4TheRcrd Mag.

{EDITORS NOTE: In this day and age of Film Festivals, Grammy, Oscars, and Emmy awars, among others — a good question to ask is “just what is the experience of the film maker” and, in that spirit, here’s a first-hand account of such a thing and more.}  Television. How uninspiring, right? The Banff Television Festival is working on changing that perception. Over twenty years old, it is one of the most respected television festivals in the world. Delegates from around the world converge on the rockies to make television happen and happening. Newcomers share toilet stalls with the big guns: Kelsey Grammer, Chris Haddock and Darren Starr. This is a hands on place to get your ideas out. People “pitch” their ideas anywhere - no press conference, elevator or bathroom is safe. Naked in a locker room, I’m approached. Am I being hit on or pitched?

The mantra this week is pitch, pitch, pitch. Patterson Ferns, the exhuberant director of the festival, first came up with the idea to pitch publicly 22 years ago when he took rein of the festival and the categories have grown considerably since. I observe three production companies from Vancouver pitch thier shows: Tony Nichols and Ellen Raine Hunt with 1-800 Superhero, Maya Miller with Kromosvere the Archives and seasoned producer Nick Orchard with The New Beachcombers. Each project has been selected from hundreds of submissions. The creators present their idea in front of an audience of potential buyers in three minutes or less. With all of the competition, mediocrity becomes obvious.

1-800 Superhero is an interactive live action superhero comedy that features an ordinary kid, Joe, living in a world of superheros and wants to be one of them to “fit into their hip hugging tights of justice”. Tony and Ellen step up to the stage wearing sombre suits, then rip off their clothes to reveal slinky superhero outfits. The 9:00 a.m. crowd wakes up, their attention captured. Patterson mentions later it’s one of the best pitches he’s seen. Broadcasters approach with interest. Tony and Ellen are relieved. Will Superhero fly? The night before they weren’t so sure. After rehearsing their presentation, they collasped on the bed and flicked on the television. Gladiator, with Russel Crowe about to fight the lions, was on. Was this a premonition?

Maya, a fiery bundle of charisma and eloquence, spits out her pitch. Kromosvere, an action packed sci-fi soap opera with a kung fu edge, tells of two gangs from alternate dimensions on the hunt for earth. Maya, with partner trevor, drove to Banff, bought a two hour registration, pitched, then were asked to leave. I met them at the hotel but with their expired badges they were kept out by security. Somewhat like being turned away from a party thrown in your honor. What about those meetings they’ll miss? Their only offer comes when a man with dirty hands approaches Maya to be in a porno- and we thought sleaze only happened in hollywood.

Nick Orchard with Jackson Davies pitches The New Beachcombers. It’s been twenty years; what’ll be new about it? Plans are to cast comedians from across Canada and have them address modern issues while still keeping the old family feel of the original. The pitch is met with moderate enthusiasm. Nick, the ever ready player, has other pitches up his sleeve. Hearing that the travel channel is looking for new shows, Nick moves fast and comes up with an idea to pitch them. It was accepted, they’ve started pre-production and will have their first episode airing in September. Probably the fastest turnaround from pitch to final project in the history of Banff.

Many of the new shows I heard pitched this week were dynamic and exciting - a far cry from television of old. Can television inspire? As the bus pulled out of Banff, taking the exhausted delegates home, I felt it could.

IMAGE CREDIT.