SERIESFEST ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL SPECIAL EVENTS, SCREENINGS AND PANELS ROUNDING OUT SEASON FOUR SLATE INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION FESTIVAL SET IN DENVER, COLORADO, JUNE 22-27

SERIESFEST ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL SPECIAL EVENTS, SCREENINGS AND PANELS ROUNDING OUT SEASON FOUR SLATE

INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION FESTIVAL SET IN DENVER, COLORADO, JUNE 22-27

Industry Leaders Ben Silverman and Mike Fries, Actors Janet Montgomery, Jocko Sims, Heidi Gardner, Santiago Cabrera, Charlie Rowe, Melia Kreiling, Wes Bentley and More to Participate

SeriesFest Diverse Jury to Feature Award-Winning Talent, Journalists, Producers, Artists for Pilot Competition

Denver, Colorado, June 22, 2018—In anticipation of the fourth annual international television festival, SeriesFest, June 22-27 in Denver, Colorado, organizers today unveiled new additions to its previously announced lineup.  CBS’ Salvation and Sony Crackle’s SuperMansion: Summer Special are on the docket as well as new cast in attendance, Jocko Sims and Janet Montgomery from NBC’s New Amsterdam. Also new to the line-up is “Morning Coffee with Television’s Game Changers,” featuring Ben Silverman, CEO of Propagate Media and Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global leading a conversation about the evolving national and international television marketplace.

Joining the previously announced roster of special events including the world premiere of NBC’s New Amsterdam on Opening Night, Red Rocks Amphitheatre debut by Grammy Award winning Lady Antebellum and world premiere of the Facebook Watch series Sacred Lies will be the season two premiere screening of CBS’ Salvation followed by a skype Q&A with stars Santiago Cabrera, Charlie Rowe, Melia Kreiling live from the set; and the world premiere of new original from Sony Crackle’s Emmy-nominated franchise, SuperMansion: Summer Special followed by a Q&A with voice actor, Heidi Gardner (Saturday Night Live) Tucker Gilmore (“Frozen”) and creator, executive producer, writer and voice actor, Zeb Wells (Stoopid Buddy Stoodios). Other new talent includes Wes Bentley, one of the stars of Paramount Network’s Yellowstone which will be screened at Red Rocks just ahead of the musical performance.

SeriesFest raises the bar on important conversations with notable executives participating on workshops this season providing opportunities for emerging voices. Creative workshops providing insight and invaluable takeaway for young, emerging creatives led by seasoned television executives throughout the six days including “Art of the Pitch,” “VR Creation,” “SAG-AFTRA New Media Contracts.”  As well as the second annual “Pitch-A-Thon” presented in partnership with 21st Century Fox Global Inclusion, that is part of SeriesFest’s “Year of Impact” focusing on highlighting creators with diverse backgrounds. Independent Content Creators will have the chance to participate in an exclusive live pitch session with top television, new media and digital execs with the winner awarded $1,000.

As trailblazers in cultivating new voices and keeping with the landscape’s move into virtual reality, SeriesFest will showcase eight original VR programs throughout the festival including several from Doctors Without Borders / Medecins Sans Frontieres in partnership with East Coast Digital, “MSF Forced From Home: Lebanon” and “Mohammed and Ismail’s Journey: A Story from the Rohingya Exodus” and Google Jump Start including “Strangers” and “Leaving/Letting Go.”

“This year’s roster brings bigger and bolder events and conversations,” comments Founder & CEO, Randi Kleiner. “This is going to be an amazing celebration that brings together creatives and visionaries from all over the world who are passionate about the evolution of content that is both ambitious and entertaining.”

SeriesFest has curated a group of prestigious industry professionals including award-winning actors, journalists, producers, artists and festival executives to judge the international pilot competition including 56 titles from nine countries. The esteemed jury includes:

Independent Pilot Competition: for “drama,” Chris McDonald (Actor/Thelma & Louise, Happy Gilmore), Estelle (Grammy Award-winning musician) and Mark Rabinowitz (co-founder IndieWire); for “comedy,” Laura Fischer (CEO, Powderkeg), James Fauntleroy (Singer, Grammy Award-winning songwriter), Chaka Pilgrim (producer and President of Roc Nation Records).

Late Night: Betsy Sodaro (Actor/comedian in Netflix's “Disjointed” and Funny or Die), Suki-Rose Simakis (Creative Executive, SpectreVision and Everything is Festival), and Chris Osborn (Creator of “D E E P”).

