Banff World Media Festival
Encyclopedia
The Banff World Media Festival (formerly known as the Banff World Television Festival) is an international media event in held in the Canadian Rockies
at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
in Banff, Alberta
, Canada
. The Festival is dedicated to world television and digital content and its creation and development. Celebrities, writers, directors, and producers from PBS
, BBC
, NHK
, ARTE
, Channel 4
, ABC
, Sony Pictures, HBO, CBC
, NFB
, ICP, SBS
,and many other broadcasters and production companies attend the annual event.
The Festival combines an international program competition, the Banff Rockie Awards which are broadcast on CBC, with a comprehensive conference agenda. The awards ceremony also bestows the Sir Peter Ustinov
Comedy Award. Past recipients of the award include John Cleese
, Dame Edna, Bob Newhart
, Martin Short
, Tracey Ullman
, Kelsey Grammer
and Ricky Gervais
. Jan Randall
was Music Director and Composer for the awards from 1995-2007.
As well as honouring excellence in international television, professionals from around the world participate in seminars, Master Classes, and pitching opportunities. Described as "the Olympics of television", the Festival provides a global platform for industry members to discuss and debate, and explore current issues, challenges and trends.
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
Banff Springs Hotel
The Fairmont Banff Springs or simply the Banff Springs Hotel is a former railway hotel constructed in Scottish Baronial style located in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. The original hotel, designed by American architect Bruce Price, was built between spring of 1887 and 1888 by the Canadian...
in Banff, Alberta
Banff, Alberta
Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The Festival is dedicated to world television and digital content and its creation and development. Celebrities, writers, directors, and producers from PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
, ARTE
Arte
Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, Sony Pictures, HBO, CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, NFB
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
, ICP, SBS
Spanish Broadcasting System
Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States. SBS is also invested in television and internet properties, deriving the majority of its income from advertising through its media products.SBS owns the internet portal LaMusica.com...
,and many other broadcasters and production companies attend the annual event.
The Festival combines an international program competition, the Banff Rockie Awards which are broadcast on CBC, with a comprehensive conference agenda. The awards ceremony also bestows the Sir Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
Comedy Award. Past recipients of the award include John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
, Dame Edna, Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
, Martin Short
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
, Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman is a British stage and television actress, comedienne, singer, dancer, screenwriter and author ....
, Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...
and Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
. Jan Randall
Jan Randall
Canadian composer Jan Randall is known primarily for his work in television and theatre. A pianist and singer, he has composed chamber music and songs in a wide variety of contemporary styles.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1952...
was Music Director and Composer for the awards from 1995-2007.
As well as honouring excellence in international television, professionals from around the world participate in seminars, Master Classes, and pitching opportunities. Described as "the Olympics of television", the Festival provides a global platform for industry members to discuss and debate, and explore current issues, challenges and trends.