ITVFest (Independent Television Festival)
Encyclopedia
ITVFest is an annual non-profit festival gathering fans, artists, and executives to celebrate independent small-screen productions. It was founded in 2006 by producer AJ Tesler, and is held in Los Angeles, California
. The goal of the festival is to give independent fledgling television and web series
makers the opportunity to share their work with the community and television professionals. In 2010, Ken Nicholas and Frank Zanca took over as the festival's Executive Directors. The 6th annual festival is scheduled to occur from August 5th to August 11th, 2011.
The festival has been in existence for six years and it is one of only two television festivals in the country (the other being the New York Television Festival
). ITVFest is the first festival dedicated to independently produced pilots and webseries, with an emphasis in new media.
Festival support has come from companies and media outlets including Sony
, Fox
TV Studios, RDF, Comedy Central
, SyFy
, FX (TV channel), GSN, HBO, Current TV
, The Hollywood Reporter
, Tubefilter
, Stickam
, B-Side and Comcast
.
2009 winners
2008 winners
2007 Winners
2006 Winners
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The goal of the festival is to give independent fledgling television and web series
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
makers the opportunity to share their work with the community and television professionals. In 2010, Ken Nicholas and Frank Zanca took over as the festival's Executive Directors. The 6th annual festival is scheduled to occur from August 5th to August 11th, 2011.
The festival has been in existence for six years and it is one of only two television festivals in the country (the other being the New York Television Festival
New York Television Festival
The New York Television Festival is a yearly gathering of artists, fans, and executives to celebrate independent small-screen productions. It was founded in 2005, and is held in venues in New York City....
). ITVFest is the first festival dedicated to independently produced pilots and webseries, with an emphasis in new media.
Festival support has come from companies and media outlets including Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
TV Studios, RDF, Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
, SyFy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
, FX (TV channel), GSN, HBO, Current TV
Current TV
Current TV, or Current, is a media company led by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt. Comcast owns a ten percent stake of Current's parent company, Current Media LLC....
, The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
, Tubefilter
Tubefilter
Tubefilter, Inc. is a privately held company based in Los Angeles, California that operates media properties focusing on the online entertainment industry. Tubefilter is best known for Tubefilter News, a blog targeted at the producers and distributors of web television content where the best in...
, Stickam
Stickam
Stickam is a website devoted to live-streaming video, featuring both professional and user-generated content. The site launched in 2005. Stickam features user-submitted pictures, audio, video, and most prominently, live streaming video chat...
, B-Side and Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
.
Previous winners
2010 winners- "Innovator" Award - Illeana DouglasIlleana DouglasIlleana Douglas is an American actress, director, screenwriter, and producer.-Background:Douglas is a granddaughter of the actor Melvyn Douglas and his first wife, artist Rosalind Hightower, and has said that her grandfather's performance in Being There, in particular, was influential on her own...
- Best Overall Web - Octane Pistols of Fury, Chris Prine, Greg Stees
- Best Overall TV - Going to Pot, Leo Simone, Scott Perlman, Jamie Kennedy
- Best Documentary - Going to Pot, Leo Simone, Scott Perlman, Jamie Kennedy
- Best Animated Pilot- Time Traveling Finger, Stephen Leonard
- Best Drama - the_source, Marc D’Agostino
- Best Comedy- Octane Pistols of Fury, Chris Prine, Greg Stees
- Mobifest Winner - Phobias, Kasi Brown and Brandon Walter
- Best Acting - La Manzana, Paula Roman
- Best Direction - 15 Minutes, Bobby Salomon
- Best Writing - Odd Jobs, Jeremy Redleaf
- Best Cinematography - Goodsam & Max, Gil Nievo
2009 winners
- "I Am Independent" Award - Kevin PollakKevin PollakKevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist, game show host, and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 10 and touring professionally at the age of 20...
- Best Overall Web - OzGirlOzGirlOzGirl is a web series that aired originally online in February 2009. It tells the story of Sadie Brown, small-town, country girl who moves to Melbourne to live with her cousin Megan and to pursue her dream of becoming a photographer. The show explores Sadie's efforts to make friends, get a job,...
