SeriesFest
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersDenver, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
SeriesFest firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SeriesFest
- Legal name
- SeriesFest, LLC
- Website
- https://seriesfest.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SeriesFest industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Television Festival and Independent Episodic Content Development
- NAICS
- Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (71132)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Film Festivals & Festival Organizers (MPADAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Arts, Culture, Entertainment & Fan Conventions Organizers (THAHABAN)
Keywords
Where SeriesFest is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Denver
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
SeriesFest business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Festival Tickets and Badges: Revenue generated from selling festival passes, badges, and individual event tickets to attendees. Badges grant access to the festival from April 29 - May 4 (Season 11), with opening night events available as separate purchases through AXS.com.
- Pilot Submission Fees: Revenue from submission fees charged to filmmakers entering pilot competitions. Fees vary by deadline: $40 for regular submissions, $55 for late submissions (TV Writing Lab with Next50). Multiple pilots can be submitted with individual applications.
- Sponsorships and Donations: SeriesFest is a not-for-profit organization that receives support from sponsors including Canva, Liberty Global, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Company 3, Once Upon A Time Productions, Caz Matthews Fund, Xfinity, United Airlines, SCFD, and Colorado Office of Film, Television & Media. Donations are 100% tax-deductible.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | TV Writing Lab submission fees |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Festival Badges and Tickets |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
SeriesFest product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SeriesFest is a non-profit organization that runs an annual international television festival in Denver, Colorado (currently in its 12th season), featuring independent pilot competitions across Drama, Comedy, Unscripted, Digital Short Series, Late Night, and International Spotlight categories. Beyond the annual festival, SeriesFest operates year-round artist development programs including the Women Directing Mentorship with Shondaland, TV Writing Lab with Next50 Foundation, Pitch-A-Thon! Roadshow, Storytellers Initiative, Mobile Cinema Lab education programs, and Fiscal Sponsorship services for independent episodic creators.
Product overview
SeriesFest is a non-profit television festival organization (not a software technology product) that serves as a year-round platform for episodic storytelling creators. The core offering is an annual festival held in Denver each May featuring multiple pilot competitions (Independent Pilot Competition in Drama/Comedy/Unscripted, Digital Short Series, Late Night), alongside extensive year-round artist development programs including the Women Directing Mentorship with Shondaland (Cycle 7), TV Writing Lab with Next50 Foundation, Pitch-A-Thon! Roadshow, and Storytellers Initiative partnerships. Education initiatives span Mobile Cinema Lab (Colorado & National), Collegiate Fellows, and Summer Intensive. Additional support includes Fiscal Sponsorship and Festival Funds/Awards (Best Pilot Awards, Canva Series Format Deck Award, Inclusive Creator Fund, Caz Matthews Fund, Rural Intersectionality Fund). The organization operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit with a $2.7M budget, drawing 12,000+ annual attendees and functioning as a launchpad for independent episodic content creators worldwide.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Annual Festival (SeriesFest Season) SeriesFest's flagship annual international television festival held in Denver, Colorado each May, featuring in-competition independent pilot screenings, panels, workshops, live reads, parties, and network television premieres. Currently in its 12th season (2026), drawing 12,000+ attendees annually on a $2.7M budget.
- Independent Pilot Competition Flagship competition featuring three categories: Drama, Comedy, and Unscripted. Independent pilots (18-60 minutes) are screened at the festival with winners selected by juries of television executives and celebrities. The Drama winner receives $25K in-kind post production support from Company 3.
- Women Directing Mentorship Mentorship program in partnership with Shondaland, offering a rising female director the opportunity to shadow an established episodic director on a Shondaland-produced series. Past winners have gone on to direct episodes of major shows including Bridgerton.
- TV Writing Lab with Next50 Foundation Writers lab seeking unproduced 20-45 minute pilots that challenge perceptions of aging. Three selected projects receive a 3-day intensive writers retreat in Colorado led by Call to Adventure Media, including workshops, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Submission fees: $40 regular, $55 late.
