Three cheers for all the Gavreel and Cairo fans out there! The local BL production by the Idea First Company, “Gameboys,” has just been nominated for an International Emmy Award for kid’s live action. It’s competing against the Australian coming-of-age show “First Day,” the Dutch vampire production “Heirs of the Night,” and the Argentinian alien-centric series “Nivis Amigos de otro mundo (Nivis: Friends from Another World).”
Join me as I scream, “DESERVED!”
ICYDK, “Gameboys” is a show centered around a live streaming gamer (thus the name) and his fan as they slowly fall in love through their games and online conversations amid the pandemic. It stars Elijah Canlas as Cairo, the gamer, and Kokoy de Santos as Gavreel, the fan.
It’s very refreshing seeing our local BL shows getting the recognition they deserve, especially when you think about how long it took for us to get this much queer representation on our screens. Like how Paolo Pangilinan, who starred in another local BL hit “Gaya sa Pelikula,” noted, queer shows are “special simply because [they’re] different.” Shows like these, where queer people are allowed to be in love and happy, weren’t airing when I was growing up.
One thing that’s also exciting about the nomination is that “Gameboys” was nominated under the International Emmys Kids Awards, which recognizes the best children’s programming around the globe. How great is it that a queer love story is being recognized as one of the best international kid’s shows of the past year? Another nominee, “First Day,” is an Australian show about a trans girl navigating her first year of high school. Not to sound like a broken record, but how great is it that multiple queer shows are in the running as the best kids’ live action show?
BTW, this isn’t “Gameboys” first international recognition. At the Indie Shorts Awards Seoul last November, it was named the Best Web Series.
The winners of the International Emmys will be announced online on Oct. 12. I’ll be crossing my fingers for good luck until then.
Photo is a still from “Gameboys”
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