WEBVTT - New York Television Festival 0:00:06.120 --> 0:00:10.479 Welcome to Strictly Business Varieties podcast featuring conversations with industry 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:14.440 leaders about the business of entertainment. I'm Cynthia Littleton, Managing 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:17.640 editor of Television for Variety, and my guest today is 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:21.960 Terrence Gray, Founder and CEO of the New York Television Festival. 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:24.920 Gray was ahead of the curve and recognizing the demand 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:29.200 among independent producers and TV fans for having a forum 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:32.519 to celebrate the small screen. The New York Television Festival 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:38.239 encompasses a competition for independently produced pilots and various script competitions. 0:00:38.400 --> 0:00:41.400 The goal is to bring emerging creative talents together with 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:44.559 the network and studio executives and the talent agents that 0:00:44.600 --> 0:00:48.320 can advance their careers. As he prepares for the fourteenth 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:52.000 edition of the festival, which runs July fourteenth through twenty, 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:55.760 Gray spoke about the evolution of the event and changes 0:00:55.800 --> 0:01:01.360 in store for this year's gathering. Terrence Gray, Executive director 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:04.200 of the New York Television Festival, Thanks for stopping in 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:06.240 to talk with us. Thank you so much for having 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:08.800 me excited to be here. You're getting close to the 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:12.959 fourteenth edition of your week long festival that highlights that 0:01:13.080 --> 0:01:18.680 puts particular emphasis on independently produced projects and the networking 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:26.400 bringing aspiring writers, directors, producers, actors together with television industry 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:30.040 movers and shakers, people that can green light shows, people 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:32.640 that can give them development deals, the people they need 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:35.440 to get to that next run. Tell me, let's go 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:40.840 back to the beginning. What inspired you to launch this festival? UM. Well, honestly, 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:44.400 I I came out of school and I knew uh 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:47.120 that I always wanted to be in TV. Um. And 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:51.000 back in the day, uh, you know, unlike what was 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:55.960 established with the great film festivals Sundance in Toronto and 0:01:56.080 --> 0:02:00.600 can and others, um, there wasn't really a way to 0:02:00.840 --> 0:02:04.280 make independent TV projects. And so how I sort of 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:08.519 uh went about that in New York is we mounted 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:12.560 uh sitcoms on stage and and back before there was 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:16.280 a YouTube and the ability to distribute that Really, if 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:19.320 you wanted to put your work on on its feet like, 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:21.519 that was one of the ways to get it done 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:24.480 because back then, uh you know, late nineties, early on 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:28.760 its there, there really wasn't any independent television. Um. And 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:32.720 from that I was lucky enough uh to meet my 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:35.880 agent and William Morris, and that's how we started our 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:40.359 relationship and our friendship and um and so for me, 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:43.080 it was a great way to to actually take something 0:02:43.120 --> 0:02:45.320 I had created and and get it on speed and 0:02:45.360 --> 0:02:49.200 get it in front of people, because obviously, getting material 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:52.080 in front of people is key, right, It's key to 0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:55.400 somebody starting their career and and and and moving forward 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:57.960 or you know, in particular with the project they've done. 0:02:58.440 --> 0:03:01.200 Um and So in the back of my mind, I 0:03:01.200 --> 0:03:04.440 I think I always thought like there could be a 0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:11.960 great platform for television creators to get their work in 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:17.079 front of executives. And I think as we progressed and 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:19.920 as we got to a point where you know, I 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:23.200 remember and and and in my career I had the 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:26.440 good fortune of of working on shows like Who Wants 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:29.079 to Be a Millionaire? And during that period of the 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:32.120 late nineties the early two thousand's, you saw some of 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:37.560 the top producers starting to make specifically in in non scripted, 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:40.360 they started to make their own tape, right, They started 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:43.560 to make sales tape that they self financed to go 0:03:43.720 --> 0:03:47.560 into two networks to sell. And so I think that 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:51.960 was the first iteration of people making their own pilots. 