The New York Television Festival (NYTVF) is partnering with its well-established Edinburgh, Scotland, counterpart to showcase promising New York pilot-makers on a bigger stage.
The two festivals are launching the TV Festival PassPort Exchange Program, which will see four recipients of NYTVF fellowships show their pilots at the 2008 Edinburgh fest.
Additionally, the Edinburgh gala, formally titled the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, will welcome all pilot-makers from the 2007 New York fest, while the NYTVF welcomes participants in Edinburgh’s “Fast Track” program.
According to NYTVF, the deal is meant to promote the work of their independent TV producers abroad, but also to form an international community of TV creators. In time, they hope to have international cooperation on independent pilots, with actors, directors and crew from across the globe.
“The rich tradition of the Edinburgh International Television Festival has earned it a reputation as one of the great artistic festivals globally,” NYTVF founder Terence Gray said, “and the NYTVF is proud to be associated with it. The TV Festival PassPort Program elevates the stage for our pilot-makers to an international level.”
The NYTVF also announced the recipients of the 2007 NYTVF Fellowship program. The program will pair experienced producers with some of the top independent pilot makers from this year’s festival. The four fellowship recipients will be paired with well-known TV mentors.
Michael Davies, executive producer of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, will partner with Naren Young, creator of educational pilot The Happy Hour.
Mitchell Hurwitz, creator and executive producer of Arrested Development, will mentor Anna Jarmain, creator of NYTVF award-winner Dear Harvard.
Tom Fontana, a writer and producer for Oz and Homicide: Life on the Street, will team up with Kevin Napier, creator of Ex Pats: Bangalore.
And Phil Rosenthal, creator and executive producer of Everybody Loves Raymond, will partner with Barry Gribble, creator of Codeword Secret.
As part of the agreement, the recipients of the 2007 NYTVF fellowships will present screenings of their pilots at the 2008 Edinburgh TV Festival. In addition, participants in the Edinburgh TV festival’s Fast Track program, which hosts 40 of that festival’s top producers, will travel to New York for next year’s NYTVF.
