At the heart of its mission, SeriesFest champions and empowers artists in episodic storytelling to share their stories on a global scale. SeriesFest proudly presents year-round opportunities for creators to connect, collaborate, hone their craft, and learn from established industry professionals to move their projects – and careers – forward.
Check out our independent pilot competitions, scriptwriting competitions, and student education initiatives for additional opportunities to cultivate your episodic storytelling craft.
Coming to a city near you: This program provides independent content creators with an opportunity to participate in an exclusive live pitch session with top television, new media, and digital executives in hopes of moving their un-produced episodic projects forward!
A scholarship to the Stephens College M.F.A. in Television and Screenwriting for women over 45 ABOUT THE JAN MARINO SCHOLARSHIP SeriesFest is honored to partner with the Stephens College M.F.A. in Television and Screenwriting for the third year on the Jan Marino Scholarship, designed to support women over 45 who are students in the Stephens College M.F.A. in Television and Screenwriting program. Named to…
Sponsored by Company 3—Four “Best of” category winners will be presented 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.
As a celebration of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, SeriesFest has partnered with passionate individuals and organizations to connect Official Selections with additional funding.Projects demonstrating 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…
Sponsored by Caz Matthews—This fund was established to celebrate the projects working intentionally to tell stories and build teams that celebrate cultural richness and nuanced mosaic of our global society. It provides a one-time donation to help projects continue to make a positive impact on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the television landscape.
Presented by Julie Mordecai and Sarah Sellman—The purpose of this fund is to identify and financially support independent creators who have important stories to tell that positively impact and image their communities, and to further promote the role of intersectionality in the creation of meaningful stories.
Presented by the Anna & John J. Sie Foundation in partnership with the Global Down Syndrome Foundation—This fund champions and amplifies inclusive storytelling by investing in promising projects that highlight the creative contributions of talent with intellectual disabilities in the development of original episodic content.
Since 2020, SeriesFest’s Executive Elevation Mentorship Program has fostered enriching connections between executive mentors and aspiring leaders—who are all people of color. The program aims to increase the diversity of leadership circles in the television industry by bringing together the most passionate leaders and rising stars to invest in a more equitable workplace.
SeriesFest and Shondaland are honored to partner on our seventh cycle of the Women Directing Mentorship: A competition designed to discover aspiring female directors with unique voices and provide a launchpad for their careers. Founded in 2019, The Women Directing Mentorship is anchored by the prestigious opportunity to shadow a director on an episode of a Shondaland original series.
Inclusivity Initiative: From Start to Screen Pilots applying for the Independent Pilot, Digital Short Series, Late Night, and Collegiate Spotlight competitions have the opportunity to apply for a waiver submission. SeriesFest, in partnership with the Royal Bank of Canada, is launching a sequence of opportunities to make our festival more accessible for all content creators.
SeriesFest and Shondaland are proud to have partnered for the past four years on the Women Directing Mentorship — a competition designed to discover aspiring female directors with a unique voice and provide a launchpad for their career. The Women Directing Mentorship is anchored with the prestigious opportunity to shadow a director for an episode of a Shondaland original series and a $5,000 stipend to use during the duration of their mentorship.
This is Your Call to Adventure! SeriesFest has partnered with Call To Adventure Media on an exciting professional development opportunity for emerging writers in independent episodic television. SeriesFest will invite writers to participate in a three-day workshop led by Call to Adventure Media with the goal of honing their pilot script and getting it pitch-ready.
Caz Matthews is a Colorado-based supporter of SeriesFest and of the independent creators of television content who show their projects at the annual SeriesFest. In particular, Caz has an interest in providing funding to projects in which diversity stereotypes and unfavorable characterization of minority groups are dispelled.
The Executive Elevation Mentorship aims to diversify the landscape of television’s top decision-makers. Fellows will be paired with top television, new media, and digital executives of color in hopes of moving their projects — and careers — forward. As part of our mission, SeriesFest will curate a dedicated group of mentors and mentees to spark change in the landscape of the tv/film/media industry at the leadership level.
SeriesFest is honored to partner with the Stephens College M.F.A. in Television and Screenwriting for the third year on the Jan Marino Scholarship, designed to support women over 45 who are students in the Stephens College M.F.A. in Television and Screenwriting program. Named to honor author Jan Marino, the mother of M.F.A. student Betsy Marino Leighton, the scholarship nurtures the power of strong, independent female storytelling in television and film.
SeriesFest is partnering with Janelle Monáe and Wondaland Productions to discover episodic content featuring radical and rebellious stories. The script competition provides artists the opportunity to share diverse ideas through visual media and create groundbreaking television. The winner will have the opportunity to develop the winning project with Wondaland.
At the core of good stories is good writing. Presented in partnership with the Cherokee Film and Green Pastures Studios, our Storytellers Initiative is a scriptwriting competition designed to discover and celebrate exciting new series through exceptional scripts that present a strong point of view and bold characters. Writers are invited to submit their pilot script for a chance to participate in a writers’ workshop, a live read of their script with professional actors, and a chance for their pilot to be developed, financed, & produced by Green Pastures Studios.
Coming to a city near you: This program provides independent content creators with an opportunity to participate in an exclusive live pitch session with top television, new media, and digital executives in hopes of moving their unproduced episodic projects forward!
Designed to enlighten emerging voices as they get their foot in the door, and inspire those already there. Our founders and hosts Randi Kleiner and Kaily Smith are joined by guests at the forefront of episodic storytelling to give you the inside scoop.
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