Thursday, May 30, 2019

SERIESFEST ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL PILOT COMPETITION SELECTIONS & JURY FOR SEASON 5




SERIESFEST: SEASON 5 ANNOUNCES OFFICIAL SELECTIONS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL PILOT COMPETITIONS AND ESTEEMED JURY MEMBERS

53 Titles from Diverse Voices to Compete in ‘Digital Short Series,’ ‘Independent Pilot,’ and ‘Late Night’ Categories

SeriesFest: Season 5 Jury to Feature Award-Winning Talent, Journalists, Executives and Producers

Winners of SeriesFest’s “Storytellers Initiative” Announced

Television and Content Festival to Take Place in Denver, CO on June 21-26, 2019

Denver, CO (May 29, 2019) SeriesFest, the award-winning international television festival and non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the art of episodic storytelling, today announced the official selections for this year’s International Pilot Competitions taking place in Denver, Colorado from June 21-26. As part of this milestone year, SeriesFest is dedicating the Season 5 festival to the artists, studios, and companies who are taking creative risks and leveraging advances in technology to reimagine storytelling as part of ‘The Year of Innovation.

Fifty-three titles from emerging voices across the world will compete against one another in the categories of “Independent Pilot,” “Digital Short Series” and “Late Night.

Many of these original pieces were created, directed and/or feature award-winning talent, including Golden Globe- and Tony Award-winning actress, Linda Lavin; award-winning actress and director, Kyra Sedgwick; actor LeVar Burton; actor Brent Spiner; comedian/actress Jillian Bell; musician Aloe Blacc; actress Peri Gilpin; actress Emily Althaus; actress Jennifer Westfeldt; and actress Karen Gillian.

“Our Pilot Competitions are the heart of SeriesFest,” commented Randi Kleiner, Founder and CEO of SeriesFest. “We created the festival as a discovery platform for innovative and imaginative creators to share their unique and diverse stories. We’re truly inspired by this year’s riveting selections.”

SeriesFest has curated a group of prestigious industry professionals including award-winning actors, producers, journalists, and executives to judge these categories. The accomplished jury includes:

Independent Pilot Competition: “unscripted,” Nina Dobrev (Actress/Producer); “comedy,” Sean Walsh (Manager, Strategy, ABC Entertainment), David Rubin (Agent, Gersh); “drama,” Robbie Brenner (Producer, Mattel), Jack Turner (SVP of Scripted and Documentary Content, Matador) and Elvis Mitchell (renowned film critic and host of NPR’s The Treatment).

Late Night: James Belfer (Co-Founder and CEO, Cartuna), Laura Schwartz (Director of Development, New Form Entertainment)  and Andre Hyland (Actor/Filmmaker).

Digital Shorts: Mayzahd Babayan (Director of Talent, Fullscreen), Jason Sondhi (Co-Founder, Short of the Week), and Jose Acevedo (Director of Development & Original Programming, Comedy Central).

“We’re so honored to have such an esteemed jury this year,” adds Kaily Smith Westbrook, Founder and CCO. “This is an incredibly talented and impressive group. We can’t wait to get their perspective on what stands out.”

A leader in independent development, SeriesFest has been the launching pad for over a dozen independent projects that later secured mainstream distribution. Most recently, the winner of four awards at SeriesFest: Season 3, Up North, received a greenlight for eight episodes from Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios. Creator, Emil Pinnock, also signed a blind script deal with Blumhouse Television and has been tapped to pen an untitled Daymond John project.

Additionally, SeriesFest, in partnership with Elysium Bandini Studios, announced today that the winners of the 5th annual ‘Storytellers Initiative” is Amanda Dreschler & Michael Livingston from the pilot project, Forgive Us Father. Both Amanda and Michel will receive an exclusive first look development deal with Elysium Bandini Studios, a professionally produced pilot presentation valued at $60,000 and are being flown to Denver for Season 5 of SeriesFest (June 21-26) to participate in a Storytellers Initiative live read event taking place as part of the Closing Night Awards presentation at the Cable Center.

The primary screening venue during SeriesFest is the Sie FilmCenter, which is the year-round cinematic home of SeriesFest’s partner organization, Denver Film Society. Passes and individual tickets to screenings, panels, and the Centerpiece event at Red Rocks Amphitheatre featuring the legendary Stevie Wonder, are available now at www.seriesfest.com.

