nextMEDIA and BANFF Announce Competition and Award Winners

nextMEDIA Interactive Awards and BANFF Pilots Competition Winners honored, as well as winners of iPad/Tablet App and Digital Hot List Competition

Banff, AB - nextMEDIA and The Banff World Television Festival held their final awards ceremony today to honour the best in Digital Media and Pilots as well as present the results of two fierce competitions – the nextMEDIA iPad/Tablet competition and the Digital Hot List - that brought together the hottest digital innovators from around the world. Winners will be given a pass to MIP COM in October, 2010 to further their ideas and make international business development connections.

nextMEDIA is proud to announce the winners of the nextMEDIA Banff Interactive Awards:

• Best Branded Entertainment:  In Gayle We Trust, Universal Media Studios in association with Mindshare Entertainment and American Family Insurance,   NBC Universal (www.nbc.com)- USA
• Best Cross Platform Project - The Well, Conker Media, BBC – United Kingdom
• Original Online Programs – FREAK, FremantleMedia,   United Kingdom
• Best Interactive: The Well Conker Media,  BBC - United Kingdom

BANFF and nextMEDIA also presented winners in the first annual International Pilots Competition. Awards were given to 2 winners in each category – a veteran and a newcomer:

• BEST PILOT: El Sistema, Greg Hemmings, Hemmings House Pictures

Over 20 Minutes:

• Players, Exclamation Films, Mona Grenier, Exclamation Films
• The Gayest Show Ever, Pink Triangle Press, David Walberg, Pink Triangle Press

5-20 Minutes:

• American Wife, Frigate Films Inc.
• El Sistema, Hemming House Pictures, Greg Hemmings, Hemmings House Pictures

2-5 MINUTES:

• Sterile Atomic Fly, spicybackpain Productions, Riley Beach, spicybackpain Productions
• Cubicle to the Cage, Hemmings House Pictures, Greg Hemmings House Pictures

The iPad/tablet app and the Digital Hot List contests were some of the most talked about events at nextMEDIA.
The renowned Digital Hot List competition awarded Anaid Productions and Slice Networks’ XWEIGHTED.COM with its prestigious top honour as well as a full-access registration to MIPCOM 2010, provided by contest sponsor Reed Midem and valued at over 1,000 euros.

nextMEDIA’s new iPad/Tablet Competition presented Peter McNeill, of Deloitte and creator of the iStoreWine app with the top prize. iStoreWine received a development deal worth $25,000 to make their concept a reality via leading interactive development agency Trapeze and the Toronto-based Mobile Experience Innovation Centre.

"These next generation entertainment competitions sought out to find the world’s best talent and ideas – and these 11 finalists did just that," says Mark Greenspan, nextMEDIA’s Executive Producer. "Delegates come to nextMEDIA looking for hot new technologies and developers attend looking for ways to bring their vision to reality – it is a win-win situation for all and some great new talent was discovered."

The next edition of the Digital Hot List will happen at nextMEDIA Toronto, 2010 in November.

Banff World Television Festival Announces 2010 'Rockie' Award Nominees at MIPTV

The 31st Banff World Television Festival (BANFF) and nextMEDIA are pleased to announce this year’s Banff World Television Award nominees, recognizing creativity and innovation from the world’s best television programming.

Chosen from 900 entries from more than 43 countries, the Banff World Television Awards, also known as the “Rockies”, is one of the world’s most prestigious events celebrating outstanding work by international TV creators responsible for the continuing evolution and originality in the industry. This year, pilots are also being recognized, with the inaugural Banff International Pilots Competition and Awards awarding talent and creativity in conceptualizing and creating online and television pilots. All the nominees were announced earlier today at the MIPTV broadcast and digital media conference in Cannes, France.

“The Banff World Television Awards have been recognizing programming excellence for over 30 years and we are so proud that the Rockies have become one of the highest, global accolades in the television industry,” says Georges Leclere, executive producer of the Banff World Television Awards. “It’s exciting to see such superb quality in television programming and this year’s 2010 nominees are great examples of what creative talent can achieve.”

Equally exciting, BANFF has seen a 13% increase in submissions this year, attesting to the continued popularity and importance of the awards.

