The multifaceted partnership will connect entertainment creators with resources, education and opportunities to connect with industry visionaries Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Sue Ann Pien, Patrick Macmanus, and Kelly Funke.
December 1, 2023 (DENVER, CO)
SeriesFest, the non-profit organization that champions and empowers artists at the forefront of episodic storytelling, announces a new partnership with Canva, the all-in-one visual communication platform focused on helping aspiring and emerging creators prepare for a career in television. Together, Canva and SeriesFest are introducing the Vanguard Program including workshops with industry icons, launching a new award and grant opportunity, and a college student fellowship. Each of these provide unique opportunities to help creators’ grow in the industry.
The inaugural Vanguard Program aims to connect aspiring and established TV creators to provide insights from vanguards in entertainment to help take their careers in television to the next level. The program recognizes industry leaders, who will each provide a free virtual workshop in the coming months:
- December 14, 12:30pm PST – Actress/Director/Producer Sue Ann Pien (As We See It)
- January 11, 2024 12:30pm PST – Patrick Macmanus (Writer, Producer, Showrunner, Dr. Death, The Girl from Plainville, Vanderbilt and Devil in Disguise), and Kelly Funke (President, Littleton Road Productions)
- TBD DATE/TIME- Grammy and Tony-winning Actor/Writer/Producer Daveed Diggs (Co-creator: Blindspotting, The Little Mermaid, Hamilton) and Showrunner/Writer/Producer/Actor Rafael Casal (Loki, Co-Creator: Blindspotting)
Starting today, interested participants can register to join the SeriesFest Vanguard Program workshops presented by Canva via https://seriesfest.com/vanguards.
“The Vanguard program is designed to highlight groundbreaking visionaries in the television industry bringing their invaluable insights directly to emerging creatives,” said Randi Kleiner, SeriesFest CEO and co-founder. “We are so proud to partner with Canva on the inaugural program, along with bringing several other new and exciting opportunities to the SeriesFest community.”
“It’s been an inspiring and collaborative experience teaming up with SeriesFest to think about all the ways that design and visual communication in Canva might help TV creators at key points in the creative process, from planning to the critical format deck,” said Kate Marsden, Head of Global Brand Partnerships at Canva. “Canva aims to democratize storytelling and design through simple, but powerful tools, and we can’t wait to see what ideas SeriesFest participants bring to life as they imagine the next generation in television.”
In addition to hands-on workshops, Canva is partnering with SeriesFest to introduce the Outstanding Series Format Deck Award, in a new competition rewarding a $5,000 cash prize to the best deck submission created in Canva. Required for all SeriesFest competition categories, the Series Format Deck is an integral part to the pitch process and sale of a series. An effective Series Format Deck introduces a project in a visually impactful and emotionally powerful way. It captures the reader’s imagination, allowing them to see the full scope of the series and embrace the characters. Partnering with Canva will empower participants to create professional, visually impactful presentations leveraging Canva’s easy to use, powerful design platform, Presentation product and templates in tandem with their own creativity and skill to build the perfect Series Format Deck.
Together, SeriesFest and Canva also seek to help prepare the next generation of storytellers. SeriesFest’s Collegiate Fellows program presented by Canva invites undergraduate students from across the country to apply to attend SeriesFest: Season 10 as a Collegiate Fellow and get a behind-the-scenes view of the TV and episodic industry via curated workshops and discussions, and access to premieres and panels.
Free three month trials of Canva Pro will be given to those creators who apply to select SeriesFest programs, including students, executives, and industry professionals, in an effort to help them on their creative journeys and visually bring their projects to life. Canva will be bringing its platform to SeriesFest Season 10 with a unique onsite activation, live event(s) and special award presentation.
Submissions are currently open for SeriesFest: Season 10, the award-winning international festival running May 1–5, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. Creators can submit for the upcoming festival through January 11, 2024.
To register for the Vanguard Workshops, click here: https://seriesfest.com/vanguards.
For more information on how Canva powers teams in the entertainment industry, click here: https://www.canva.com/entertainment/.
ABOUT SERIESFEST
SeriesFest, a non-profit organization, champions and empowers artists at the forefront of episodic
storytelling by providing year-round opportunities for creators and industry professionals to connect,
collaborate, and share stories, which inspire and impact global audiences. Each June, SeriesFest
culminates in a highly-curated and celebrated Denver-based festival and marketplace. Dedicated to
showcasing innovative episodic content, the annual festival includes in-competition independent pilot
screenings, panels, workshops, live reads, parties and network television premieres. Follow @SeriesFest on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Publicity Contact:
For General Inquiries: info@seriesfest.com
ABOUT CANVA
Launched in 2013, Canva is a free online visual communications and collaboration platform with a mission to empower everyone in the world to design. Featuring a simple drag-and-drop user interface and a vast range of templates ranging from presentations, documents, websites, social media graphics, posters, apparel to videos, plus a huge library of fonts, stock photography, illustrations, video footage, and audio clips, anyone can take an idea and create something beautiful.
