SERIESFEST ANNOUNCES OFFICIAL COMPETITION, SPOTLIGHT SELECTIONS AND JURIES FOR FESTIVAL’S 11TH SEASON
THE PROGRAM WILL FEATURE OVER 50 TITLES ACROSS FIVE COMPETITION AND TWO SPOTLIGHT CATEGORIES
March 20, 2025 (Denver, CO) – SeriesFest announced the competition lineup and juries for the festival’s 11th season, featuring the best in independent episodic content. A standout group of international pilots will be screened at the festival April 29 – May 4. This season’s competition features notable talent including Mary Steenburgen (“Book Club”), Harvey Guillen (“What We Do in the Shadows”), Tauheed “2 Chainz” Epps (Grammy Winner), Omar Epps (“Power Book III: Raising Kanan”), Ann-Margret (“Viva Las Vegas”), Barry Bostwick (“The Rocky Horror Picture Show”), Roy Wood Jr. (“The Daily Show”), Rutina Wesley (“Queen Sugar”), Joanna Leeds (“NCIS”), Kate Burton (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Jackie Hoffman (“Only Murders in the Building”), Emil Wakim (“Saturday Night Live”), Shari Belafonte (“The Midnight Hour”), Vella Lovell (“Animal Control”), Michael Kosta (“The Daily Show”), Alysia Reiner (“Orange is the New Black”), Eric Roberts (“Runaway Train”), Milana Vayntrub (“This is Us”), Martin Kove (“Cobra Kai”) and more. SeriesFest has been the launching pad for over a dozen independent projects that later secured mainstream distribution.
“We believe this year’s selection encapsulates SeriesFest’s commitment to identifying, supporting, and celebrating the most promising voices in independent episodic storytelling from around the world,” says Claire Taylor, Chief Programming Officer of SeriesFest. “We are excited to share this season’s program with festival audiences and our esteemed jury members.”
In addition, SeriesFest announced the Season 11 juries of industry professionals, which include journalists, actors, directors, producers, and executives:
Independent Pilot Competition Juries:
“Drama” – John Horn (Entertainment Correspondent, NPR 1A), Annie Laks (Senior Vice President of Creative Content, Shondaland) and Jocko Sims (Actor, “Grosse Pointe Garden Society”)
“Comedy” – Elaine Low (Journalist, The Ankler), Eric C. Smith (Sr Talent Agent, TCA MGMT), Mayan Lopez (Actor, “Lopez vs. Lopez”) and Valerie Stadler (Partner / Producer, Big Swing Productions)
“Unscripted” – Kristen Baldwin (TV Critic, Entertainment Weekly), Olivia LaRoche (Head of Alternative, Roku Originals) and McKenna Stephens (Senior Director of Development, MFF&CO)
Digital Shorts/Late Night Jury: Mark Johnson (Journalist, The Contending), Oz Rodriguez (Author & Director, Saturday Night Live) and Laura Waters (Founder, Princess Pictures)
See the full list of participating pilots in alphabetical order by category below. Please find additional details for this year’s selected titles at https://seriesfest.com/festival/.
Independent Pilot: Drama (Competition)
BORN 2 LOSE (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Carlos Cardona
BURNS AND SONG (Zimbabwe, South Africa) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Tendayi Nyeke
CHASERS (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Erin Brown Thomas
DEARBORN (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Leila Bustami
JULES (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Tiffany Abney
LAKE BOGA (Australia) – World Premiere
Created by Ben Bryan and Nick Capper
THE REBEL GIRLS (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Felicia D Henderson
RED CLAY (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Tauheed “2 Chainz” Epps and Omar Epps
$HARE (Switzerland) – World Premiere
Created by Katja Meier
TAMING, OR LIFE IN A NOT-SO MODERN AGE (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Desean K. Terry
TWO BREATHS (USA, Hawai’i) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Kateryna Kurganska
Independent Pilot: Comedy (Competition)
BLISS TALENT (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Rachel Ravel
THE BUILDING MANAGER (Australia) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Nick Bartlett and Jake Blackman
BULLDOZER (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Joanna Leeds
CUMING OUT (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Jasmine J. Johnson
GOOD DAD (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Sebastian Ischer and Michael Kosta
THE INCREDIBLE FIANCÉES OF SÈYÍ ÀJÀYÍ (USA, Nigeria) – North America Premiere
Created by Abbesi Akhamie
LOFT AND FOUND (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Pete O’Hare and Zach Weiss
MR. CORRUPTION (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Simeon Hu and Stephen Law
RENEGADE FEVER (Canada) – United States Premiere
Created by Reamonn Joshee
SETTLE DOWN (Canada) – United States Premiere
Created by Alexander Nunez
WANDER WOMEN (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Scarlett Bress and Olivia Singer
Independent Pilot: Unscripted (Competition)
CANYON CHORUS (USA) – Denver Premiere
Created by Mikah Meyer
DENIM (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Tedra
HOW I MET MY PARTNER (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Gregg Stouffer
HIGH SCIENCE (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Ed Leclere, David McKillop and Patrick Hackett
PLAYERS–BEHIND THE LINEUP CARD (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Maximilian Selim and Giovanni Fumu
VS. GOLIATH (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Sam Eilertsen and Nate Birnbaum