Digital Shorts: Ajay Kishore (Founder of Stareable), David Pearson (Creative Executive in Original Programming, IFP), and Rebecca Agbe (VP, Programming & Acquisitions, Sony Crackle).

“These jurors bring an invaluable perspective to the competition, and festival. Over the course of the event, they will be making some difficult decisions choosing from such a stellar list of projects.  We are so grateful to them for joining us,” said Kaily Smith Westbrook, CCO of SeriesFest.

In addition to pilots from around the globe, in partnership with Liberty Global, SeriesFest puts the spotlight on seven international series including award-winning programs and five that are making their U.S. debut. Titles include an Official Berlinale Series 2018 selection, Home Ground (Norway) and MIPTV 2018 selection, Mystery Road (Australia).

NEW SCREENINGS & PANELS: (FULL Schedule Here)

SALVATION (CBS; Premieres June 25, 2018)-SPECIAL EVENT

Skype Q&A: Stars Santiago Cabrera, Charlie Rowe, Melia Kreiling

Friday, June 23, 5:45PM-6:45PM

Salvation is a suspense thriller that centers on Liam Cole, an MIT grad student, and Darius Tanz, a tech superstar, who bring Pentagon official Grace Barrows a staggering discovery – that an asteroid is just six months away from colliding with Earth. In season two, the secret is out – the world learns the truth about the impending threat of an asteroid on a collision course with earth. The question is: will the truth bring out the best...or the worst in us? The answer, of course, is both. CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout; Creators: Liz Kruger & Craig Shapiro; Executive Producers: Liz Kruger, Craig Shapiro, Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Stuart Gillard, Grace Gilroy & Peter Lenkov; Director: Stuart Gillard; Writers: Liz Kruger & Craig Shapiro; Cast: Santiago Cabrera, Jennifer Finnigan, Ian Anthony Dale, Charlie Rowe, Jacqueline Byers, Melia Kreiling and Ashley Thomas; USA, 42m

SUPERMANSION: SUMMER VACATION SPECIAL (Sony Crackle; Premieres August 16)-WORLD PREMIERE

In Attendance: Heidi Gardner, Voice Actor, Tucker Gilmore, Voice Actor, Zeb Wells, Co-Creator, EP, Writer, Voice Actor and Alex Kramer, Director

Saturday, June 23, 4pm-5:15pm

SuperMansion: Summer Vacation Special! The team heads to Hawaii where Titanium Rex (Bryan Cranston) runs into a vacationing former President Barack Obama (Jay Pharoah), Black Saturn (Tucker Gilmore) and Lex (Jillian Bell) teach Cooch (Heidi Gardner) how to swim, and American Ranger (Keegan-Michael Key) attempts to perform in a USO show while an evil threat brews under the sea.

MORNING COFFEE WITH TELEVISION’S GAME CHANGERS

Monday, June 25, 10:30am-11:30am

SeriesFest is excited to present an unique conversation with two top industry executives, Ben Silverman, CEO of Propagate Media and Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global. Join us for an in-depth conversation as they discuss the evolving national and international television marketplace and how they lead their companies to be on the forefront in changing the way we access and consume content around the world. This is a conversation not to be missed.

INTERNATIONAL SERIES:

Home Ground (Heimebane)

Presented by NRK

Creators: Johan Fasting

Director: Arild Andresen, Cecilie A. Mosli, Stian Kristiansen, Yngvild Sve Flikke & Eirik Svensson

Producers: Vegard Stenberg Eriksen (NRK), Yngve Sæther (Motlys), & Vilje Kathrine Hagen

Writers: Johan Fasting, Christian Almerud Owe, Linn-Jeanethe Kyed, & Erlend Loe

Cast: Ane Dahl Torp, John Carew, Axel Bøyum, & Emma Bones

Norway, 102 minutes (2 episodes)

Premiere Status: US Premiere

Awards & Selections: Official Selection Berlinale Series 2018

Episode 1: 49:09

Episode 2: 52:22

Helena Mikkelsen leaves her successful women’s football team to become the first female coach of a Norwegian premier league men’s team. She wages a fight against ingrained bias, and is out to prove that women are every bit as good as men. She moves to the scenic, industrial town of Ulsteinvik, where all the people care about Varg Football Club, to take on the job as head coach - a job only a few people believe she can do, and a lot of people want her to fail at. She is struggling to balance a life as a single mom with her teenage daughter on the home field, in order to get optimal results on the football field.