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:56.000 And so I thought, oh, okay, the the ability to 0:03:56.240 --> 0:04:00.840 use a digital camera and to edit online. Uh, with 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:04.520 software that was available, you could start to put together 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:08.360 your own pilots, right and and the cost of doing 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:12.040 that where where the cost of doing a film was 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:15.720 still you know, fairly sizeable if you were trying to 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:18.880 get into a place like a Sundancer Toronto, big barrier 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:22.080 to entry, big barrier to entry. Right in that if 0:04:22.120 --> 0:04:25.680 if you were editing online yourself, and you had a 0:04:25.720 --> 0:04:27.760 digital camera and you have the ability to put these 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:31.400 things together, I thought, Okay, we're starting to see a 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:36.360 recipe where we could legitimately go out to an independent 0:04:36.560 --> 0:04:40.200 production community and say, bring us the best of of 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:43.240 your TV pilots or presentations or what have you. Um. 0:04:43.520 --> 0:04:46.920 And so I tried to get it off the ground 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:49.440 with John Rosen, who is my who's my agent, who 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:52.719 has been incredibly supportive over the years, and for the 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:56.760 first couple of years, UM, people were just sort of like, look, 0:04:56.839 --> 0:05:00.200 television is made in l A. It's made in the studio. Like, 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:03.280 I don't know what you're talking about. We don't validate 0:05:03.360 --> 0:05:05.960 get out like I mean. It was just it was 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:08.559 just the reaction was sort of there was a little 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:12.520 bit of like we don't really see where this material 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:14.960 is coming from. We don't really understand, and there's a 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:18.120 professional way of doing this, uh, you know, on the 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:22.560 West coast. And so we finally and it was Nancy Debuke, 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:25.680 who was at ANY at the time, who was really 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:28.919 the first executive UM to come in and say, I 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:34.159 will support this vision of people making UH their own tapes. 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:37.400 And I think people have been probably going into any 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:41.240 uh and and showing sizzles, but she was fantastic. She 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:44.320 was the first one to jump in UM and and 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:47.920 really that that started it. And I think during UH 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:53.400 that year, really YouTube and Lazy Sunday in particular from 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:58.440 Saturday Night Live hit and people really realized, oh, when 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:02.000 I make something, if it doesn't you know, get into 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:07.080 this particular festival or or other platforms that were becoming available, UM, 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:09.960 I can self distribute it and I can put it 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:12.640 on YouTube and I could direct a bunch of people 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:15.599 to go there and watch it. Because prior to that 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:18.479 you could like send it to your aunt, and like 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:20.760 I mean, there was there wasn't a lot of distribution 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:24.120 for something that you had made. So I think the 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:30.760 the advent of YouTube was enormous to a migration of 0:06:30.839 --> 0:06:34.320 people that I think had been primarily doing independent film 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:39.599 to trying out the medium of television or episodic. It 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:43.919 seems like a great confluence of timing of literally the 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:47.479 digital tools that that people had to work with, and 0:06:47.880 --> 0:06:50.160 the you know what we now know what we now 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:54.400 call peak TV. This just explosion of creativity and an 0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:56.760 understanding that it can I think that it can come 0:06:56.800 --> 0:07:02.200 from all corners in the US overseas. So now you know, 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:05.560 now you're in your fourteenth year. You there are That 0:07:05.600 --> 0:07:07.400 seems crazy when I say it out lout, but yes, 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:10.560 we are in the fourteenth year. You know, fast forward 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:13.040 here and you've got you've got there. There are a 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:16.600 lot of television festivals now on the calendar. There's series 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:20.480 fest in Denver, Austin, Texas has the a t X, 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:23.040 there's a couple of festivals in Atlanta. But you're still 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:26.040 the only one that really has that competition element. Can 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:30.040 you talk about how the submissions work and how you 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:35.280 how you determine what will be you know, actual festival selections, 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:38.400 what what projects are actually screened? Yeah, and I can 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:42.040 maybe uh go back a little bit if if that's helpful, 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:45.680 Like when we started the festival, the the ideas that 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:48.720 we were standing on the shoulders of Sundance and others 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:52.400 