Festival Funds & Awards

Submitting to SeriesFest opens doors that help you get your project to the next level.

Thanks to our generous sponsors, we are able to offer Official Selections the opportunity to be awarded over $200,000 in cash and in-kind resources, alongside invaluable television industry support.

In addition to the opportunities below, Official Selections are eligible for our Independent Television Awards acknowledging the best pilots, writers, directors, performers, and more, with keepsake trophies sponsored by Hyde Park Jewelers.

Not all projects are eligible for all awards. Click through for details. To sponsor a fund or award, email info@seriesfest.com.

Funds & Awards

Outstanding Series Format Deck Award

Sponsored by Canva SeriesFest is partnering with Canva to acknowledge the creativity and skill necessary to build the perfect Series Format Deck. In celebration of this unsung craft, we will award the most Outstanding Series Format Deck with a $5,000 cash prize. The Series Format Deck is an integral part to the pitch process and sale of your series. It…
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Caz Matthews Fund

Sponsored by Caz Matthews This fund supports independent television artists who are telling stories about diversity and inclusion, and whose creative teams support these values behind the scenes. Selected projects are presented with a donation from the Caz Matthews Fund. Caz seeks to identify and financially support independent filmmakers who have important stories to tell and the desire to both create…
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Best Pilot Awards

Sponsored by Company 3 This award presents four (4) “Best of” category winners with $25k each in in-kind post-production services. These awards intend to elevate a diverse group of independent storytellers by connecting them with industry-standard resources including finishing, color, sound, and visual effects.
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Inclusive Creator Fund

Sponsored by the Anna & John J. Sie and Global Down Syndrome Foundations This fund began in 2024 with a pledge of $10,000 to direct financial support toward television projects that include talent with intellectual disabilities in front of and/or behind the camera. The intent of the fund is to identify and elevate promising inclusive projects that showcase the contributions…
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Intersectionality Fund

Presented by Julie Mordecai and Sarah Sellman New for SeriesFest: Season 11 (2025), this fund aims to support a creative, or team, who identifies across a spectrum of social categories that shape their experiences—and the stories they would like to tell through television.
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Level Forward Impact Award

Sponsored by Abigail Disney’s Level Forward This award will be given to the episodic pilot and team who demonstrate, on top of their commitment to creative excellence, a thoughtful, thorough, and deliberate approach to using storytelling as a means of leveling the playing field for Women, Black, Indigenous, Latin, Asian, disabled, LGBTQIA+, geographically, socioeconomically, or otherwise diverse voices who have…
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