, Nicholas Carlton, Sophie Tilson - Best Overall TV - Dog, Barry Gribble
- Best Documentary - Pushing The Limits, Javier Bermudez
- Best Animated Pilot- Wentworth & Buxbury, Lucas Crandles, Timothy Nash and Hayden Grubb
- Best Drama - Urban WolfUrban WolfUrban Wolf is an award-winning online drama series, with 15 webisodes of 4 minutes long each.The movie was written, produced and directed by Laurent Touil-Tartour....
, Napoleon Premiere, Laurent Touil-TartourLaurent Touil-TartourLaurent Touil-Tartour is an award-winning French film director, screenwriter, producer. He is known for writing, directing and producing the critically acclaimed webseries Urban Wolf . His works have been described by the American Film Institute, Wired Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and others... - Best Comedy- Merrime.com, Kaily Smith
- Mobifest Winner - Chelsey & Kelsey, Claire Coffee, Ellie Knaus, Marie-Amelie Rechberg
- Best Acting - OzGirlOzGirlOzGirl is a web series that aired originally online in February 2009. It tells the story of Sadie Brown, small-town, country girl who moves to Melbourne to live with her cousin Megan and to pursue her dream of becoming a photographer. The show explores Sadie's efforts to make friends, get a job,...
, Shanrah Wakefield, Sophie Tilson - Best Direction - Dark Room Theater, Benjamin Pollack
- Best Writing - Imaginary Bitches, Andrew Miller
- Best Cinematography - Goodsam & Max, Gil Nievo
2008 winners
- Best Dramatic Program - Turnover, Michael Blieden
- Best Comedic Program - Small Bits of Happiness, Blake Barrie and Thiago Gadelha
- Best Documentary Program - Wal-Mart Nation - Andrew Munger
- Best Alternative Program - Welcome to Plainville - Jason Frederick, Anne Gregory, Kevin McShane, Opus Moreschi, Charlotte Newhouse
- Best Webseries - Violent Jake, Samuel Smith, Clint Gossett and Tansy Brook
- Audience Award - Small Town News - Sarah Babineau
- Best Director - Turnover, Michael Blieden
- Best Writer - Hit Factor, James Cromwell, Saba Homayoon, Neil Hopkins, Jamie Rosenblatt, Kerry Sullivan
- Best Ensemble Acting - Hit Factor, James Cromwell, Saba Homayoon, Neil Hopkins, Jamie Rosenblatt, Kerry Sullivan
2007 Winners
- Best Dramatic Program - The Collectors, Steve Alper
- Best Comedic Program - Partners - Seth Menachem, Avi Rothman
- Best Documentary Program - Gusto - Mike Maniglia, Subterra Films
- Best Alternative Program - King Kaiser - Steven Burrows, The Burrows of Hollywood
- Best Webseries - Trekant, Diaperdog Productions
- Audience Award - King Kaiser - Steven Burrows, The Burrows of Hollywood
- Webseries Audience Award - Flipper Nation, Space Shank Media
- Vuze Second Chance Competition - Adam Ray TV, Adam Ray
- Best Director - Mr. Jackson's Neighborhood, Nathan Marshall
- Best Writer - Deal With It, Steven Muterspaugh, Michael Kary, Jamey Hood and Karin Kary
- Best Ensemble Acting - Grounds Zero, Alan Keller
2006 Winners
- Best Dramatic Program - "FBI Guys" - Paul Darrigo, 2 Wolves Production
- Best Comedic Program - "As Seen on TV" - Ryan Sage
- Best Variety Program - "Loading Zone" - Nick Barnes, Frog Island Films
- Best Reality Program - "Meet Tom Kramer" - Rachael Pihlaja
- Audience Award - "This is My Friend" - Jeremy Konner, Morning Knight Films
- Best Director - "The Perverts" - John Gegenhuber, The Perverts Pictures
- Best Writer - "As Seen on TV" - Ryan Sage
- Best Ensemble Acting - "Van Stone: Tour of Duty" - Tim Bennett, Dakota