North America’s premiere toon event, the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), is returning to the Canadian capital this fall, with another edition of Pitch This! The contest has been held for over 15 years as a highlight of OIAF’s industry forum The Animation Conference, running September 25-27.
Pitch This! gives two finalists the rare opportunity to pitch their new, home-grown project to a room of influential industry decision-makers, and win a prize package courtesy of Pitch This! partners. Leading up to the show down, 10 semi-finalists will be partnered with a seasoned industry mentor to help perfect their concept for the big pitch, and give them invaluable feedback on their project.
“This is a solid opportunity to bring your magic to a room filled with industry professionals and creatives. Don’t stress out – this is not Shark Tank,” said Sylvie Rochon, a former mentor and jury member for Pitch This! and a Content Producer for the competition’s presenting partner, Digital Dimension. “Pitching in front of a crowd might sound daunting, so just focus on telling your story in your own unique way. This audience is longing for engaging storytelling. If your story resonates with them, you will make connections. Start here.”
The 10 selections go head to head on Wednesday, September 25 during TAC, where each contestant must impress a small committee of experts in under 10 minutes. The two strongest presentations will be selected for the official event on Thursday, September 26. Finalists pitch to a panel of platform executives, and the entire TAC audience – including more than 350 potential buyers and financiers.
“The OIAF can’t wait to see the fresh, Canadian ideas that come to this year’s Pitch This! We’ve partnered with Digital Dimension, a Montreal-based studio that is providing the successful pitch with a $5,000 cash prize – as well as software and legal services from returning partners,” said Azarin Sohrabkhani, Director of Industry Programming at the OIAF. “This package is designed to provide the successful pitch with all the ingredients to get their idea off the ground.”
Pitch This! 2019 is open to Canadian projects only, and pitched series should be aimed at children ages 2-11. Proposals should be emailed to presentations (at) animationfestival.ca by August 15, 2019 at 5 p.m. EST.
