Putting the final touches on your Season 9 schedule? Here are some of the pilots our programmers are excited for you to see in-person starting Friday, May 5, through Wednesday, May 10! Buckle up for the SeriesFest: Season 9 Programmer Picks!
First, let’s meet the full programming team here at SeriesFest.
Left to right, top row to bottom: Breanna Washington, Claire Taylor (Director of Programming), Alex Mitchell (Storyteller’s Initiative Programmer Manager) Brian Brooks, Randi Kleiner (CEO, Co-Founder), Caleb Ward (Late Night Programmer), Lauren Grimshaw Sloan (Initiatives Producer), and Nicole Barker (Programming Manager). Now, let’s get into their selections!
My only note is that this pilot should probably be titled “I Am Legend” with names like Richard Kind, Karen Allen, and Peter Riegert. All jokes aside, watching these icons in a high-stakes crime story will certainly have audiences on the edge of their seats!
A lonely hitman from New York City travels to small towns around the country trying to find meaning in his inconsequential life as he fulfills his contracts and eliminates his targets. Learn more about the program and grab your tickets here!
Not only am I excited for audiences to see this adventurous, fresh, and downright fun pilot, but I’m even more excited to celebrate SeriesFest alumni Jocko Sims’ return to SeriesFest for his truly awesome directorial debut.
Having recently lost his father, Rogelio, 14, is an impressionable youth who thinks he’s ‘grown.’ After devising a way to sneak into a strip club with his friends Larry and Chaz, Ro will have to deal with the pressure of hiding this plan from the women who raised him while coping with recurring visions of his late father. Join us for Sims’ return to SeriesFest with members of the cast and crew in-person during our Independent Pilot Competition: Comedy Block 1.
Manimporphis is a mind-melting journey into the brains of mutated animals. It’s like taking mushrooms and talking to your dog for an hour and a half. 10/10 would recommend.
In Manimporphis, three laboratory animals gain the ability to morph into humans and join society where they quickly learn we’re all a bunch of animals. Our entire Late Night Competition Block is sure to please. Don’t miss out!
Stylish, sexy, and intriguingly funky, Rumors is not to be missed. The haunting underbelly of a small Italian town and its gritty residents hits curiously close to home.
Marco, a struggling photographer, Sofia, a student of ancient literature, and Lidia, a waitress and delivery rider, find out that their small city Arezzo is under the grip of a dark organization, possibly even involving those closest to them. In their quest to uncover the truth, they don’t realize that the reality is much different than what they had anticipated. Explore the full Independent Pilot Competition here.
Imagine a world where Humphrey Bogart wears Limited Too Tops and Lisa Frank reminiscent designs come to life on the big screen…all while tackling themes of queerness and being a woman. Mary Sette’s Hot Toddy is an eccentric, noir animated series for all audiences that is guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face.
Hot Toddy is a queer animated comedy and teeny-bopper whodunnit about two ex-BFFS and the buckets of blood between them, only some of which from their periods. Gather your girls and gays for Hot Toddy!
Within the first two minutes of watching Imposters, I was laughing hysterically based on the comedic timing. I wish there was another episode! It’s always great to see women-created and women-directed projects on our screens.
Imposters is a searing comedy that follows students at an elite university who find their college dreams in jeopardy when, in the wake of a frat hazing gone wrong, they are thrust into the center of a national scandal. Watch the trailer then grab your tickets!
Pitch-A-Thon is such a special event unique to SeriesFest. The pitchers in competition work diligently for weeks with their awesome pitch coach, Krista Gano of Working Artists Group, to make every second of their five minutes on stage count.
Our Pitch-A-Thon! 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 projects forward. Six series will have five minutes to pitch live to a panel of industry experts! Read the full project descriptions and then grab your ticket to support these creators!
A story that brings you into a community and a mystery while pulling you into another world! Sign me up! I was captivated from the beginning and I’m excited for us all to hear the live read of “Soul City” written by Lori Webster Fore and directed by Denzel Whitaker.
Get tickets for this special reading Monday, May 8, 2023.