SeriesFest: Season 5 is presented with generous support from sponsors including Denver Film, Society, Liberty Global, Once Upon a Time Productions, Xfinity, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Fries Foundation, Coca-Cola, i-Heart Media and JEEP.


**LIST OF SERIES PARTICIPATING IN THE PILOT COMPETITION BELOW IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER**

DIGITAL SHORT SERIES COMPETITION

18 Grand: A Personal Space Odyssey                                                                      COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Amanda Dieli
Cast: Steven Conroy, Amanda Dieli, Monique Moses
USA, 19:45m

During an American Center for Martian Exploration 70-day bed rest study, two neighboring participants experience all the highs and lows of friendship without even having to sit upright.

Brentwood                                                                                                                         COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Sharon Everitt
Cast: Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Doug Benson, Peri Gilpin
USA, 12m

Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation) begrudgingly returns to Hollywood in order to one-up his rival and former co-star, LeVar Burton, in this comedy that desperately wants to be a musical.

Bêtise                                                                                                                                   COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Grant Mellon
Cast: Shemoi Gidden, Rob Evors, Nikki Parisi
USA, 06:43m

Bêtise addresses the struggles a young man faces ‘growing up black’ in today’s America. Based loosely on a true story, we follow this character as he deals with issues at home and his neighborhood while attending a prestigious university- all while trying to figure himself out.


Brothers From The Suburbs                                                                                        WORLD PREMIERE
Creator: Patrick Wimp
Cast: Richard David, Jalen Gilbert, Jerome Riley Jr, Tess Dinerstein, Mickey O'Sullivan, Janelle Snow, Ryan McBride, Josh Czuba, Matthew Chappelle, Lureen Cornwell, Rachel David, Sophie Bolen
USA, 14:35m

Brothers From the Suburbs is a short-form digital comedy series that chronicles the highs and lows of three black teenagers coming of age in an affluent, suburban, predominantly white private school community.

Division Street: Fish Out of Water                                                                            COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Traven Rice
Cast:Introducing Naledi Makel Murray as Dee, Jodi Carol Harrison, Amy Rutledge, Jeffrey Farber
USA, 07:22m

A withdrawn young girl is sent off to live with her cantankerous Jewish grandmother on the Lower East Side in New York City. At first, it feels like punishment; but then she begins to see the neighborhood as a magical place of gritty wonderment.

Downbeat                                                                                                                           Colorado Premiere
Creators: Graham Wallace, Luke Kelly-Clyne
Cast: AD LIB: Raphael Chestang, Julie Birke, Earnest Eugene Marshall, Kailani Malia Robinson, Meiyee Apple Tam, Ify Nwadiwe | HEART NOUVEAU: Ele Woods, Grant O'Brien, Julie Birke
USA, 23m

Downbeat is a mockumentary series about people in the music industry, but moreover, the idea of the music industry as imagined by these people. Downbeat is an experiment in the world of character studies--a series where each episode follows the life of one compelling musician on the fringe.

Girls Weekend                                                                                                                  COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Ali Liebegott
Cast: Ali Liebegott, Linda Lavin, Amy Landecker, Ken Jenkins
USA, 12:03m

When a queer daughter returns home to Las Vegas for a “girls weekend” with her estranged, homophobic sister and people-pleasing mother, her gun-toting dad lets it slip that her mother’s cancer is back with a vengeance, forcing her to decide whether or not she can rejoin her family.

Guess I’m A Ghost                                                                                                           Colorado Premiere
Creator: Christopher Sullivan
Cast: Kelsey Siepser, Eugene Young, Caroline Bloom, Susan Shearer
USA, 07:17m

After an embarrassing last night on earth, Diane is sent back as a ghost to haunt bad Tinder dates, bitter high school friends, and Uber drivers. She'll have to deal with her past mistakes and navigate a red-tape filled afterlife before she can move on to whatever's next.

Human Interest                                                                                                                WORLD PREMIERE
Creators: Matthew-Lee Erlbach & Mallory Portnoy
Cast: Matthew-Lee Erlbach, Mallory Portnoy, Ryan Spahn, Michael Cyril Creighton, Deb Lapidus and the residents of Andrus on Hudson
USA, 18:04m

Human Interest  is a dry comedy series based on real people exploring loneliness, community, and our relationship with technology. From competitive whistlers and professional cuddlers to neo-luddites and sex robot romantics, creators Matthew-Lee Erlbach and Mallory Portnoy introduce you to the private joys and awkward silences of our fellow humans.