Ane Dahl Torp, known from the internationally acclaimed movie The Wave, plays the role as Helena. She encounters strong resistance from several main characters, including Michael, a soccer pro, played by the former Premier League star John Carew, in a role that has parallels to his own life as a European soccer pro having competed in the Champions League Finals.

Under Pressure

Presented by TV Globo

Creators: Jorge Furtado

Director: Andrucha

Producers: Conspiração Filmes, Estudios Globo, and Ana Gabriela

Writers: Jorge Furtado

Cast: Julio Andrade

Brazil, 96:04, 2 episodes

Premiere Status: US Premiere

Under Pressure is a unique and truly hardcore version of the medical drama. It follows a brave medical team from a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro whose structure is dangerously precarious. This extremely realistic and action-packed show manages to make a strong criticism of the political and administrative disregard of which the Brazilian health system is a victim, without ceasing to entertain.

Ku’damm 59

Presented by ZDF Enterprises

Creators: Nico Hofmann & Benjamin Benedict

Director: Sven Bohse

Producers:  Marc Lepetit, Nico Hofmann, Benjamin Benedict

Writers: Anette Hess

Cast: Sonja Gerhardt, Claudia Michelsen, Maria Ehrich, Emilia Schüle, Sabin Tambrea, & Trystan Pütter

Germany, 90m

Premiere Status: US Premiere

Written by acclaimed author and creative producer Annette Hess, the sequel to the successful three-part mini-series Ku’damm 56 keeps its focus on the image of contemporary women during the time of the Wirtschaftswunder and plenty of rock’n roll. We return to the Schöllack family three years later in Berlin, where matriarch Caterina Schöllack (Claudia Michelsen), the proprietor of a dance school, lives with her three very different daughters, who are searching for their identity on the brink of a new era of female empowerment.

The Typist

Presented by Beta Film

Director: Nina Grosse & Samira Radsi

Producers: Oliver Berben & Jan Ehlert

Cast: Iris Berben, Peter Kurth, Moritz Bleibtreu, Katharina Schlothauer

Germany, 60m

Premiere Status: US Premiere

Freya is a veteran typist who is tasked with protocolling police interrogations. She is living a secluded life, haunted by the accounts of violent crimes - and the disappearance of her daughter Marie 11 years ago. When a similar case occurs, Freya resolves to finally find out what happened on her own.

The Miracle

Presented by FremantleMedia

Creators:  Niccolò Ammaniti

Director: Niccolo Ammaniti, Francesco Munzi & Lucio Pellegrini

Producers: Sky Italia, Wildside, ARTE France, Kwaï,  Mario Gianani & Lorenzo Mieli

Writers:Niccolò Ammaniti, Francesca Manieri, Francesca Marciano, Stefano Bises

Cast: Guido Caprino, Elena Lietti, Lorenza Indovina, Sergio Albelli, with the participation of Alba Rohrwacher & Tommaso Ragno in the role of “Marcello”

Italy/France, 107m (2 Episodes)

During a raid in a mafia boss’ hideout, a plastic statuette of a Madonna that sheds tears of blood is found. There’s no answer to the mystery, but the power of the enigma brings madness to everyone who comes into contact with it, changing the direction of their lives forever.

On The Spectrum

Presented by YES Studios

Creators: Dana Idisis & Yuval Shafferman

Director: Yuval Shafferman

Producers: Ron Eilon, Danna Stern, Koby Gal Raday, Dganit Atias Gigi, Udi Segal, Shlomit Arviv, & Amit Gitelzon

Writers: Dana Idisis

Cast: Niv Majar, Naomi Levov, & Ben Yosipovich

Israel, 60m

Premiere Status: Colorado Premiere

Awards & Selections: Tribeca Film Festival 2018

Three roommates in their mid-late twenties, all on the autistic spectrum, share a sheltered apartment, and are learning to cope with the world around them. On The Spectrum allows glimpses into the intricate lives of young autistic adults and offers their unique view and interpretation of day-to-day life.

