Colorado has so much to offer storytellers from mountains, cityscape, to a stand out creative community.
For Season 11, SeriesFest is excited to focus the signature Pilots in Progress program to support our home state creatives. Colorado Pilots in Progress offers an opportunity for Colorado creators to securely screen a rough cut of their pilot for constructive feedback from fellow creators and industry to help fine tune and finalize their project. Selected creators will work with the SeriesFest team to construct a personalized post-screening feedback questionnaire. Viewers will complete an audience questionnaire for the creator to review and, at their discretion, incorporate into a final edit or future episodes.
“One of the premier television festivals in the world.“
James Lafferty
KEY DATES & FEES
Submissions for SeriesFest: Season 11 open August 21, 2024.
Early Bird Deadline
10/21/24
Standard
$35
FilmFreeway Gold Member
$25
Student
$15
Regular Deadline
12/3/24
Standard
$45
FilmFreeway Gold Member
$35
Student
$20
Final Deadline
1/14/25
Standard
$65
FilmFreeway Gold Member
$50
Student
$40
Submissions are open, and listed prices are available through 11:59 PM (local time) on the date shown.
Certain projects that exhibit a commitment to engaging underrepresented communities may be eligible for our Inclusion Initiative Submission Fee Waiver. Learn more.
AWARDS & PRIZES
- Winner will be awarded $2.5k of in-kind post production services from Company3 to be applied to their episodic project.
- Inclusivity Initiative Awards
*This competition is neither juried nor eligible for an audience award.
View previous winners below.
Special Awards
INCLUSIVITY INITIATIVE AWARDS
This category is eligible for Inclusivity Initiative Awards including the Level Forward Impact Award, the Caz Matthews Fund, and the Inclusive Creator Fund presented by the Anna & John J. Sie and the Global Down Syndrome Foundations. Theses awards will be given to the episodic projects and teams who demonstrate a thoughtful, thorough, and deliberate approach to using storytelling as a means of leveling the playing field for underrepresented people including women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and alternatively abled voices.
Learn more about our Inclusivity Initiative here.
OUTSTANDING SERIES FORMAT DECK AWARD PRESENTED BY CANVA
SeriesFest is partnering with Canva, our Preferred Design Platform, to acknowledge the creativity and skill necessary to build the perfect series format deck. SeriesFest: Season 10 Official Selections who choose to create their series format decks on Canva will have the opportunity to win the inaugural Outstanding Series Format Deck Award, a $5,000 cash prize, for the best series format deck submission created in Canva.
Learn more here.
ENTRY MATERIALS
Partially Produced Pilot
Ranging from 10-60 minutes.
Pilots must be based in and created in Colorado. Pilots should be near completion in that the structure and story arc are in place, but not yet picture locked. Unfinished versions with incomplete or temporary sound, missing scenes, no credits or titles, unfinished visual effects, etc. are all ok! When possible, please provide an on-screen description of missing elements as placeholders within the continuity of the film. You should also list other general elements that are missing or incomplete on a title card before the project begins. Make sure your project can be edited to incorporate viewer feedback after the screening!
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”.
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 the crucial to the review process as we look to showcase
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 11 in an acceptance email by April 2025.
Not sure where to get started on your Series Format Deck? You don’t have to start from a blank page. Check out our template—created in Canva, and make it 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
Pilots selected do not need to retain any sort of premiere status, however, programmers do consider premiere status, previous festival screenings, and awards when deciding on official competition selections. If your pilot has been released via any home video outlet, broadcast on television, or had a ticketed public theatrical exhibition anywhere in the USA, it is not eligible for this festival. Submissions are welcome from around the world, but submissions must be in English or include English subtitles.
Previous Winners
![](https://seriesfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/SeriesFest-TruBlu-Images-10-scaled.jpeg)
OUR BIG PUNJABI FAMILY
SeriesFest: Season 9, 2023
Best International Comedy:
Leena Manro & Agam Darshi
![](https://seriesfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/big-idea-last-mile_16x9_thumb.jpg)
THE BIG IDEA: LAST MILE
SeriesFest: Season 9, 2023
Best Director, Unscripted:
Sarah Klein & Tom Mason
Thank you to our partner
![](https://seriesfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Company3_square-jpg.webp)
Company3
Company3 is a comprehensive postproduction facility for features, episodic, commercials, and music videos.
Colorado has so much to offer storytellers from mountains and cityscape to a stand-out creative community. For Season 10, SeriesFest is excited to focus the signature Pilots in Progress program to support our home state creatives. Colorado Pilots in Progress offers an opportunity for Colorado creators to securely screen a rough cut of their pilot for constructive feedback from fellow creators and industry to help fine-tune and finalize their project. Selected creators will work with the SeriesFest team to construct a personalized post-screening feedback questionnaire. Viewers will complete an audience questionnaire for the creator to review and, at their discretion, incorporate into a final edit or future episodes. This competition is neither juried nor eligible for an audience award.
Submissions are Closed
Check out our Submission FAQs or email us at info@seriesfest.com.
Visit our page on FilmFreeway.
KEY DATES & FEES
OCT 01, 2023 | DEC 01, 2023 | JAN 11, 2024 | |
Standard | |||
FilmFreeway Gold Member | |||
Student |
AWARDS & PRIZES
As an official partner of the Pilots-in-Progress program, Company 3 is awarding the selected pilot $25K in post-production in-kind services.
OUTSTANDING SERIES FORMAT DECK AWARD PRESENTED BY CANVA
SeriesFest is partnering with Canva, our Preferred Design Platform, to acknowledge the creativity and skill necessary to build the perfect series format deck. SeriesFest: Season 10 Official Selections who choose to create their series format decks on Canva will have the opportunity to win the inaugural Outstanding Series Format Deck Award, a $5,000 cash prize, for the best series format deck submission created in Canva.
ENTRY MATERIALS
Partially Produced Pilot (10-60 minutes)
Pilots must be based in and created in Colorado. Pilots should be near completion in that the structure and story arc are in place, but not yet picture locked. Unfinished versions with incomplete or temporary sound, missing scenes, no credits or titles, unfinished visual effects, etc. are all ok! When possible, please provide an on-screen description of missing elements as placeholders within the continuity of the film. You should also list other general elements that are missing or incomplete on a title card before the project begins. Make sure your project can be edited to incorporate viewer feedback after the screening!
FilmFreeway Entry Fee
Series Format Deck
All submissions must include a Series Format Deck which can either be submitted using a Canva file URL hyper linked under “Project Links” or as a PDF under “Files & Attachments” . 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 should be no longer than 15 pages, must be in English, and include the following:
- Log Line
- Pilot Synopsis
- Season One Outline
- Main Character Descriptions (Up to 5)
- 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?
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?
Provide two (2) sample audience feedback questions for your pilot
Please note, entry materials will not be returned