I Married A Lemon                                                                                                          WORLD PREMIERE
Creator: Timothy Michael Cooper
Cast: Jennifer Westfeldt; Noah Bean; Jenn Lyon; Finn Douglas
USA, 12:45m

Moments after overachieving Penelope and her picture-perfect fiancé, Barry, exchange their wedding vows, each is stunned to discover just how much the other failed to disclose about their pasts, jobs, relatives, fetishes, and much more. Yet both are determined to make this relationship work...at any cost.

Michael and Michael Are Gay                                                                                    COLORADO PREMIERE
Creators: Michael J. Feldman, Michael Rachlis
Cast: Michael J Feldman, Michael Rachlis, Andy Bean, Cloie Wyatt Taylor
USA, 08:53m

A surreal look at the lives and misadventures of two sex-positive, same-named husbands. Follow these nervous and nerdy protagonists as they battle a parade of never-ending insecurities (both real and imagined), while trying to make their marriage work in a not-quite-post-equality world.

Speed Mating                                                                                                                    WORLD PREMIERE
Creator: Stephen Girasuolo
Cast: Timothy Speed Levitch, Danielle Skraastad, Olivia Gilliatt, Stephen Girasuolo, Aiko Lockmeyer
USA, 18m

In this dark comedy, Speed, a New Yorker, finds out he can't naturally impregnate women. He decides to freeze his sperm and try online dating. Will he find his soulmate and the mother to his child before he turns 50?

Street Flame                                                                                                                      COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Katherine Propper
Cast: Sauve Sidle, Isaiah Shepard, Jessica Price, Curtis Rhodes
USA, 12m

Street Flame is a dramatic coming-of-age series that follows a motley crew of alternative teens in Austin, Texas. The show is about friendships that become family, and youth who leave their mark on the streets they inhabit.

Temporary Guardian                                                                                                      COLORADO PREMIERE
Creators: Christopher Baker, Andrew May
Cast: David Ebert, Ceci Fernandez, Kai Braiden, Sophie Faulkenberry
USA, 10:03m

Temporary Guardian is a comedic web series starring a Guardian Angel named Gary who, after his longtime client dies, is stuck in the Guardian Angel temp pool, protecting the crazies of the world when their regular guardians take some much needed time off.

Tethered                                                                                                                             WORLD PREMIERE
Creator: Leslie Rathe
Cast: Emily Althaus, John F. Beach
USA, 13:40m

Tethered is an unflinchingly original half-hour “traumedy" about a new mom suffering an identity crisis as she battles a voice inside her head that refuses to give in to motherhood. This unconventional take on mom-coms uncovers the raw psychology behind the biggest shift in a woman's life.

The Gary Gold Story                                                                                                       COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Greg Ash
Cast: Greg Ash, Eric Chavarria, Claudia Camarena, Joel Dauten, Sasha Feldman, Chris Candy
United Kingdom / USA, 18:20m

The Gary Gold Story is a 7-part digital comedy series following the attempts of a washed up once great English footballer, Gary Gold, to resurrect his sporting career in Los Angeles.

The Happy                                                                                                                          WORLD PREMIERE
Creator: Par Parekh
Cast: Par Parekh, Sherra Lasley
USA, 08:45m

The Happy is an absurdist comedy about Par, a lost and heavily bearded Indian-American from the East Coast who comes to L.A. searching for happiness, only to discover that all the New Age conspiracy theorists and spiritual materialists think he’s a guru with the key to their #bliss.

Whale                                                                                                                                   WORLD PREMIERE
Creator: Marco North 
Cast: Eve North
USA/Russia, 11:23m

Eva is a prisoner of war in an alternate, dystopian past. She relies on her imagination to cope with the constant chaos in Eden, often unleashing her greatest fears as well.

INDEPENDENT PILOT COMPETITION (COMEDY)

All Hail Beth                                                                                                                       WORLD PREMIERE
Creator: Misha Calvert
Cast: Layla Khosh, Christina Toth, Randall McNeal, Jamie Rezanour, Cronin Cullen, Jonathan Iglesias
USA, 28m

Depressed office assistant Beth wakes up one day to discover she is suddenly and inexplicably an ancient Babylonian Goddess, with all of New York City falling to its knees in worship. Confronting her own shyness and shame, Beth must learn to embrace her divine powers and use them for the benefit of humanity. All Hail Beth is a fantastical comedy about the long and awkward journey towards self-confidence.

