April 10, 2017 – Given the perpetually increasing offer of quality productions, ‘discoverability’ remains one of the main challenges that short form series creators face. What can creators do to make sure their projects stand out from the competition? Among the options that are available to creators, they may enter their work in national and international competitions.
To help creators see clear through all of this, here’s a directory of competitions for which Canadian productions are eligible.
Note: Contact us to inform us of any other festival or award ceremony for which Canadian short form series are eligible and that is not listed here.
An initiative of the Independent Production Fund with the collaboration of the Canada Media Fund.
CANADA
Blood in the Snow Film Festival
https://www.bloodinthesnow.ca/
Location : Toronto, ON
Festival held in : November
Description : The Blood in the Snow Film Festival is a unique and imaginative showcase of contemporary Canadian horror, genre and underground cinema that exists to challenge social boundaries, explore artistic taboos and support and exhibit independent Canadian genre media artists. BITS began in 2012 and was registered as a not-for-profit in 2015.
Canadian Screen Awards
Location : Toronto, ON
Gala held in : March
Entry deadline : Usually in September
Description : The Canadian Screen Awards recognize excellence in film, television and digital media production. Limited to original English-language versions of Canadian productions considered as Canadian content.
Just for Laughs ComedyPRO – Playing It Short
Location : Montréal
Festival held in : July
Entry deadline : Usually in May
Description : The professional component of the Just For Laughs Festival offers the possibility to pitch humoristic webseries to a panel of industry experts. Applicants must submit a bible, a pilot and a budget. Episode length max 15 minutes.
Leo Awards
Location : Vancouver, BC
Gala held in : June
Entry deadline : Usually in February
Description : Awards celebrating the achievements of the British Columbia film and television industry. Open to BC productions only. One webseries award.
Les Olivier
http://apih.ca/gala-les-oliviers
Location : Montréal, QC
Gala held in : December
Entry deadline : Usually in February
Description : Awards recognizing artists and craftspeople working in the field of comedy. Category includes humoristic web capsules, columns or sketches.
Montréal Digital WebFest
https://www.facebook.com/montrealdigitalwebfest/
Location : Montréal, QC
Festival held in : September–October
Description : Festival dedicated to the promotion of national and international webseries. Open to all genres. Submissions via FilmFreeway.
Numix
Location : Montréal, QC
Gala held in : May
Entry deadline : Usually in February
Description : Awards celebrating digital media excellence in Québec. Limited to Québec-based companies. Multiple categories including webseries.
Prix Gémeaux
http://academie.ca/prixgemeaux
Location : Montréal, QC
Gala held in : September
Entry deadline : Usually in February
Description : Awards celebrating excellence in French-language television in Canada. Limited to original French-language Canadian productions.
Rockie Awards
http://rockieawards.brunico.com/
Location : Banff, AB
Festival held in : June
Entry deadline : Usually in March
Description : International awards celebrating excellence in television and digital content. Open to Canadian and international productions.
T.O. WebFest
Location : Toronto, ON
Festival held in : May
Entry deadline : Usually in March
Description : Festival supporting and celebrating independent content creators. Open to Canadian and international productions.
YMA Awards of Excellence
http://www.ymamj.org/awards-of-excellence
Location : Montréal & Toronto (alternating)
Festival held in : May
Entry deadline : Usually in February
Description : Awards celebrating excellence in youth digital content. Limited to Canadian content. Includes Best TV Series or Webseries.
UNITED STATES
Austin Film Festival
https://austinfilmfestival.com/submit/digital/
Location : Austin, TX
Festival held in : October
Entry deadline : July
Description : The climate of storytelling is changing, with digital series and webisodes opening new opportunities. The competition accepts filmed and written submissions and selects winners showing strong voice and potential.
Catalyst Story Institute
https://www.catalystories.org/
Location : Duluth, MN
Festival held in : October
Entry deadline : Usually in June
Description : A nonprofit community for creators of episodic content. A showcase for TV shows, webseries and podcasts aimed at connecting creators with executives, agents and producers.
DC Web Fest
Location : Washington, DC
Festival held in : April
Entry deadline : Usually in January
Description : Festival showcasing the best webseries and digital projects. Awards include Best Webseries and Best Script.
IAWTV Awards
https://iawtvawards.lyberspace.com/
Location : Los Angeles, CA
Gala held in : May
Entry deadline : Usually in February
Description : Awards celebrating excellence in digital entertainment, voted on by digital entertainment professionals. Categories include drama, comedy, factual, animation, documentary and more.
Indie Series Awards
http://www.indieseriesawards.com/
Location : Los Angeles, CA
Festival held in : February
Entry deadline : Usually in December
Description : Awards celebrating independently produced scripted entertainment created for the web. Categories limited to drama and comedy.