- Pitch-A-Thon! Roadshow
- Storytellers Initiative Scriptwriting competition discovering and elevating emerging voices in television. Partners have included Janelle Monae's Wondaland Pictures, Ed Helms and Pacific Electric Picture Co., Ben Silverman's Propagate, and Kyra Sedgwick's Big Swing Productions. Winner(s) receive opportunity for development deals with partner production companies.
- Mobile Cinema Lab (Colorado and National)
- Collegiate Fellows
- Summer Intensive
- Fiscal Sponsorship
- Festival Funds and Awards
- International Spotlight Competition
- Digital Short Series Competition
- Late Night Competition
- Pilots in Progress Competition
- Call to Adventure Media Writers Retreat
Quantifiable outcome
- SeriesFest has been the launching pad for over a dozen independent projects that later secured mainstream distribution
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use SeriesFest
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
SeriesFest technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
SeriesFest partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- Next50 FoundationcorePartnership for the TV Writing Lab seeking unproduced 20-45 minute pilots that challenge perceptions of aging. Three selected projects participate in a 3-day intensive writers retreat in Colorado (November 3-5, 2026) led by Call to Adventure Media. Next50 is a Colorado-based national foundation working toward a society that values aging.
- Ed Helms and Pacific Electric Picture Co.coreNew partnership for the Storytellers Initiative, a scriptwriting competition designed to discover and elevate emerging voices in comedy. Previous successful partnerships include Janelle Monae's Wondaland, Ben Silverman's Propagate, and Kyra Sedgwick's Big Swing Productions.
- CanvacoreMultifaceted partnership announced December 2023 to empower creators across the entertainment industry. Includes the Outstanding Series Format Deck Award ($5,000 prize), virtual workshops like 'Bring Your Pitch to the Page', and connects entertainment creators with Canva's design resources and industry visionaries.
- ShondalandflagshipStrategic partnership launching the Women Directing Mentorship initiative in 2018. The mentorship offers rising female directors the opportunity to shadow a director for an episode of a Shondaland-produced series. Partnership has continued through multiple cycles (now Cycle 7 in 2026) and expanded to include the Impact in Television Award. Past winners have gone on to direct episodes of major shows like Bridgerton.
- Company 3coreCompany 3 sponsors the Independent Pilot Competition, providing $25,000 in-kind post production support to the Best Pilot Award winner.
- Wondaland PicturescorePartnership with Janelle Monae and Wondaland Pictures through the Storytellers Initiative. The script competition provides artists opportunity to share diverse ideas through visual media and create groundbreaking television. Winning artist(s) receive opportunity for a development deal with Wondaland Pictures.
- Propagate ContentminorStorytellers Initiative partnership to discover and celebrate exciting new series through exceptional scripts.
- Big Swing ProductionsminorPartnership with Kyra Sedgwick's Big Swing Productions for the Storytellers Initiative and Women Writing Competition to discover bold new series with distinctly female perspective.
- Call to Adventure MediacoreWriter's development company that leads the TV Writing Lab. Provides services including writer's retreats, writers' rooms, and script consulting. Focuses on building community and offering mentorship to help creators develop their narratives.
- Young StorytellersminorSeriesFest launched the Young Storytellers Denver Branch in partnership with Young Storytellers. The mission is to inspire young people to discover the power of their voice using one-on-one mentorship. Currently serves more than 60 public schools in Los Angeles and New York City, reaching 1,200 students each year. SeriesFest bringing the program to Denver for fifth-grade students.
- RBC Emerging ArtistsminorSponsorship of the Pitch-A-Thon! Roadshow: Toronto, highlighting the art of the pitch with a live event on the TIFF footprint where three writers have five minutes to pitch to industry executives.