Broker                                                                                                                                  WORLD PREMIERE
Creators: Lauren Aboulafia & Seth Grossman
Cast: Lauren Aboulafia, Ravi Patel, Chad Mountain, Annie Korzen, Susan Ateh, Cullen Moss, Michael Benyaer, Ross Partridge, Jessika Van, Jonathan Rosenthal, Justin Urich
USA, 22:13m

Broke and newly single, former actor Jules works her way up to the top of the cutthroat world of Los Angeles commercial real estate, surrounded by an assortment of chauvinists, buffoons, and sharks. But as she rises through the ranks, Jules begins to understand just how intoxicating dealmaking can be.

Brooklyn Moving Company                                                                                         COLORADO PREMIERE
Creators: Ryan Harrington, Isaac Himmelman
Cast: Ryan Harrington, Isaac Himmelman, Jessie Ruane, Brendan Ryan, Wayne Mackins, Rob Ventre, Kym Zlogar, Mac Edgerly, Molly Ryan, Scott Swayze, Oona Dolven, Ben Maters, Arielle Haller-Silverstone
USA, 19:51m

An upbeat crew of Brooklyn-based furniture movers take it upon themselves to transform the turbulent lives of their unsuspecting clientele through the power of song.

Hammerhead                                                                                                                    COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Dean Imperial
Cast: Sam Gilroy, Maya Kazan, Tony Arkin, Joseph R. Sicari, Cameron Scoggins, Richard Cooper, Georgia Strauss, Cassandra Freeman, Asa James, Ali Ahn
USA, 28:31m

John Hammond is ambitious, fiercely driven, deceptively cunning, and born with Proteus Syndrome (like John Merrick a.k.a. “The Elephant Man”). Faced with adversity his whole life, John leaves his home after grad school, doggedly determined to climb the ladder of success in New York City – and find love– against all odds.

Hysterical Women                                                                                                          COLORADO PREMIERE
Creators: Whitney Uland & Nora Kaye
Cast: Whitney Uland, Nora Kaye, Madeline Grey DeFreece, Megan Masako Haley, David Park, Matt Walker, Angela Oh
USA, 20:58m

Hysterical Women is a dark comedy about gender in the workplace, in our current political and sociological climate. It follows Alexa, the overlooked co-founder of a music marketing firm as she realizes that her buddies in the office might not be such good guys. The women of the office are ready for a revolution. Will Alexa have the guts to do anything about it? Can she be the leader they need?

Kensington                                                                                                                        COLORADO PREMIERE
Creators: Michael Marc Friedman, Matt Ferrucci
Cast: Mather Zickel, Michael Marc Friedman, Kim Director, Andrea Grano
USA, 25:45m

This dark comedy follows Doug Harper, an Ivy League educated, uptown therapist forced to move his practice to Kensington - the roughest blue collar section of Philadelphia. It's a place where "therapy" is foreign and the people eat lightning, shit thunder and sure as hell thrive on confrontation.

neurotica.                                                                                                                          COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Nick Kocher, Laura Moss
Cast: Karen Gillan, Jon Bass, Jillian Bell, Karan Soni, David Dastmalchian
USA, 20:05m

neurotica. is a comedic sci-fi anthology series exploring personal anxieties. Is it like a comedy Black Mirror? I mean, no, not really, but that’s what you’re going to think regardless, so, sure, fine, let’s call it a comedy Black Mirror. In the first episode, “eureka!,” a chronic procrastinator (played by Marvel Cinematic Universe star Karen Gillan) meets an otherworldly being responsible for giving humanity its great ideas.

Paramour No More                                                                                                       WORLD PREMIERE
Creator: Rena Carter
Cast: Polly Draper, Rena Carter, Adam Dulin-Tavares, Claudia Peters, Kim Yan-Moore, Migina Tsai, Ja'Siah Young, Tuffy Questell, Sal Rendino, Harper Nash, Trevor Morris, Margaret Horning, Nick Bommer
USA, 30:04m

Inspired by a real-life service in China, Paramour No More follows a thriving company that manipulates paramours into ending illicit affairs, a business model based on deceit. When Emily Lee, one of the company’s top Actors, discovers she has a knack for its conniving games, she resorts to shadier tactics to come out on top, with darker outcomes.

