Canadian documentary series 'Hip-Hop Evolution' among International Emmy winners

NEW YORK -- A Canadian documentary series about the history of hip hop was among the winners at the 2017 International Emmy Awards gala Monday night in New York.

"Hip-Hop Evolution," which is hosted by rapper Shad and was broadcast on HBO, won in the arts programming category.

The 11 winning programs and performers spanned eight countries: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Kenneth Branagh won the best actor award, while Anna Friel won the best actress trophy.

The awards are presented annually by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which represents more than 60 countries and 500 companies from all sectors of TV, including internet and mobile technology.

The evening was hosted by Iranian-American comedian-actor Maz Jobrani, who co-stars on the CBS sitcom "Superior Donuts."

"The International Emmys are like the World Cup of TV," Jobrani cracked, "and like the World Cup a lot of Americans don't know it's happening.

Presenters included Kevin McKidd ("Grey's Anatomy"), talk-show veteran Larry King, Freddy Rodriguez ("Bull") and Melissa Villasenor ("Saturday Night Live").

Branagh won for his role as Swedish detective Kurt Wallander in the popular BBC drama series "Wallander," which has won an American following on public television's "Masterpiece." It also streams on Netflix in Canada.

Friel was awarded for her performance as Sgt. Marcella Backland in the British series "Marcella" (which is also available on Netflix).

The other winners include:

Comedy: "Alan Partridge's Scissored Isle" (United Kingdom).

Documentary: "EXODUS: Our Journey to Europe" (United Kingdom).

Drama Series: "Mammon II" (Norway).

Non-English Language U.S. Primetime Program: "Sr. Avila" (carried on HBO Latin America).

Non-Scripted Entertainment: "Sorry Voor Alles" ("Sorry About That"), (Belgium).

Short-Form Series: "The Braun Family" (Germany).

Telenovela: "Kara Sevda" ("Endless Love"), (Turkey).

TV Movie or Miniseries: "Don't Leave Me" (France).

In addition, the Emmy Directorate Award was presented to Emilio Azcarraga Jean, head of Grupo Televisa, the world's largest Spanish-language content provider as well as Mexico's largest broadcaster and pay-TV provider.

Not present was Kevin Spacey, who had been announced as the 2017 recipient of the International Emmy Founders Award. His award was rescinded last month after allegations of past sexual misconduct became public.

"The Academy felt that, in light of recent events, we could not present the award to him," Academy CEO Bruce L. Paisner told the room in his opening remarks.