Tuesday, March 27, 2007

BANFF: Pitch it! 100.000 prize!

Over $100,000 in development money and a host of new, internationally-funded pitching programs will be offered in partnership with Canadian, U.K. and U.S. broadcasters at the 28th Banff World Television Festival (BWTVF) this year in Banff, Canada, from June 10-June 13, including a US$10,000 prize sponsored by The N.

Canadian partners who continue to offer financial sponsorship of pitch programs include CTV, and the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund. CTV Inc. is once again sponsoring the CTV Canadian Documart pitch, with $60,000 in development funding to be awarded to the top three documentary pitches, while the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund returns to present iPitch 2007 with a $10,000 development prize. The winner and runner up of this year’s iPitch will also win scholarships and tuition to the Banff Centre’s New Media Institute’s Interactive Screen Program, valued at $5,500.

As part of the festival’s all-new Pitch It! program, the best pitch in the Youth Drama category will receive a US$10,000 prize that is sponsored by the New-York based, nighttime network for teens, the N. The winner of the Youth Drama pitch will also receive a $5,000 motion picture film product grant as the prize for this year’s Audience Choice Award, which is provided by returning sponsor Kodak Canada Inc. UKTV Style, one of multi-channel provider UKTV’s 10 channels, will sponsor the £5,000 cash development prize for the best pitch in the Pitch It! Lifestyle category, and the best pitch in the Comedy category will receive a $10,000 prize that is sponsored by CTV Inc.’s Comedy Network in Canada. For the first time, the U.S. network fox 21 is also offering a development deal, for the winner of its reality pitch.

In addition, selected pitch finalists will have the opportunity to turn their concepts into productions when they pitch their ideas to commissioning editors before a live audience in a career-making moment.

“Banff is excited that so many high-profile broadcasters have come onboard to support our pitch competition,” commented Jennifer Harkness, BWTVF’s director of content.