UM that had created and obviously those guys are much bigger, 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:56.840 but they had created this dynamic platform for storytellers and 0:07:56.880 --> 0:08:01.160 filmmakers UM to present their story in whole and in 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:04.560 front of a very important audience. And so that's how 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:08.720 we began too. It was sort of the idea of saying, um, 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:11.000 if you and and we're still open to this, but 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:15.320 if you have a TV show in any genre, right, 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:17.200 so it could be animation, it could be comedy, it 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:19.720 could be live action, it could be non scripted drama, 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:22.840 we are open to it. We are open to whatever 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:25.840 your interpretation of whatever show you want to do. And 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:29.120 we in the beginning we messed around with with different 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:32.520 lenths of time, and over time we realize that the 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:38.240 timing framework that you put out there is really less 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:44.800 important than giving a representation of the world of your show, 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:49.000 the characters, the tone, the pacing. So that used to 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:52.360 be a big thing in the beginning, UM, but so 0:08:52.440 --> 0:08:56.000 we were open. It was it was it was bring 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:59.959 us your best stuff, UM, and then we will connect 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:03.000 to you with agents and executives and people in the 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:07.880 business um around the third it's either third of the 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:12.280 fourth year of the festival um and again another one 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:16.760 of our great board members, Kevin Riley, was at Fox 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:21.880 and we crafted a partnership where we were going to 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:27.080 look for sitcom scripts for Fox, and Kevin was fantastic 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:31.319 and supportive, and as part of that partnership there was 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:36.400 a guaranteed Fox script deal, which is an enormous deal 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:40.720 for any young writer to be able to get a 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:44.240 deal at the network, to get a ton of interest 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:47.679 from agents and managers as a result of that, and 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:50.360 really get to that next level of their career. Um 0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:53.160 And from that one deal with Kevin and Fox, we 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:59.200 ended up doing annually anywhere between twelve to twenty guaranteed 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:03.960 deals with different networks and studios and platforms. And the 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:09.839 realization that we had was that online film, TV and 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:13.920 the people that distribute TV, the networks and the platforms, 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:17.240 what have you, they have a particular brand, they're looking 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:21.040 for a particular type of show, and they are serving 0:10:21.600 --> 0:10:25.200 uh constituency or an audience that is going to them 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:28.560 for a particular thing. And so at first we were 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:32.120 a little I was a little nervous, like if if 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:37.560 we defined, uh, the sort of creative brief of what 0:10:37.679 --> 0:10:41.880 somebody was looking for, would that take away from the 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:43.880 creative projects that we were getting in. But what we 0:10:43.960 --> 0:10:48.840 found was that the independent community was starved for information. 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:51.680 So you know, as a producer, I would get priests 0:10:51.679 --> 0:10:54.160 from William Morris on like what is this network want 0:10:54.240 --> 0:10:57.280 or what does that studio want? So the idea and 0:10:57.400 --> 0:11:01.439 the support of of the End Street and networks and 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:04.840 studios that they were willing to create a brief with 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:09.640 us that we could share with the independent community was amazing. 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:11.760 And and then the idea that they were going to 0:11:11.880 --> 0:11:14.840 take the best of the best projects that that they 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:17.800 found UM and get into business with them and give 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:21.719 them a deal is um. You know, it's still extraordinary 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:26.280 and and it really helped us build a really dynamic 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:31.880 and and very talented community. And it helped us establish 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:36.839 a season right that people understood when submissions opened, when 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:39.240 they were due by, when the festival was so it 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:42.720 really got people into a frame of mind of when 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:45.520 they had to hit deadlines. And clearly, you know a 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:48.680 lot of festivals and and and like screenwriting competitions, there's 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:51.760 a cash prize at the end, but clearly for for 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:53.880 people that want to get into the business, more than 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:57.920 a thousand dollars is fifteen minutes with Kevin Riley, that's right. 