The BANFF organizers designated 68 jury panels from over 30 countries around the world to select Rockie Award nominees in each of the 34 categories. The international final jury will screen the programs just before the BANFF festival taking place June 13-16 in Banff, Alberta, and select category winners, special jury prizes and Grand Prize winners. There will be 5 separate award ceremonies for winners from each of these 34 categories, culminating in the Banff World Television Awards on June 15, 2010.

Below is a list of award nominees and categories.

CHILDREN, FAMILY & YOUTH CATEGORIES (Fiction & Non Fiction)

ENTERTAINMENT CATEGORIES

DOCUMENTARY CATEGORIES

DRAMA CATEGORIES

INTERACTIVE CATEGORIES

Banff World Television Festival Announces Elite List of Industry Showrunners as Master Class Speakers

The Banff World Television Festival is proud to announce an elite list international showrunners who will be presenting Master Classes and participating in networking events during the conference. This year’s Banff World Television Festival  - in strategic partnership with nextMEDIA - will be taking place June 13-16th at the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta.

"Banff and nextMEDIA will be showcasing some of the best creative minds in the industry and we are proud to have such a stellar line-up at the conference to share their knowledge, experience and business insights,"said Peter Vamos, Executive Director of the Banff World Television Festival

Showrunners confirmed for the Banff World Television Festival include:

• Ricky Gervais "The Office"
• David W. Zucker "The Good Wife"
• James Manos Jr. "Dexter"
• Bill Prady "Big Bang Theory"
• Bryan Elsley  "Skins"
• Peter Murrieta "Wizards of Waverly Place"
• Tom Chehak "ReGenesis"

Ricky Gervais is best known for creating and starring in "The Office," one of the most critically acclaimed sitcoms of all time, becoming the first British comedy to win a Golden Globe. Ricky has won two Golden Globes, three Primetime Emmys, and seven BAFTAS. "The Office" is shown in over 90 countries with seven remakes, including NBC’s US version where he served as executive producer. He also created and starred in another successful television sitcom "Extras," wrote and guest starred in an episode of "The Simpsons," appeared on "Sesame Street" and has taken leading roles in Hollywood films like "Ghost Town" and "The Invention of Lying."

David W. Zucker is showrunner on CBS’ legal drama "The Good Wife," and has executive produced for other noteworthy television drama series including "Numb3rs",  "The Company" and "The Andromeda Strain." Zucker was a story editor on the popular series "Judging Amy" and a writer on the series "To Have and To Hold." He also served as the Vice President of Drama Development for CBS and as Vice President of Drama Development at Warner Bros. Television.

James Manos Jr. is the creator and showrunner of Showtime’s "Dexter," currently in its fourth season. He was also a co-producer and writer on the first season of "The Sopranos" where he won an Emmy Award. He also served for two seasons as the consulting producer on "The Shield," and produced the award-winning HBO movie, "The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom."

Bill Prady began his career in entertainment writing for Jim Henson’s "The Muppets" and "Fraggle Rock." Following his work with Henson, Prady wrote for a number of television comedy and drama series including "Married with Children," "Dream On," "Star Trek: Voyager," "Dharma & Greg," and "The Gilmore Girls." He is currently the showrunneron CBS’s sitcom "The Big Bang Theory."

Bryan Elsley is known most notably for the co-creation of the British teen drama "Skins." He’s written many British television dramas including "40," "Rose and Maloney," "Nature Boy," "The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star," "Govan Ghost Story," and his award winning television adaptation of Ian Bank's book "The Crow Road."

Emmy-Award winning producer Peter Murrieta is a versatile and successful television series showrunner and creator of ABC's "Hope and Faith," the CW's "Greetings from Tucson," which was based on his own experiences growing up in Tucson, and WB’s "All About the Andersons." He is currently the executive producer and showrunner of Disney Channel's “Wizards of Waverly Place,” for which he won the Outstanding Children’s Program Emmy Award in 2009.

Some of the biggest international names in broadcasting, television production, distribution and digital media will come together at the Banff World Television Festival and nextMEDIA to experience industry insight, learn, strategize and network with the media community. Over 1,500 delegates are expected to attend.