Mystery Road

Presented by all3media International

Creators: Michaeley O'Brien

Director: Rachel Perkins

Producers: Sally Riley, Ivan Sen, Greer Simpkin, & David Jowsey

Writers: Michaeley O'Brien

Cast: Aaron Pedersen & Judy Davis

Australia, 105m

Premiere Status: Colorado Premiere

Awards & Selections: MIPTV 2018

When two young farm workers go missing from an outback cattle station, Indigenous detective Jay Swan is sent to a remote town to uncover the mystery. Jay thinks it will be a simple three day job, but it soon becomes clear the teenagers didn’t just wander off and get lost.

CREATIVE WORKSHOPS:

Pitch-A-Thon!

Presented in partnership with 21st Century Fox Global Inclusion
Lead by: Gabriele Capolino (IFP)
Panelists:  Tamir Muhammad (Time Warner), Rachel Osborne (High Noon), Evan Shapiro (Producer), Liz Kelly (Manager, Production & Development Labs - Film & TV, Global Inclusion at 21st Century Fox), Denise Hewett (Founder and CEO, Scriptd)

SeriesFest and 21st Century Fox Global Inclusion are proud to present our second annual Pitch-A-Thon! As part of our Year of Impact, the Pitch-a-thon will focus on inclusion by highlighting creators with diverse backgrounds. Here’s how it works: Independent Content Creators will have the opportunity participate in an exclusive live pitch session with top television, new media and digital execs in hopes of moving their projects – and careers – forward. 10-14 projects will be grouped in threes according to genre (drama or comedy). Each Creator will have five minutes to pitch. An industry panel of experts seated on stage will then have 7 minutes to give their feedback to each group. The Best Pitch will be awarded a cash prize of $1,000!

The Art of the Pitch

Presented by: Roadmap Writers

Lead by: Jorge Gonzalez & Briana Hansen

Pitching your TV show is an integral part of getting your show developed. Join us for this workshop, in which Roadmap Writers will discuss the do's and don'ts of pitching TV. Creators will have an opportunity to ask RoadMap questions and actually pitch live during the workshop to apply what they have learned!

VR Creation

Presented by: East Coast Digital

Lead by: Stina Hamlin

Lead by East Coast Digital VR Director and Post Producer Stina Hamlin, this collaborative learn-by-doing workshop will put Virtual Reality cameras in the hands of participants to create a 360 film. Participants will learn the basics of 360 filmmaking and get a first-hand understanding of immersive storytelling through a series of fun and challenging “missions.”

Roundtable Sessions

Roundtables Hosted By: Powderkeg, SuperDeluxe, FilmBank, The Orchard, OBB Pictures, Elysium Bandini Studios, IFP

SeriesFest’s inaugural Roundtable Session brings together Season 4 content creators and industry experts to discuss a range of topics including funding, development, distribution, marketing, and sales. Industry experts will spend 10 minutes at each table before rotating. This exclusive event will last approximately 70 minutes.

Don’t Quit Your Day Dream

Lead by: Laura Van Holt

Before you live the dream, you need to build the vision! Based on a proven state-of-the-art methodology, taken from Stanford University Master's Degree Course, "Creativity in Business", which has revolutionized the art of success, this acclaimed workshop is everything you need to start building the startup of you. Attendees will practice powerful techniques to silence your inner critic, get comfortable with change, and discover what is blocking you from reaching your highest potential. This workshop is designed to teach you how to get out of your own way and leave you with a set of essential tools to grow, prosper and become your most impactful self.

What's Next? (People, Package & Pitch)

Presented by: Unleashing Giants & Friends

Lead by:  Emil Pinnock, Ian Robertson & Damaine Radcliff

So, you've shot your pilot and screened at SeriesFest... what's next? The team behind SeriesFest: Season 3’s award-winning pilot, Up North, returns for an indepth look into the next steps creators should prepare for when looking to launch their television series. Emil Pinnock, Ian Robertson and Damaine Radcliff will lead the interactive workshop on what they've found are the 3 most important areas to prepare for - the People, the Package and the Pitch.

SAG-AFTRA New Media Contract Workshop

Presented by: SAG-AFTRA

Lead by: Kiley Cristiano (Television and New Media Entertainment Contracts, SAG-AFTRA Business Representative)

Are you interested in producing a Web Series, Podcast, or Feature for an online platform? Do you have questions about the rates, terms and conditions of the 2017 New Media Agreement? If you are creating or planning to create a dramatic or non-dramatic entertainment program for initial release on a new media platform, don’t miss this informative workshop led by SAG-AFTRA Staff.