0:11:58.080 --> 0:11:59.920 And I think you know, at the end of the 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:04.800 a UM, it's it. It doesn't even really matter what 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:08.160 the size of the deal is. If you are getting 0:12:08.280 --> 0:12:11.640 into business with Lions Get or you are getting into 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:16.200 business with Comedy Central, well now you're where you want 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:20.320 to be. And and it's also if if you're not represented. 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:24.000 And as we've grown, we've we've had more people who 0:12:24.080 --> 0:12:28.439 are who are represented coming into as as independent television. 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:31.960 The movement itself has matured. There are more and more 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:35.080 people doing independent TV projects and some of those people 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:39.880 have agents and managers and they're they're more uh experienced, 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:41.840 or they're further along in their career and it's a 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:45.199 passion project that they make something independently. So the number 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:49.559 of people that are represented has gone up, to dismay 0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:52.840 of some of the agencies that were partnered with UM. 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:57.160 But I I feel like for the people that aren't represented, 0:12:57.200 --> 0:12:59.760 and I still think that that's like you know, roughly 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:02.560 for to your of the people that are in the festival. 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:05.520 If you do get a deal with one of with 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:08.360 a true TV or you know who any of our 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:13.040 partners that is going to attract UH agents and and 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:16.720 managers to say, oh, well, this person made the festival. 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:18.960 Then they got the attention of True. Oh we should 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:23.959 definitely check in and ultimately whether or not that deal 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:27.360 turns into a pilot or a series, if it gets 0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:30.080 you on the radar of a representative that can work 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:33.280 with you going forward in your career, that is a 0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:37.480 home run, right. You know, somebody a development executives read 0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:39.800 something in a in a spec script that has a 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:43.280 great voice. That spec script may not be right for them, 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:46.200 but that voice might be a you know, a staff 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:49.439 writer on an on an on a emerging pilot or something. 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:52.520 I think that's exactly that's exactly right. So in the 0:13:52.559 --> 0:13:55.240 case whether it's a scripted show or whether it's you know, 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:57.920 a comedy format. As we were we were talking about true, 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:03.960 the idea that a creator, creator, writer or a producer 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:08.280 gets to go into the network and sit down and 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:12.360 and go through that development process with an executive and 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:17.000 go through that firsthand, that experience of being able to 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:20.600 get that feedback work with that executive um try to 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:23.440 bring and progress that show forward, whether or not that 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:28.800 actually happens, their ability to go back into a place 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:32.160 like true. First they're going to establish that relationship with 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:35.160 that executive, but they're going to be much better prepared 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:37.880 in terms of their next creative idea about how to 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:42.600 framework that and deliver it back to the to the network. Yeah. Absolutely. 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:45.640 And so you have various levels of competition. You have 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:49.200 competition in various genres for projects and now you you 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:52.480 even I think last year moved into a script competition 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:55.800 that's just at the script level, not for something on video. Um. 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:58.920 How and you get submissions from literally all over the 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:03.800 world of steps mission process work. Uh, well, I will 0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:07.440 I guess I would go through the submission process in 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:11.800 general as a as a broadly applause. But as you said, 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:17.720 we do individual initiatives with with different industry partners as well. Um. 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:22.640 But a call will go out around either a specific 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:26.920 partner brief or Uh. We have the independent Pilot competition. 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:30.160 Uh that goes out every year in January, and that 0:15:30.560 --> 0:15:33.240 it got moved up a little bit this year, and 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:35.360 we'll talk about sort of the change in the calendar. 