Delegates will have the opportunity to build the indispensable relationships required to succeed in the international marketplace through shared BANFF and nextMEDIA networking, social events, and our prestigious awards ceremonies. Delegates can continue to expect the high-quality programming, ground-breaking speakers, high level participants, facilitated networking sessions and new initiatives dedicated to generating business opportunities and building relationships that continue to make Banff the most important event in the world that is specifically dedicated to media content production and development.
 

William Shatner to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award At BANFF / nextMEDIA 2010

Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actor to share career highlights in Special Master Class’.

Banff, AB - The Banff World Television Festival and nextMEDIA are pleased to announce that William Shatner will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Banff World Television Awards. The award winning actor will also be presenting a Master Class at this year’s highly anticipated event taking place June 13-16th at the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta.

Best known for his epic role as "Captain James T. Kirk" in the television series ‘Star Trek’, the Canadian born, Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor, director, producer, screenwriter, recording artist, and author’s career has spanned over 50 years. Shatner’s career highlights include such television successes as his title role in the network hit series ‘T.J. Hooker’ and most recently his starring role in ABC's ‘Boston Legal’ which garnered him Emmy and Golden Globe awards for his larger-than-life character "Denny Crane".

Shatner’s Master Class session will be held on Tuesday, June 15th from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. where he will talk about his illustrious career, his recent bold move into the social media age, and his recently announced CBS comedy project based on the irreverent ‘Shit My Dad Says’.

"William Shatner is one of the most celebrated pop-culture icons in the 21st century and we are delighted to be honouring his career achievements at Banff," says Peter Vamos, Executive Director of the Banff World Television Festival. "His ability to keep pace with the times, leverage the latest industry and technology trends, and inject humour every step of the way, have been the keys to an unbelievably successful, decades-long career. To stay on top throughout it all, particularly in such a tough, evolving industry, is truly inspiring."

This year’s Banff World Television Festival announced a strategic partnership that will combine nextMEDIA and the Banff World Television Festival (BANFF) into a joint event at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel on June 13-16th, 2010.

During the enhanced four-day event in Banff, some of the biggest international names in broadcasting, television production, distribution and digital media will come together to experience industry insight, learn, strategize and network with the media community. Over 1500 delegates are expected to attend

Delegates will have the opportunity to build the indispensable relationships required to succeed in the international marketplace through shared BANFF and nextMEDIA networking, social events, and our prestigious awards ceremonies. Delegates can continue to expect the high-quality programming, ground-breaking speakers, high level participants, facilitated networking sessions and new initiatives dedicated to generating business opportunities and building relationships that continue to make Banff the most important event in the world that is specifically dedicated to media content production and development.

Ricky Gervais to be Awarded Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award at BANFF / nextMEDIA 2010

British comedian and recent Golden Globe host to participate in tell-all interview about his career and success 

Banff, AB - The Banff World Television Festival and nextMEDIA are delighted to announce that Ricky Gervais will be presented with the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award, at this year’s event taking place June 13-16 at the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta. The award acknowledges outstanding comedic performances - prominent comedic actors who have received this prestigious award include John Cleese, Bob Newhart and Kelsey Grammer.

In addition to being recognized for comedic excellence, Gervais will also chart his career and success to date, in an interview, which delegates can attend.
Over a 10-year period Ricky Gervais has become the most influential British comedian since Charlie Chaplin. He is an award-winning stand up and his tour ‘FAME’ became the fastest selling UK stand up show in history, selling an untouchable 100,000 tickets in 9 minutes.

Named one of the 100 Most Influential People In The World by Time Magazine, one place behind Nelson Mandela, Ricky has also won two Emmys and three Golden Globes. ‘The Office’ is the most successful British comedy of all time being shown in over 90 countries with seven remakes.
"This is probably the greatest honour of my career. Only the Nobel Peace Prize can top this, but I will only accept that in person if the ceremony is held somewhere as beautiful as Banff. I think they Fedex, luckily," says Ricky.

"We could think of no one funny man so deserving of this prestigious award this year, than Ricky Gervais. The Office is the most critically acclaimed sitcom of all time and Gervais’ worldwide influence in the comedy industry is unparalleled," says Peter Vamos, Executive Director of the Banff World Television Festival.
This year’s Banff World Television Festival announced an innovative strategic partnership that will combine nextMEDIA and the Banff World Television Festival (BANFF) into a joint event at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel on June 13-16, 2010.

