Learn More
Dates & Fees
Entry Materials
Awards & Prizes
Previous Winners
Previous Jury Members
Submission FAQs
This category is for the rule breakers!
Each year, the Digital Short Series Competition exhibits creatives who are telling episodic stories without the restriction of traditional run times. SeriesFest is looking to find and honor exciting new digital series with episodes under 15 minutes.
“SeriesFest really is the premier place to be if you care about episodic content.“
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland
Executive Director at SAG-AFTRA
KEY DATES & FEES
Submissions for SeriesFest: Season 11 open August 21, 2024.
Early Bird Deadline
10/21/24
Standard
$70
FilmFreeway Gold Member
$50
Student
$40
Regular Deadline
12/3/24
Standard
$90
FilmFreeway Gold Member
$70
Student
$60
Final Deadline
1/14/25
Standard
$120
FilmFreeway Gold Member
$100
Student
$75
Submissions are open, and listed prices are available through 11:59 PM (local time) on the date shown.
Certain projects that exhibit a commitment to engaging underrepresented communities may be eligible for our Inclusion Initiative Submission Fee Waiver. Learn more.
AWARDS & PRIZES
- Best of Digital Short Series
- Best Performance
- Best Director
- Best Writer
- Audience Award
- Creator To Watch Award
- Inclusivity Initiative Awards
- Outstanding Series Format Deck Award, presented by Canva
Winners will be determined by a jury of high-profile industry and talent during the annual festival. Winners are announced at our Awards Ceremony and are included on our website and in media announcements. View previous jury members and winners below.
Special Awards
INCLUSIVITY INITIATIVE AWARDS
This category is eligible for Inclusivity Initiative Awards including TheLevel Forward Impact Award, The Caz Matthews Fund, The Inclusive Creator Fund presented by the Anna & John J. Sie and the Global Down Syndrome Foundations, and The Intersectionality Fund. Theses awards will be given to the episodic projects and teams who demonstrate a thoughtful, thorough, and deliberate approach to using storytelling as a means of leveling the playing field for underrepresented people including women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and alternatively abled voices.
Learn more about our Inclusivity Initiative here.
Outstanding Series Format Deck Award, presented by Canva
SeriesFest is partnering with Canva, our Official Design Partner, to acknowledge the creativity and skill necessary to build the perfect series format deck. SeriesFest: Season 11 Official Selections and Storytellers Initiative Semi-Finalists who choose to create their series format decks on Canva will have the opportunity to win the award, which includes a $5,000 cash prize.
Learn more here.
ENTRY MATERIALS
Produced Digital Short pilot episode and subsequent episodes submitted via FilmFreeway’s Secure Online Screener system. Each episode must be under 15 minutes. Creators are encouraged to submit multiple episodes totaling no more than 20 minutes of run time. International productions are eligible.
Series Format Deck
All submissions must include a Series Format Deck—uploaded to the FilmFreeway application page under “Files & Attachments”.
View an example.
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 is essential to our review process, providing a clear and compelling way for us to understand your vision.
The Series Format Deck should be 2–15 pages, must be in English, and include the following:
- Log Line
- Pilot Synopsis
- Season One Outline
- Main Character Descriptions (Up to 5)
- For unscripted pilots, include 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 that includes: Why This Idea, Why Me, and Why Now?
If your submission is selected for final programming you will be required to submit more information regarding your pilot, cast, and crew so SeriesFest can maximize your experience with executives at the Festival in May. Full details will be sent to submissions selected for SeriesFest: Season 11 in an acceptance email by April 2025.
Not sure where to get started on your Series Format Deck? You don’t have to start from a blank page. Check out our template—created in Canva, and make it your own!
FilmFreeway Entry Fee
(see above)
Press Kit Material
Any available press kit material.
Please note, entry materials will not be returned
Previous Award Winners
Cooper’s Bar
SeriesFest: Season 7, 2021
Dreaming Whilst Black
SeriesFest: Season 6, 2020
Dick Bunny
SeriesFest: Season 10, 2024
Good Guy with a Pun
SeriesFest: Season 10, 2024
Frederick Douglass Boulevard aka Food & Drink Boulevard aka F.D.B.
SeriesFest: Season 9, 2023
Human Interest
SeriesFest: Season 5, 2019
Early to Rise
SeriesFest: Season 6, 2020
Freeze
SeriesFest: Season 6, 2020
If I’m Alive Next Week
SeriesFest: Season 6, 2020
Previous Jury Members
Kasey Newton
Director, Content Acquisitions & Partnerships Tubi
Jason Hiro Kim
Vice President Good Karma Productions
Julie Dejoie
Executive Producer Snowfall
Bruce Robertson
Chief Storyteller 11:11 Productions
Geneva Wasserman
EVP, Head of Film/TV Development Dentsu
Daryn Carp
Host PeopleTV’s Reality Check
Rob Yang
Actor Succession
Kuye Youngblood
General Manager BRIC TV
Thank you to our partners
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This category is for the rule-breakers!
Each year, the Digital Short Series Competition exhibits creatives who are telling episodic stories without the restriction of traditional run times. SeriesFest is looking to find and honor exciting new digital series with episodes under 15 minutes.
Submissions are Closed
Check out our Submission FAQs or email us at info@seriesfest.com.
Visit our page on FilmFreeway.
KEY DATES & FEES
OCT 01, 2023 | DEC 01, 2023 | JAN 11, 2024 | |
Standard | |||
FilmFreeway Gold Member | |||
Student |
AWARDS & PRIZES
Official Selections are up for the following awards:
- Best of Digital Short Series
- Best Performance
- Best Director
- Best Writer
- Audience Award
Winners will be determined by a jury of high-profile industry and talent during the annual festival. Awards are announced at our Awards Ceremony and will be included in our website and media announcements. Past jurors include David Person (IFC), Liz Shannon Miller (Collider), Kuye Youngblood (BricTV), Jose Acevedo (Comedy Central), and Brian Newman (Sub-Genre). Scroll down to see the complete list of last year’s jurors and winners.
INCLUSIVITY INITIATIVE AWARDS
This category is eligible for Inclusivity Initiative Awards including the Level Forward Impact Award, the Caz Matthews Fund, and the Inclusive Creator Fund presented by the Anna & John J. Sie and the Global Down Syndrome Foundations. Awards will be given to the episodic projects and teams who demonstrate a thoughtful, thorough, and deliberate approach to using storytelling as a means of leveling the playing field for underrepresented people including women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA and alternatively abled voices.
OUTSTANDING SERIES FORMAT DECK 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
Produced Pilot
Submitted via FilmFreeway’s Secure Online Screener system. Each episode must be under 15 minutes. Creators are encouraged to submit multiple episodes totaling 20 minutes of run time. International productions are eligible.
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)
- Tone of your series (can include no more than 2 comps)
- Producing Team
- Key Creatives
- Goals for your Series
- A Creator Statement that 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!
Press Kit Material
Any available press kit material
FilmFreeway Entry Fee
Please note, entry materials will not be returned
INCLUSION INITIATIVE WAIVER APPLICATION
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 and to celebrate a commitment to diversity and equity, including a waiver for submissions. Pilots applying for the Independent Pilot, Digital Short Series, Unscripted, and Lat Night competitions have the opportunity to apply for a submission waiver.
Season 9 Winners
FREDERICK DOUGLASS BOULEVARD AKA FOOD & DRINK BOULEVARD AKA F.D.B.
BEST DIRECTOR, BEST PERFORMANCE, BEST DRAMA:
Washington Kirk