Bigger celebrity names, more panels, a TV pilot competition and a Red Rocks opening night concert are set for the second annual SeriesFest on June 22-26 in Denver. The festival aims to showcase “the best new pilots from established and emerging content creators.”
Opening night will feature a concert by at Red Rocks Ampitheatre.
Panels include “Women in Media” with Kim Cattrall and Vanity Fair’s Krista Smith; Emmy Award-winners Alastair Fothergill and Huw Cordey discussing BBC America’s “The Hunt”; a session on “Anatomy of a Show” with Carlton Cuse (“The Strain,” “Lost,” “Colony,” “Bates Motel”) and star Kevin Durand.
Other panels will be dedicated to crowdfunding, science in narrative and the impact of technology in storytelling.
The primary screening venue will be the Sie FilmCenter, home of SeriesFestap partner organization, Denver Film Society.
Last year’s was intended to “widen the landscape of making film and television in Colorado,” Gov. John Hickenlooper told the crowd. Whether the event brought more independent production to Colorado is debatable — tax incentives will be required before that goal is fully realized — but the fact that 26 independent pilot submissions competed for recognition indicates the first SeriesFest touched a nerve. As the number of traditional and non-traditional outlets multiplies, festivals such as this one will be increasingly valuable to indie producers.
A panel scheduled for June 25 features four actors discussing their journeys to success and how the changing media landscape has affected their paths. Ian Harding (“Pretty Little Liars”), Melanie Lynskey (“Togetherness,” “Two and a Half Men”), Jason Ritter (“Parenthood,” “Gravity Falls”) and Pablo Schreiber (“Orange is the New Black,” “The Brink”) are slated to appear.
Part of the event is a “series jam,” a two-day intensive “hackathon” that aims to spark “the next great interactive series.”
For more info, tickets and schedules visit .