Combining nextMEDIA and BANFF is a response to delegate feedback on the emerging opportunities between television and digital media platforms. During the enhanced four-day event in Banff, some of the biggest names in broadcasting, television production, distribution and digital media from North America will come together to experience industry insight and the synergy connecting the media community. Over 1500 delegates are expected to attend.

About Ricky Gervais
At the turn of this century, Ricky was preparing to star and direct a pilot he had written with Stephen Merchant for the BBC, called ‘The Office’. It went quite well and a series was commissioned. It first aired at 9.30pm on Monday 9 July 2001 on the BBC. The rest as they say is history. It is the most critically acclaimed sitcom of all time becoming the first British comedy to win a Golden Globe. In all, Ricky has won two Primetime Emmys, three Golden Globes and seven BAFTAs. The beginning of the next decade is looking good for the fat bloke from Reading too. He started the year as the first host of The Golden Globes since 1995, with an estimated world TV audience of 250 million. www.rickygervais.com

Banff 2010 Press Release

Banff World Television Festival and nextMEDIA announce a strategic partnership for synchronized all screen media conference in 2010.

Toronto, Canada - December 1, 2009 - The Banff World Television Festival (BANFF) and nextMEDIA are pleased to announce an innovative strategic partnership that will see these two popular industry events run concurrently from June 13 - 16, 2010 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Banff.

Banff Foundation Chair Michael Hennessy, BANFF Executive Director Peter Vamos, and nextMEDIA Executive Director Mark Greenspan made the announcement today at nextMEDIA-Toronto being held at the Design Exchange in Toronto.

According to Banff Foundation Chair Michael Hennessy, "the TV and internet community have spoken loud and clear, and we have responded to creating an event about the future of media content which takes full advantage of the value of the Banff World Television Festival, while creating significant opportunities for an expanding circle of stakeholders". Added Peter Vamos, BANFF Executive Director, "Today’s media industry is all about multiple platforms and international collaboration, and this exciting collaboration confirms Banff as the place where international media executives can meet, be inspired and make content deals."

The strategic partnership between BANFF and nextMEDIA is in response to delegate feedback concerning the emerging opportunities between television and digital media platforms. During the enhanced four day event, some of the biggest names in broadcasting, television production, distribution and digital media will come together in Banff to experience industry insight and the synergy connecting the media community.

"Considering we are at a tipping point in terms of re-making the media landscape, it’s imperative that trends, technologies and business models are well understood and effectively applied by every media professional," says Mark Greenspan, nextMEDIA’s Executive Director. "nextMEDIA and the Banff World Television Festival running together creates a powerful new tool for the world’s media businesses to use to maximize their returns."

Delegates will have the opportunity to build the indispensable relationships required to succeed in the international marketplace through shared BANFF and nextMEDIA networking, social events, and programs such as TV 360 and the Digital Hot List. In addition, Banff will play host to new and existing Canadian and international summits for industry organizations and policy makers. Delegates can continue to expect the high-quality programming, ground-breaking speakers, high level participants, facilitated networking sessions and new initiatives dedicated to generating business opportunities and building relationships that continue to make Banff the most important event in the world that is specifically dedicated to media content production and development.

About the Banff World Television Festival The 31st Banff World Television Festival will take place June 13-16, 2010 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Banff, Canada. International broadcasters, producers, writers, directors, distributors and industry executives from over 25 countries will be attending. A core feature of the festival is the prestigious Banff World Television Awards ("The Rockies"). In 2009, 130 programs from over 30 countries were chosen as finalists in 23 program categories.

About nextMEDIA nextMEDIA is a series of digital media conferences, products and programs. It has established itself as Canada’s leading platform for business development and training around the digital media ecosystem. nextMEDIA is owned and produced by Achilles Media Ltd. with the help and support of an international advisory board from the digital media industry. nextMEDIA Banff will take place concurrently with the Banff World Television Festival from June 13-16, 2010 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

About Achilles Media The Banff World Television Festival and nextMEDIA are produced by Achilles Media Ltd., an international business-to-business media and facilitation company serving the media and investment industries. Achilles Media communities include: History Makers: International Summit of History & Current Affairs Producers, nextMEDIA World events, Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) and the Canadian New Media Awards. For more information, visit http://www.achillesmedia.com.