Each season, the Pitch-A-Thon! highlights the art of the pitch with a live event where content creators participate in an exclusive live and in person pitch session. Selected Creators have 5 minutes to pitch to a panel of television experts, in front of an audience. Pitched projects must be strictly in the script phase (unproduced).
Netflix CCO Ted Sarandos spoke to the importance of fine-tuning your pitch during his SeriesFest: Season 5 Innovation Talk:
“I love that you have pitch sessions here because that is the one thing they don’t teach you in film school, they don’t teach you in college and it turns out to be probably the most important function of creating a show and getting it on the air is this 30 to 60 minute meeting that you’ll have with a programmer that you will be able to passionately sell. And it’s a real sales job and you either close or you don’t in the room mostly.”
Ted Sarandos, Netflix CCO
SUBMISSIONS
Please carefully review the deadlines, material requirements, and guidelines listed below and on our FilmFreeway page. Fill out your applications and get your projects in before the final deadline. Have questions? Check out our Submission FAQs or email us at info@seriesfest.com.
WORKSHOP
In the weeks leading up to SeriesFest, creators selected for the Pitch-A-Thon! , will participate in a two part virtual workshop to hone their pitch skills. Creators will be paired with an industry mentor as well as participate in an exclusive workshop led by the Working Artists Group.
KEY DATES & FEES
| Early-Bird Deadline OCT 01, 2023 | Regular Deadline DEC 01, 2023 | Final Deadline JAN 11, 2024 | |
| Standard | $35 | $45 | $65 |
| FilmFreeway Gold Member | $25 | $35 | $50 |
| Student | $15 | $20 | $40 |
AWARDS & PRIZES
One (1) Round Trip Domestic flight to SeriesFest will be offered to selected Pitchers
Winner is decided by a panel of experts following the live event during SeriesFest: Season 10
The winning pitch will receive a cash prize of $2,500 sponsored by the Royal Bank of Canada
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
Pilot Script
Pitch Video
3-5 minute video submission of Creator(s) pitching their project
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 and include the following:
- Log Line
- Pilot Synopsis
- Season One Outline
- Main Character Descriptions (Up to 5)
- For unscripted pilots, 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 which includes Why This Idea, Why Me, and Why Now?
Not sure where to get started on your Series Format Deck? You don’t have to start from a blank page. Check out the SERIESFEST – APPROVED TEMPLATE created in Canva. Personalize it, and make it your own!
Entry Fee
Please note, entry materials will not be returned
Previous Winners
AMY JANES
HONKERS
In a small country town comedy, Twyla, our uber-manicured, totally spoiled suburban house-wife, struggles to maintain her flawless status while reviving her recently deceased husband’s dilapidated auto shop and building a family of woman-chanics that becomes the heartbeat of a community she once rejected.
HAROLD ABRAMS
GRAVE AFFAIRS
A disgraced funeral planner returns home to redeem her tarnished reputation and reclaim her dominance in the serious and sometimes funny death business.
BRITTANY BALLARD
THE DEATH DOULA
When Shay, a seasoned Labor and Delivery Nurse, fails to prevent the traumatic loss of a Black birthmother, she strikes out on her own to forge a new path as a Death Doula.
Season 8 Jury
Jon Vandergriff
Writer, Producer
Lu Law
Founder, Dilettante Productions
Aaliyah Williams
Founder & Producer, Just A Rebel Productions
Sponsored by Dilettante Productions
Dilettante Productions has produced independent projects for film and television since 2008, including Love In The Time Of Cholera, starring Javier Bardem, and most recently Apartment 212. Projects in development include an episodic series about the groundbreaking science of Edwin Hubble, a reality show starting young Capitol Hill staffers and a world travelogue of musical genres. Dilettante’s features have all earned a theatrical release and continue to be available across all platforms.
Sponsored by Working Artists Group
Working Artist Group (or WAG), was created in 2014 by expert industry insider, Krista Gano, as an umbrella brand that encompasses all elements necessary for a professional career in the entertainment industry. Offering Business of Acting classes, coaching services, and specialized workshops, it is a one-stop shop for the needs of the working artist and a trusted seal among casting directors, producers, directors and agencies. Krista has spent a career working and advising within every aspect of the industry and has a keen understanding of how the business works.
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