Miami WebFest
Location : Miami, FL
Festival held in : September
Entry deadline : Usually in April
Description : International webseries festival intended as a “window on the future” of new media. Awards across multiple genres including comedy, drama, action and documentary.
New Media Film Festival
http://www.newmediafilmfestival.com
Location : Los Angeles, CA
Festival held in : June
Entry deadline : Usually in April
Description : Festival celebrating the intersection of new technology and storytelling. One webseries category open to all genres.
New York Festival’s TV & Film Awards
https://tvfilm.newyorkfestivals.com/
Location : New York, NY
Festival held in : April
Entry deadline : Usually in October
Description : International competition honoring programming in all lengths and forms. Digital categories include comedy, drama, educational, entertainment, music, news and sports.
NYC Web Fest
Location : New York, NY
Festival held in : November
Entry deadline : Usually in May
Description : Festival bringing together digital producers from around the world. Awards across multiple genres, including best international and best foreign-language projects.
Santa Monica WebFest
Location : Santa Monica, CA
Festival held in : June
Description : Festival showcasing short-form digital content with screenings, seminars, networking events and a red carpet awards gala.
Stareable Fest
https://www.stareable.com/festivals
Location : New York City, NY
Festival held in : October
Description : Premier annual indie TV and webseries festival in the US, serving as a hub for digital creative talent.
Webby Awards
Location : New York, NY
Festival held in : May
Entry deadline : Usually in January
Description : Awards honoring excellence on the Internet across six major media types including Film & Video, Social, Mobile and Podcasts. Two honors per category: Webby Award and People’s Voice Award.
EUROPE
Bilbao Seriesland
Location : Bilbao, Spain
Festival held in : October
Description : Webseries celebration with international judges and over 40 awards. Includes the Bilbao Web Market, a fair dedicated to webseries professionals with co-production forums, case studies, pitching and meetings.
Geneva International Film Festival
Location : Geneva, Switzerland
Festival held in : November
Entry deadline : September
Description : Founded in 1995, GIFF is Geneva’s oldest film festival and one of the first to include television. Features films, series, interactive installations and VR works. Includes the Geneva Digital Market focused on audiovisual innovation.
International Emmy Kids Awards @MIPTV
https://www.iemmys.tv/international-emmy-awards/kids-awards/
Location : Cannes, France
Festival held in : April
Entry deadline : Usually in February
Description : International Digital Emmy Award recognizing excellence in programming and added-value digital content. Projects must be created outside the US and encourage audience interaction or digital distribution.
Marseille Web Fest
http://www.marseillewebfest.com/
Location : Marseille, France
Festival held in : October
Entry deadline : Usually in April
Description : International festival of fictional webseries. Organizes a competition judged by international professionals and facilitates encounters between creators, producers and broadcasters. Submissions must be subtitled in French and/or English.
UK Offline Web Fest
https://www.facebook.com/UKOfflineWebFest/
Location : London, United Kingdom
Festival held in : October
Entry deadline : Usually in September
Description : One of the UK’s largest digital festivals. Fiction and non-fiction webseries eligible. Awards across multiple genres. Winners and selected series may be showcased on Webfliks.tv.
Webfest Berlin
Location : Berlin, Germany
Festival held in : September
Entry deadline : Usually in June
Description : Germany’s first international festival dedicated to short-form digital series. Fiction and non-fiction categories with jury and audience awards. Submissions not in English must be dubbed or subtitled.
ASIA & OCEANIA
New Zealand Web Fest
Location : Auckland, New Zealand
Festival held in : November
Entry deadline : Usually in August
Description : New Zealand’s festival for online content including webseries, shows, YouTube channels, fiction and factual works. If it was made for online, it is likely eligible. Awards across multiple genres and an award for best international webseries.
Seoul Webfest
Location : Seoul, South Korea
Festival held in : August
Entry deadline : Usually in May
Description : Founded in 2015, the Seoul Webfest is the first webseries festival in Korea and Northeast Asia. Includes screenings, networking events, a red carpet gala, awards and industry access. Aims to expand as a major international provider of quality content.
LATIN AMERICA
Buenos Aires Series
https://www.buenosaireseries.com/
Location : Buenos Aires, Argentina
Festival held in : March
Entry deadline : Usually in January
Description : Unique in America, the festival has been a regional meeting place since 2015 for developments in the audiovisual industry. Includes business rounds, training programs, workshops and a federal clinic for young creators. Entirely free and open access.
Rio WebFest
Location : Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Festival held in : November–December
Entry deadline : Usually in September
Description : Brazil’s largest international festival devoted to web creations. Awards across multiple genres including comedy, drama, action, documentary and video clips. Includes special cash prizes. Winning webseries may receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the Marseille Web Fest. The festival is also the final round of the Web Series World Cup.
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