Rainbow Ruthie                                                                                                              COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Ruthie Marantz
Cast: Ruthie Marantz, Parker Kit Hill, Abraham Makany, Jay Santiago, David Meyers, Ayumi Patterson, Alexis Bronkovic, Evan Reiser, Raekwon Haynes
USA, 20:33m

Ruthie, a former teen star of 90s Manhattan Public Access TV – and now a 35-year-old hot mess – decides to relive her glory days online. Equal parts biting and nostalgic, Rainbow Ruthie is a comedy about re-finding your truth in the age of social media.

Revenge Tour                                                                                                                  COLORADO PREMIERE
Creators: Kahlil Maskati, Andrew Carter
Cast: Omar Maskati, Lindsay Daniels, Ari Afsar, Michael Vlamis, Andrew Carter, John Allen, Arun Narayanan, Kevin Dix, Sigi Gradwohl, Mike Bow
USA, 13:25m

Meet Derek "Milkshake" Qamar: recently dumped, sleeping in a friend's living room, and stuck at a dead-end job. But one night, he finds an unlikely stress reliever – rapping – and awakens a new persona. Revenge Tour speaks to the angry rapper inside all of us. It is a portrait of an artist as a young man – set to a pulsing hip-hop beat.

The Book of Craig                                                                                                          COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Tyler Stuart
Cast: Sebastian Conelli, Tyler Stuart, Ben Rameaka, Alli Brown
USA, 20:10m

Craig, a failed ad man, helps his new homosexual roommate, Jesus Christ, prepare for the rapture and and adjust to life in the modern world.  An absurd buddy comedy of biblical proportions.


The Filth                                                                                                                            U.S. PREMIERE
Creators: Jake Delaney, Cara Fano, Paige Hoffman
Cast: Paige Hoffman, Jake Delaney, Katrina Kemp, Jay Lee, Nican Robinson, Lauren Holt, Chad Westbrook
USA, 32:59m

Desperately trying (and failing) to navigate their complicated love lives, Stella and Max, two delusional, queer creatives in LA, struggle to make progress while attempting to maintain the only stable relationship they have: their friendship. Featuring a colorful cast of friends and frenemies, The Filth hilariously lives up to its title, a truly filthy mess of hijinks and drama.

Unintentional Community                                                                                         COLORADO PREMIERE
Creators: Patrick Sanderson and Zach Jenkins
Cast: Ricky Faust, Olivia Peck, Manon Pages, Patrick Sanderson, Zach Jenkins, Molly Lynn, Adella Gautier, Matt Story, Rosha Washington, Zeb Hollins III
USA, 21:35m

Welcome to Samsara, a millennial “cohesive living community,” where young adults strive to live in harmony with one another – except they just can’t seem to get along. Unintentional Community is a mockumentary that ponders the question: What happens when a bunch of new age millennial hippies start their own commune? They do what you'd expect. They totally f*ck it up.

INDEPENDENT PILOT COMPETITION (DRAMA)

Bagdad, Florida                                                                                                              COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Matthew Fifer
Cast: Jason Greene, Margot Bingham, Colt Keeney, Caitlin Mehner, Patti Harrison, Andreja Pejić, Eve Plumb, Jeremy Carver
USA, 22:19m

Bagdad Florida is a story of three friends who shotgun South and meet the “real America.” Together they realize how far America has come and how much further it still needs to go. Set the kitchen table, a red meat vegan dinner for two.

Beyond The Badge                                                                                                       WORLD PREMIERE
Creator: Anita M. Cal
Cast: Don Wallace, Daya Vaidya, Rodney Rowland, Karimah Westbrook, Evan Parke
USA, 39:18m

Beyond the Badge  is a family drama police procedural seen through the eyes of a troubled undercover LAPD cop assigned to take down a violent drug lord. Undergoing therapy, Sgt. Derek Allen struggles to hold his life together for his children, his ambitious wife and loose cannon foster brother-both UCs.

Currency                                                                                                                           COLORADO PREMIERE
Creators: Scott Gabriel & Sofi Marshall
Cast: Jay Santiago, Angelic Zambrana, Danny Gavigan, Matthew Weitz
USA, 17:39m

Seventeen days after the nation’s banking system collapses, a Cuban family-run gas station becomes the center of power in a small town.

Edward's Miraculous Bookstore                                                                            COLORADO PREMIERE
Creators: Annabel Essink & Freek Zonderland
Cast: Urias Boerleider, Sem van Butselaar, Susan Visser, Julia Nauta, Dirk van der Pol
The Netherlands, 20m

A dusty bookstore travels to children in need of imagination, but its influence is fading.
The store finds Pim who is trying to save his parents from divorce.  As Pim rediscovers the power of stories, he opens up a far bigger quest. The bookstore is threatened by a charlatan therapist who aspires to steal children’s imagination.