VIRTUAL REALITY

MSF Forced From Home: Lebanon

Creators: Negin Allamehzadeh

Organization:  Doctors Without Borders / Medecins Sans Frontieres in partnership with East Coast Digital

Beirut's Shatila camp was built in 1949 for 3,000 Palestinian refugees, but now hosts up to 40,000 people, including an influx of newly displaced Syrians. Appalling conditions and bleak prospects for the future leave families longing for their lost homes. Three generations of the Afifi family describe how the camp has evolved into an urban slum over decades, while a newly arrived Syrian father recounts the shelling and destruction of his home shortly after fleeing Syria with his four young children.

Mohammed and Ismail’s Journey: A Story from the Rohingya Exodus

Creators: Melissa Pracht

Organization: Doctors Without Borders / Medecins Sans Frontieres in partnership with East Coast Digital

Mohammed and his family awoke one morning to the sound of gunfire in their village in Myanmar. The father of three describes how his son Ismail went from having a relatively normal life playing soccer with his friends, to trekking through rain-drenched forests to escape Myanmar, and falling sick with diphtheria while trying to settle into life at a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Mohammed and Ismail’s story echoes those of some 700,000 other Rohingya, members of an ethnic Muslim minority forced to flee their homes and their country following a violent campaign by the Myanmar military starting in August 2017. They join hundreds of thousands of other Rohingya people in Bangladesh, uprooted by earlier cycles of violence and persecution.

Into the Now

Creator: Michael Muller & Michael Smith

Into the Now is a stereoscopic VR documentary focused on marine life and ocean conservation told through the internal journey of director Michael Muller.

Muller discovers while facing a lifelong fear of sharks, the tranquility and peace of mind that is possible when submerged underwater engaged with these curious creatures.

Space Explorers

Creators: Felix Lajeunnesse, Paul Raphael, Ryan Horrigan, Stephane Rituit

Organization: Felix & Paul

A New Dawn is a cinematic VR series about the new age of space exploration. Witness the lives of NASA astronauts as they navigate the trials and sacrifices of their training and missions. Explore the camaraderie of space programs around the world, and discover the latest advancements and plans for deep space exploration.

Strangers

Creators: Romain Vakilitbar and Scott Lynch

Organization: Google Jump Start

Strangers, a 9-minute 360º piece, places audience in the shoes of 3 American mothers who feel invisible to the country - a refugee, a rural farmer, and a racial justice activist. Their idiosyncratic lives converge with the shared feeling of living in the country's shadows.

Leaving / Letting Go

Creators:  Fitz Cahall and Isaiah Branch-Boyle, Duct Tape Then Beer

Organization: Google Jump Start

Leaving/Letting Go follows a young motorcyclist on a journey to let go of his past.

Marie Antoinette VR

Creators:  Carol Liu

Organization: Google Jump Start

Marie Antoinette VR is a time travel fantasy that takes audiences back to 18th century France in vivid 360 3D detail. Marie Antoinette invites you on an epic journey inside her memories. From child queen of Versailles to her untimely death, experience her dramatic story as she lived it. VR will reshape your assumptions of this controversial woman, who never actually said, "Let them eat cake.”

The Red Wolf Project

Creators:  Lizzie Warren

Organization: Google Jump Start

The Red Wolf Project, currently in demo form, is a 360 video that takes you inside a pack of critically endangered red wolves. Be immersed in their habitat and get a sense of their personalities and dynamics as the family interacts with one another, and the camera, during feeding time. Housed under a Species Survival Plan (SSP) at the Wolf Conservation Center in New York, red wolves are vanishingly rare and subject increasing environmental and political pressures: Their survival is far from assured.

ABOUT SERIESFEST

The award-winning international television festival SeriesFest (www.seriesfest.com) has become a must-attend destination event for entertainment industry leaders and fans alike since its launch in 2014. Season four of the Denver, Colorado-based festival returns June 22-27, 2018.  A celebration of compelling and creative content, SeriesFest is a global marketplace and community for creators, industry professionals and audiences. At a time when television is expanding and evolving like never before, the festival provides an opportunity to showcase a diverse range of original programming. This year’s festival will celebrate “The Year of Impact” with a musical performance and network premiere at the unique Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and six full days of in-competition screenings (categories include “Independent Pilot,” “Digital Short Series,” and “Late Night”), panels, workshops, as well as never-before-seen sneak peeks and television premieres.