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:39.560 But the but but that competition will open if there 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:44.000 are partners within UH that competition. There, briefs will also 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.840 go out so that people UH and that artists will 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:50.800 will be aware of them. UM. And then there's a 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:55.120 a a period of development and and producing or writing 0:15:55.200 --> 0:16:00.920 your show, UM, which will last anywhere from say three 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:04.320 months to six months. There'll be a deadline. All of 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:08.520 those UH materials will come in UH, they will be 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:13.840 vetted by our programming committee. UH, and ultimately what we're 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:18.600 looking at is probably the top four or five percent 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:23.680 on the pilot side UH and UH with ny TVs 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:28.360 scripts that you talked about, UH, that is usually less 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:31.760 than the top one percent. So the you know, it's 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:34.880 very competitive both in the pilot stage and in the 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:38.560 script stage. UM. But the but the voices and and 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:42.080 and the artists that we have coming through, UM, you know, 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:45.520 in my view that they've now had this equipment or 0:16:45.560 --> 0:16:50.720 there's been platforms as you mentioned other TV festivals as 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:54.600 well out there. We're you know, fourteen years old, but 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:58.480 certainly in the last decade there and and other film 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:01.160 festivals have moved into episode as well. So I feel 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:06.080 like the movement is maturing because there are a lot 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:09.679 of opportunities for people to try to get in and 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:12.639 show off their work and get in front of people. 0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:15.040 How do you guard against the concern that somebody sends 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:18.720 in an independently produced pilot or or a script, and 0:17:18.920 --> 0:17:21.879 the concern that that somebody might steal the idea or 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:24.600 steal the concept. One of the ways that that that 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:30.320 we combat it, I guess is by by being as 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:35.879 transparent as we can UM and by not holding anyone 0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:38.360 to anything. I mean, when you come to the New 0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:42.560 York Television Festival, UH, you're free to take a deal 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:44.639 or not take a deal, or what have you. Like, 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:48.480 you sort of hold the fate of your project. And 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:53.240 I think it's it's gratifying to know that the level 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:55.840 of projects that we get and the quality people that 0:17:55.880 --> 0:17:59.000 are involved in them, that we've built a layer of 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:03.639 trust with the creative community over fourteen years because we 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:07.879 worked very hard to make sure that one everybody's treated 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:12.280 like a professional and and and taken seriously in this endeavor, UH, 0:18:12.320 --> 0:18:14.840 and to to make sure that they have the freedom 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:17.920 to do whatever they want to do. The festival, I think, 0:18:17.960 --> 0:18:21.080 since its inception, has been in October, but this year 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:24.960 you're moving to July. Why did you make that calendar change? Yeah, 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:29.520 the festival. I believe it's always been. It may have 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:31.800 been one or two years, like the last week of September, 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:34.840 but you're right, it's always been in October. And I 0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:38.240 think initially it was just like October is a beautiful 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:40.360 time in New York, and it was sort of like 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:44.400 we we wanted to make sure that UM September when 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:48.399 everybody comes back UH from summer break, I feel like 0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:52.119 there's so many things that happened in New York in 0:18:52.160 --> 0:18:55.080 September to try to compete with any of that is 0:18:56.119 --> 0:18:59.160 very difficult. And we felt like as we edged towards 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:05.080 UH the second half of October, we could, you know, 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:09.600 get the attention of the executives in TV who were 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:12.280 so busy with fall launch and and of course they were, 0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:15.320 you know, with all series coming back or new series 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:17.920 launching UM and so for us it was a great time. 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:21.920 But we it also sort of dawned on us that 0:19:22.560 --> 0:19:26.600 UM it is really the tail tail end of development 0:19:26.680 --> 0:19:31.280 season of of new projects that are being done studio 0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:35.560 or network level, and so the thought was as UM 0:19:36.440 --> 0:19:40.760 Studios were getting involved, the the idea was, why don't 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:44.360 we move to the beginning of the buying season, UH, 0:19:44.400 --> 0:19:48.320 and therefore, uh there may be additional opportunity for our 0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:53.320 artists to get into business. And really that's what uh 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:56.520 what motivated the move. And and you know right now 0:19:57.119 --> 0:19:58.880 uh and we haven't you know, we're gonna be through 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:01.720 it in another two and a half weeks uh when 0:20:01.800 --> 0:20:04.440 we get started, but uh, it's our first time through. 