Late Night (Competition)
BETTER LUCK THAN CHUCK (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Meredith Tummillo and Tony Wash
DEMON CHILD (Canada) – World Premiere
Created by Moniquea Marion
PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Michael Sallee
THE ROOMMATES (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Cameron Penn
SO DARK THE SKY (Canada) – World Premiere
Created by Kyle Thomas and Eric Rose
STARS DINER (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Mary Neely, and Tyler Walker
Digital Short Series (Competition)
AWOL (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Christian Henley and Joshua Patterson
BUSTED! (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Sarah Adelman, Emily Everhard, and Lisa Cossrow
CAVEWOMAN (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Christopher Rohrbeck
CENTAUR BABY (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Elvira Ibragimova
COUNTRY ROGUES (Northern Ireland) – North America Premiere
Created by Eoin Cleland and PJ Hart
COLLABORATE & LISTEN (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Rosie Moan and Cristy von
F*CKUPS ANONYMOUS (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Joe Tierney
FCBK (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Kanani Koster
HEAVY PETTING (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Lauren Gamiel
HECK TO DEATH (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Dustie Carter, Mike Dalton, Sam Biamonte, and Sami Blevins
MOTHEREARTH INC. (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Isabel Siragusa
R&R (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by JJ Herz
RAT CZAR (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Ana Bretón and Maggie Scudder
SPIT IT OUT (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by RAY SISTERS
WE SHOULD EAT (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Shaina Feinberg
Pitch-A-Thon (Spotlight)
GIMME SHELTER (USA)
Written by Chantal Woodyard and Peter Trinh
THE GROUP (USA)
Written by Stephen Graves
THE MERCY CAGE (USA)
Written by Cat Yudain and Makayla McIntosh
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ELFLUVR69? (USA)
Written by Lulenoxx
ZHIZHA (USA)
Written by Desdemona Chiang
Colorado Pilots In Progress (Spotlight)
BAD INDIAN (USA)
Created by Jeff Stonic and Joshua Emerson
SeriesFest’s commitment to supporting new voices has translated to success stories, such as Emmy Award-nominated “Cooper’s Bar,” a SeriesFest: Season 6 official selection, which is now in its second season. “Generation Por Que,“ also a SeriesFest: Season 6 official selection, was acquired by HBO and is now available to stream on HBO Max. Hulu acquired domestic distribution rights to the SeriesFest: Season 4 award-winning series “Everyone Is Doing Great” from James Lafferty and Stephen Colletti, who created and produced two seasons. Additionally, the winner of four awards at SeriesFest: Season 3, “Up North,” received a development deal from Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios. Creator Emil Pinnock is currently working on projects for Tradition Pictures with Kenan Thompson and is working up an original story for FUBU founder and Shark Tank investor Daymond John.
Now in its 11th season, SeriesFest was created to champion and discover innovative projects in the television industry. This year, from April 29 – May 4, the non-profit organization will host a wide array of programs including scripted, unscripted and late night pilot competitions, exclusive screenings, series premieres, panels, and workshops. As previously announced, comedian Amy Schumer will open the festival with a one-night-only headline performance at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Additional programming details will be announced soon.
SeriesFest: Season 11 promises to be a memorable celebration of creativity, diversity, and innovation in episodic storytelling. Please visit seriesfest.com for a full schedule of events. Festival badges granting access to SeriesFest on April 29 – May 4, and tickets for the April 3rd “Fashion In Focus” event can be purchased at seriesfest.com. Tickets for the festival’s opening night event with Amy Schumer & Friends can also be purchased separately through AXS.com.
SeriesFest: Season 11 is presented with generous support from the following sponsors: Canva, Once Upon A Time Productions, Liberty Global, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Denver Film, Caz Matthews, Xfinity, and United Airlines, along with generous support from the SCFD.
###
ABOUT SERIESFEST
SeriesFest, a non-profit organization, champions and empowers artists at the forefront of episodic storytelling by providing year-round opportunities for creators and industry professionals to connect, collaborate, and share stories, which inspire and impact global audiences. Each spring, SeriesFest culminates in a highly-curated and celebrated Denver-based festival and marketplace. Dedicated to showcasing innovative episodic content, the annual festival includes in-competition independent pilot screenings, panels, workshops, live reads, parties and network television premieres. Follow @SeriesFest on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
Publicity Contact: Ginsberg / Libby, GLSF@ginsberglibby.com
For General Inquiries: info@seriesfest.com
E-Newsletter Sign-up: HERE
