award received by the Boys’ Love (BL) virtual series which has already been drawing a global fan base since its premiere in May this year. “Gameboys” revolves on the budding online relationship between characters Gavreel Alarcon (Kokoy de Santos) and live-stream gamer Cairo Lazaro (Elijah Canlas) during the Luzon-wide quarantine due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The successful Filipino BL series has been internationally lauded for its original storyline and queer representation and earlier reached a million views on YouTube after only 2 episodes. “Gameboys” is currently gearing up for a second season as well as a movie and already has its own spin-off Girls Love series called “Pearl Next Door” which is available to watch on the same streaming platform as its predecessor.
Indie Shorts Awards Seoul is a festival with quarterly screening events and a five-day Annual Gala Ceremony that will showcase more than 300 films in partnership with Indie Shorts Awards Cannes, Miami, Buenos Aires, and New York.
Elijah Canlas, who plays the main character in the Filipino BL series, has won the Best Actor award at the 17th Asian Film Festival held in Rome, Italy this August.
Another Asian-themed short film by Fil-Am Michael Manese has been awarded the Inwood Filmmaker Fund.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to the team behind the Filipino “Gameboys” web series for winning the Indie Shorts Awards in Seoul, Korea this year!
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