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:06.440 But I think the reaction right now has been very 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:09.440 good and I'm optimistic uh that it's going to be 0:20:09.480 --> 0:20:12.960 a good move. How does the festival sustain itself? How 0:20:12.960 --> 0:20:18.280 do you make money? Well, I'm still figuring that part out. Uh, 0:20:18.640 --> 0:20:23.200 I'm kidding, but it's it's kind of truthful. Um. We Uh, 0:20:23.240 --> 0:20:27.800 we are sustained by our partners, like all festivals, I 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:31.280 don't I don't think it's a surprise that that festivals 0:20:31.280 --> 0:20:33.840 are not really set up to make money nor nor 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:37.320 do they uh and that there may be exceptions for 0:20:37.320 --> 0:20:42.680 for the larger festivals. Um, but we are sustained by 0:20:42.800 --> 0:20:48.119 uh A a good number of partners across the board 0:20:48.520 --> 0:20:52.280 uh in TV that have that have always been there 0:20:52.320 --> 0:20:55.119 for us and come through from us and are looking 0:20:55.160 --> 0:20:58.040 for new voices. And that's that's really how we operate. 0:20:58.080 --> 0:21:02.120 We're not by the very name nature of the festival. UM, 0:21:02.480 --> 0:21:06.400 we are we are pretty small in the sense that 0:21:06.880 --> 0:21:11.320 our partners look for us to curate down um a 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:14.879 massive number of projects that come into a very digestible 0:21:15.240 --> 0:21:19.919 top few. And so from that standpoint, uh, you know, 0:21:20.840 --> 0:21:22.919 we only have a very limited number of artists that 0:21:22.920 --> 0:21:26.919 are participating by design in the festival. UM. And on 0:21:26.960 --> 0:21:31.520 the other side, we we have a number of executives, 0:21:31.560 --> 0:21:35.000 but again that's that's sort of uh limited to the 0:21:35.000 --> 0:21:39.040 executives that are our partners or pass holders. UM. So 0:21:39.119 --> 0:21:41.679 our universe on the B two B side is not huge. 0:21:42.000 --> 0:21:44.320 And then obviously we do events and we do things 0:21:44.320 --> 0:21:47.840 that our panels are days uh that are open a 0:21:47.880 --> 0:21:51.040 little bit more generally. UM. But if I sat here 0:21:51.040 --> 0:21:54.040 and told you that, uh we have a full proof 0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:56.960 business plan, UH, that has been the one part of 0:21:56.960 --> 0:22:00.240 the festival that uh that we are uh we are 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:03.320 still working on. But I think what we do do UM, 0:22:03.359 --> 0:22:05.480 and what we set out to do in the very 0:22:05.560 --> 0:22:10.440 beginning is UH be a place that curate and elevated 0:22:11.160 --> 0:22:13.879 the best voices for television. I think that, you know, 0:22:13.960 --> 0:22:15.640 you can always get better, but I think that we've 0:22:15.640 --> 0:22:20.159 achieved that goal. Uh that we initially set out to 0:22:20.160 --> 0:22:23.240 to achieve and and I'm very grateful that we that 0:22:23.359 --> 0:22:26.320 we have the partners that we do. But again sort 0:22:26.359 --> 0:22:29.399 of going back to the idea that we're not a 0:22:29.480 --> 0:22:32.920 huge festival that you know, that's not great when you're 0:22:32.960 --> 0:22:37.560 going to large corporations that are used to uh, you know, 0:22:37.680 --> 0:22:41.040 festivals that have a hundred thousand people coming through like 0:22:41.320 --> 0:22:44.040 we just we don't offer that as a as a 0:22:44.080 --> 0:22:46.439 general premise. It sounds like you've put a lot of 0:22:46.480 --> 0:22:49.639 sweat equity into this thing over fourteen years. It's a 0:22:49.680 --> 0:22:52.720 full time job. For it is full time job, that's right, Yeah, 0:22:52.760 --> 0:22:56.359 myself and I will also say my wife, who is 0:22:56.640 --> 0:23:01.600 uh the festival director, Erranda, who only runs the show. UM. Now, 0:23:01.640 --> 0:23:05.399 we both have and and it's something uh that we 0:23:05.440 --> 0:23:08.400 really believe in. And I and I think for whatever 0:23:08.560 --> 0:23:13.240 we lack on the uh financial success side, UM, I 0:23:13.280 --> 0:23:15.760 think in terms of respect and in terms of the 0:23:15.880 --> 0:23:19.399 quality of the projects and the voices that are that 0:23:19.440 --> 0:23:22.159 are coming out of ny TV f UM. You know, 0:23:22.200 --> 0:23:25.840 I'm hopeful that we've earned that and and uh, you know, 0:23:25.880 --> 0:23:27.919 and we enjoy what we do and I think we 0:23:27.920 --> 0:23:32.320 we haven't migrated away from what we tried to set 0:23:32.359 --> 0:23:34.560 up in the beginning. And I think when we talk 0:23:34.600 --> 0:23:38.760 about peak TV and we talk about a number of outlets, 0:23:38.960 --> 0:23:43.520 a vast number of outlets that are doing original programming. Um, 0:23:43.560 --> 0:23:46.840 I think we have a value to offer in that space. 0:23:47.320 --> 0:23:49.800 Have you explored any kind of with all the material 0:23:49.880 --> 0:23:52.640 that you have that you have have fielded over the years, 0:23:52.680 --> 0:23:55.520 have you explored any kind of partnership with a with 0:23:55.640 --> 0:23:58.159 a YouTube or somebody that could maybe showcase some of 0:23:58.200 --> 0:24:01.399 what you've YEA and unites might be tricky. Yeah, you know, 0:24:01.480 --> 0:24:03.920 you're right it It does often come down to a 0:24:04.040 --> 0:24:06.639 rights question. I think we've we've been down the line, 0:24:06.760 --> 0:24:09.600 you know for over a decade. We had an incredible 0:24:09.640 --> 0:24:14.000 partnership UH with Microsoft and all of its different divisions, 0:24:14.040 --> 0:24:16.200 and you know, I think they've they've had a little 0:24:16.200 --> 0:24:17.960 bit of a change of direction when it when it 0:24:18.000 --> 0:24:22.160 comes to entertainment in the last couple of years. But um, 0:24:22.200 --> 0:24:26.119 you know, one of the things that is UH and 0:24:26.119 --> 0:24:29.600 and look, we would remain open to the idea of 0:24:30.240 --> 0:24:33.520 a showcase of of our top pilots. And I think 0:24:33.880 --> 0:24:37.399 what we'd want to make sure again, having worked on 0:24:38.160 --> 0:24:41.560