Pilots In Progress

Submissions open AUG 20

Learn More

Dates & Fees
Entry Materials
Awards & Prizes

Previous Winners

Submission FAQs

All Festival Submissions:

Independent Pilot Competition: Drama

Independent Pilot Competition: Comedy

Digital Short Series Competition

International Spotlight Competition

Pilots in Progress gives creators a chance to screen a rough cut of their pilot (10–60 minutes) and receive constructive feedback from fellow creators and general audience. The selected team will collaborate with SeriesFest to create a custom post-screening questionnaire to gather feedback to be used as a helpful tool to inform final edits or future episodes.

Pilots should be near completion in that the structure and story arc are in place, but not yet picture locked. Please provide an on-screen description of missing elements as placeholders within the continuity of the film and list other elements that are missing or incomplete on a title card before the project begins.

“To be here and be boots on the ground and feel the energy and see the creativity is mind-blowing—and it’s the future of our industry.“

Annie Laks
SVP, Creative Content Shondaland

Timeline

Submissions Open

Select Competition:

*FilmFreeway Gold

Funds, Awards & Prizes

Best Pilot Award: As an official partner of the Independent Pilot Competition, Company 3 will award the Best Independent Comedy Pilot, Drama Pilot, Unscripted Pilot, and Pilot in Progress, with $25K in post-production in-kind services.
Select Inclusivity Initiative Funds: Awarded to projects that demonstrate a thoughtful and deliberate approach to using storytelling as a means of leveling the playing field for marginalized communities, including but not limited to women, people of color, Indigenous, AAPI, Latinx, LGBTQIA+, and disabled artists
- Inclusive Creator Fund presented by the Anna & John J. Sie and the Global Down Syndrome Foundations
- Rural Intersectionality Fund
Outstanding Series Format Deck Award, presented by Canva: Canva acknowledges the creativity and skill required to build the perfect series format deck with this recognition, accompanied by a $5,000 cash prize.

This competition is neither juried nor eligible for an audience award.

ENTRY MATERIALS

Partially Produced Pilot
Ranging from 10-60 minutes (Scripted or Unscripted)

FilmFreeway Entry Fee
(see above)

Series Format Deck
All submissions must include a Series Format Deck, uploaded to the FilmFreeway application page under “Files & Attachments”. This document includes a logline, series regular and recurring character descriptions, and Season One story arc or future episode descriptions.

An effective Series Format Deck introduces your project in a visually exciting and emotionally powerful way. It captures the reader’s imagination, allowing them to see the full scope of the series and embrace the characters. The Series Format deck is essential to our review process, providing a clear and compelling way for us to understand your vision.

The Series Format Deck should be 2–15 pages, must be in English, and include the following:

Log Line
Pilot Synopsis
Season One Outline
Main Character Descriptions (Up to 5)
- For unscripted pilots, include key onscreen subjects/talent
Tone of your series (can include no more than 2 comparisons)
Producing Team
Key Creatives
Goals for your Series
A Creator Statement that includes: Why This Idea, Why Me, and Why Now?

If your submission is selected for final programming you will be required to submit more information regarding your pilot, cast, and crew so SeriesFest can maximize your experience with executives at the Festival in May. Full details will be sent to submissions selected for SeriesFest: Season 12 in an acceptance email by April 2026.

Not sure where to get started? You don’t have to start from a blank page. Check out our Canva template or Canva’s Entertainment Templates and make them your own.

Pilot in Progress One Sheet answering the following questions:

What are the missing elements in your pilot?
What do you need in order to complete your pilot?
What do you hope to gain by submitting your pilot in progress?

Please note, entry materials will not be returned

Previous Award Winner

BREWABILITY

A cool job can be hard to find for anyone, but especially for disabled adults. Enter Brewability: a brewery, restaurant, and music venue in Colorado, where employees with disabilities run the show.

SeriesFest: Season 10, 2024

Thank you to our partner

Company 3

Company 3 is a comprehensive postproduction facility for features, episodic, commercials, and music videos. Known for its creative color artistry, pioneering technology, and global reach, Company 3 is trusted to deliver a quality product every time. It is home to one of the largest and most talented pools of colorists and visual effects artists working in post-production today with a client list that includes many of the most respected and talented film and entertainment professionals in the industry. Company 3 offers solutions-based services ranging from color correction, Digital Intermediate (DI), and file-based workflows to visual effects and online services. Through its virtual outposts, Company 3 Colorists are available to clients around the world..