Inpatient                                                                                                                          WORLD PREMIERE
Creators: Yudho Aditya, Robert Walker Jeffery
Cast: Robert Walker Jeffery, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Troy Iwata, Kyle Anderson, Carrie Vu, Marki Michelle, Dana Weddell, Amanda Bruton, Jennifer Haining
USA, 29m

A loose-anthology series about strangers who coexist in a New York psych ward and how they cope with their mental illness without losing their minds - even more than the world already thinks they have. Each episode is told from a different person's point of view

Nice                                                                                                                                    COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Naomi Ko
Cast: Naomi Ko, Sun Park, Kim Cooper, Parvesh Cheena, Connor Gould
USA, 22:20m

Nice is a ½ hour series about Teddy Park, a 20-something fantasy football obsessed Korean American woman living in Minnesota, who must deal with the consequences of keeping her breast cancer a secret from her friends and family.

ON                                                                                                                                      COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Jamie Effros
Cast: Kieran Mulcare, Claire Rothrock, Andre Blake, Jen Cohn, Jamie Effros, Sarah Ellen Stephens, Kim Blanck
USA, 18:29m

In the near future, a Device Addicts Anonymous meeting harbors 6 strangers consumed by their virtual worlds. But when a new member joins the group, plagued by something beyond addiction, they all begin to suspect that their connection to the virtual, and to each other, may be more than coincidence.

Palomino & Swissy                                                                                                      WORLD PREMIERE
Creators: Brian Groh, Julien Lasseur
Cast: Briana Marin, Shawn Parsons, Dale Godboldo, Alexandra Grey, Eric Roberts, Bess Rous, Gino Montesinos, Alexis Clayton
USA, 47m

Two renegades partner to steal a rabbit foot briefcase full of money from a drug lord within his own gang-infested, desert kingdom.

The Musicianer                                                                                                             COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Beth Harrington
Cast: Petunia, Grey DeLisle Griffin, Lowell Deo
USA, 23m

Vern Lockhart is a hillbilly singer with a problem. On the verge of stardom in the 1920s, he inadvertently has become immortal, a situation he only dimly glimpses. When he encounters Jo Cullen, a present-day musicologist who’s expert on Vern’s past, he begins to grasp his deal with the devil.

The Well                                                                                                                           COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Adam Wheeler
Cast: Dalton Leeb, Lukas Behnken, Katie Ryan, Gabriel Grier, Wolfgang Bodison, Nathan Russell
USA, 18:51m

After the mysterious disappearance of his mother, a withdrawn bachelor discovers a series of cryptographs in his house and sets off to uncover their meaning, unknowingly threatening the secrecy of a vast government experiment.

White River Tales                                                                                                         COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Stephen Ohl
Cast: Ramsey Philips, Halle Charlton, Jacob Osborne
USA, 28:22m

Set in a small town in 1989, White River Tales tells the intertwined story of the Hope family as they deal with the tragic death of the matriarch.


INDEPENDENT PILOT COMPETITION (UNSCRIPTED)

A Cure For Fear                                                                                                                 COLORADO PREMIERE
Creator: Lana Wilson
Cast: N/A
USA/Netherlands, 14:13m

Neuroscientist Dr. Merel Kindt has discovered a cure for phobias using common medication. From animal phobias to PTSD, the potential impact is both profound and dazzlingly complex. A Cure for Fear goes inside Dr. Kindt’s radical treatments as she explores the ethically treacherous grounds of curing our most human ailment.

Global Child                                                                                                                       WORLD PREMIERE
Creator: Augusto Valverde
Cast: Tridah Choudurhuy (Bollywood Feature Film Actress), Syama Reyes, Augusto Valverde
USA, 32:27m

Global Child is the next generation travel show featuring influencers and stories that inspire while exploring extraordinary destinations. Each episode (currently 20 complete) features stunning adventures, colorful characters and their stories combined with meaningful causes as they "Travel with Purpose". This series will leave you saying "Wow!”