- Anna & John J. Sie Foundation / Global Down Syndrome FoundationcorePartnership for the Inclusive Creator Fund that champions and amplifies inclusive storytelling by investing in promising projects that highlight the creative contributions of talent with intellectual disabilities in the development of original episodic content.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
SeriesFest competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Sundance Institute: Operates the Sundance Film Festival, the most recognized independent film festival in the US, often cited as the benchmark SeriesFest aspires to (SeriesFest is branded the 'Sundance of television'). Comparable as a non-profit festival operator that supports independent creators through screenings, labs, and year-round artist development.
- Tribeca Festival: Major multi-format festival that includes an episodic/TV component alongside film. Comparable as a large-scale, well-funded festival operator serving independent creators and industry, with broader scope than SeriesFest's episodic-only focus.
- Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF): Major international film festival that has expanded into episodic content and industry programming, including the Series-focused Primetime section. Comparable as a large festival operator with industry market activities; SeriesFest's Pitch-A-Thon! Roadshow is staged on TIFF's footprint.
- SXSW (South by Southwest): Multi-vertical festival (film, music, tech) with a significant episodic/TV programming track. Comparable as a destination event for independent creators that mixes screenings with industry networking, though much larger in scope and scale.
Direct peers
- Film Independent: Non-profit organization that runs the Spirit Awards and year-round filmmaker development programs (labs, education, fiscal sponsorship). Comparable as a non-profit film/TV ecosystem builder that supports independent creators beyond a single event.
- Canneseries: International episodic content festival held alongside MIPCOM/MIPTV in Cannes, France. Comparable as a globally recognized episodic-only festival with competition programming and industry market components.
- ATX Television Festival: The most direct US-based competitor, focused exclusively on episodic television with an annual festival featuring screenings, panels, and fan engagement. Closely comparable in mission, format, and audience to SeriesFest's episodic-only festival model.
- Festival Séries Mania (Series Mania): Leading international festival dedicated exclusively to series/serialized television, based in Lille, France. Directly comparable as a non-profit-style episodic festival serving creators, buyers, and audiences with competitions and industry programming.
- New York Television Festival (NYTVF): Annual independent television festival featuring pilot competitions, development opportunities, and industry connections for emerging TV creators. Directly comparable in mission, episodic focus, and creator-development programming.
Emerging players
- Austin Film Festival: Film and screenwriting festival with strong focus on the writer's craft and emerging TV writers. Comparable as a festival operator with episodic/screenwriting programming and creator development focus, though broader than SeriesFest's pure episodic mission.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SeriesFest social profiles
Digital presenceSeriesFest financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SeriesFest leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
SeriesFest funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SeriesFest M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SeriesFest
What does SeriesFest do?
SeriesFest is a non-profit organization that runs an annual international television festival in Denver, Colorado (currently in its 12th season), featuring independent pilot competitions across Drama, Comedy, Unscripted, Digital Short Series, Late Night, and International Spotlight categories. Beyond the annual festival, SeriesFest operates year-round artist development programs including the Women Directing Mentorship with Shondaland, TV Writing Lab with Next50 Foundation, Pitch-A-Thon! Roadshow, Storytellers Initiative, Mobile Cinema Lab education programs, and Fiscal Sponsorship services for independent episodic creators.
Is SeriesFest a public or private company?
SeriesFest is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was SeriesFest founded?
SeriesFest was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is SeriesFest based?
SeriesFest is headquartered in Denver, United States, in the North America region.
How does SeriesFest make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Festival Tickets and Badges are the primary driver. The others are pilot Submission Fees and sponsorships and Donations.
Who are SeriesFest's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Sundance Institute, Tribeca Festival, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and SXSW (South by Southwest). Direct peers are Film Independent, Canneseries, ATX Television Festival, Festival Séries Mania (Series Mania) and New York Television Festival (NYTVF). Austin Film Festival is listed as an emerging player.
Does SeriesFest have an API?
No public API is recorded for SeriesFest.
What industry is SeriesFest in?
SeriesFest's product category is Television Festival and Independent Episodic Content Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADAKAD, Film Festivals & Festival Organizers, with a secondary code of THAHABAN, Arts, Culture, Entertainment & Fan Conventions Organizers. Its NAICS code is 711320 and its SIC code is 7990.