The New York Television Festival (NYTVF) today announced the winners in the Festival’s third annual Independent Pilot Competition. The winners were announced Sunday evening at the NYTVF Closing Night Awards Ceremony, held at New World Stages in Midtown Manhattan. Representatives from key Festival sponsors were on-hand to present the MSN Artistic Achievement Award and the TV Guide Audience Award. In addition, the Festival announced genre and individual performance winners in the Independent Pilot Competition. The third annual NYTVF launched on September 5th and ran through September 9th.
“We congratulate all pilot-makers featured at the 2007 NYTVF,” said NYTVF Founder Terence Gray. “The Festival strives to create opportunities for talented people in television, and we are proud to join with our sponsors to establish a platform helping independent television artists take their careers to the next level.”
The 2007 Independent Pilot Competition featured 28 programs in a wide variety of television genres. The nonscripted pilot “The Gauntlet” was named the winner of MSN’s second annual Artistic Achievement Award. As part of this distinction, the creator of the pilot receives a development deal with MSN, including a $10,000 cash prize to fund a new project and a meeting with development executives from MSN Originals. “The Gauntlet” is a unique reality show in which people with unusual jobs settle workplace rivalries in head-to-head competitions for cash and bragging rights. The pilot is created, produced, and directed by Scott Patterson of Brooklyn, New York.
Voted by popular choice at Festival screenings, the 2007 TV Guide Audience Award was presented to the pilot “Dear Harvard.” This teen drama follows the story of a young girl from the Upper East Side of New York as she attempts to navigate the complex world of her elite all-girls high school. The comedy pilot “Split the Difference,” winner of the 2006 TV Guide Audience Award, was purchased for development by NBC Universal Television Studios. The winner of the 2005 Audience Award, a fishing reality series titled “Off the Hook,” aired as a series on Versus in 2006.
“We are thrilled to be part of the festival for the third year and especially honored to present the TV Guide Audience Award,” said Kirsten Haack, Director of Marketing Partnerships, TV Guide. “TV Guide encourages millions of fans every week to share the opinions on their favorite shows and help us celebrate the best television content. It would only make sense for us to participate in tonight’s celebration by presenting this unique and special award — chosen by the viewers.”
Several pilots and pilot-makers in competition received “NYTVF Awards” in the following categories:
Best Comedy Pilot: “Apartment 413”
Executive Producers: Tamra Malaga, Josh Cohen and Tony Colon
Best Drama Pilot: “Dear Harvard”
Executive Producer: Anne Jarmain
Best Nonscripted Pilot: “The Gauntlet”
Executive Producer: Scott Patterson
Best Writing: Jack Piccone
“The Agency”
Best Directing: Grant Weiss and John Paul White
“Sacrifice”
Best Actor: Ali Farahnakian
“Video Shmideo”
Best Actress: Ella Rae Peck
“Dear Harvard”
Ducky’s Thoughts: Hands down the best reality pilot in competition that I saw was The Gauntlet so I’m very glad to see Scott Patterson win $10,000 to push forward with the series. It’s a new version of the hysterical Kenny vs. Spenny which was amazing!
*Stay tuned for more updates on NYTVF 2007.
Entries (RSS)