Her Turf                                                                                                                               COLORADO PREMIERE
Creators: Shantel Hansen and Dean Blandino  
Cast: Annice Canady, Mary Podesta, Tangela Mitchell
USA, 16:44m

Her Turf series ignites conversations around gender pushing back against the ingrained bias that women can’t hold powerful roles. Her Turf challenges current power structures by showing that when women take high level roles, on the field as referees or in the boardrooms of large sports franchises, we all win.


StoryBooked                                                                                                                      WORLD PREMIERE
Creator: Marriott Content Studio
Cast: Aloe Blacc, Julie Gautier, Jon Boogz, Alexi Pappas
USA, 33:30m

Using storytelling to illustrate the unique experiences of Marriott Bonvoy members, Season 2 of StoryBooked follows four artists (musician Aloe Blacc, underwater performance artist and director Julie Gautier, movement artist and choreographer Jon Boogz and Olympian and filmmaker Alexi Pappas) on their personal journeys around the world.

The New Homesmiths: We Live in a Prison Bus                                                  COLORADO PREMIERE
Creators: Apartment Therapy Media (Rebecca Blumhagen, Annie Lennon Carroll, Laura Schocker, Adrienne Breaux)
Cast: Ben and Meag Poirier
USA, 21m

In this six-part docu-series by Apartment Therapy Media, we meet 9 people redefining the meaning of "home" beyond the traditional four walls. Whether you live in a plane, a school bus, a tiny home or a renovated Penske truck - the exploration of these "New Homesmiths" reveals something universal about the human spirit.

LATE NIGHT COMPETITION

2020                                                                                                                                      WORLD PREMIERE
Creators: Brent Lydic & Tanner Thomason
Cast: Brent Lydic Tanner Thomason Cory Roberts Roy Allen
USA, 11:52m 

In the year 2020, a lone traveler journeys across the apocalyptic wasteland in search of the new world that lies beyond the wall. What he finds along the way might make his goal more trouble than it's worth.

Dad Calls Son                                                                                                                     WORLD PREMIERE
Creators: Alex Dobrenko and Phil Kaye
Cast: Alex Dobrenko and Phil Kaye
USA, 7:32m

When Janet Rosen suddenly passes away, her now widowed husband Marty and their son Lucas try and build a genuine relationship for the first time in their lives. Over weekly Facetime calls. What starts out as obligation quietly grows into a tradition that is often awkward and sometimes beautiful.

Finding The Asshole                                                                                                       COLORADO PREMIERE
Creators: Melissa Stephens and Tom DeTrinis 
Cast: Melissa Stephens, Tom DeTrinis, Christine Woods, Courtney Pauroso, Tina Huang, Nick Court, Tom Lenk, Laila Ayad, Shawnda Thomas, Parvesh Cheena
USA, 10:31m

Finding The Asshole is like Where’s Waldo, except you’re looking for Waldo in a literal World of Waldo’s.

I Adore Dolores                                                                                                                WORLD PREMIERE
Creators: Sam Marine, Jo Roueiheb and Emily Wilson
Cast: Jo Roueiheb, Sarah Natochenny, Felix Hagen
USA, 20:34m

In a surreal sitcom world, Dolores - a manic, over-optimistic divorcée - tries to win back her clown stepdaughter by purchasing the apartment building where she lives under house arrest.

Kwaczala                                                                                                                             WORLD PREMIERE
Creator: Joe Kwaczala, Daniel J. Clark, Liz Maupin & Caroline Clark
Cast: Joe Kwaczala
USA, 13:36m

A sketch comedy show from the brain of up-and-coming comedian Joe Kwaczala (Comedy Central, IFC, ClickHole).

Who You Are                                                                                                                     COLORADO PREMIERE
Creators: Samuel Roots & Joel Jay Blacker
Cast: Skinner Myers, DeJean Brown, Marie Oldenbourg, Clayton Farris, Hope Lauren
USA, 16:00m

The accidental invention of an asshole AI spells trouble for a tech startup in the late 80’s.

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ABOUT SERIESFEST
SeriesFest (www.seriesfest.com) is a non-profit organization dedicated to championing artists at the forefront of episodic storytelling. With year-round educational programs, initiatives supporting underserved voices, and professional development opportunities, SeriesFest inspires, educates, and connects a worldwide community of creators. Each June, SeriesFest culminates in a highly-curated and celebrated Denver-based festival and marketplace. Dedicated to showcasing innovative episodic content, the annual festival also includes a musical performance and network screening at the world-renowned Red Rocks Amphitheatre, in-competition independent pilot screenings, panels, workshops, live reads, parties and network television premieres.
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