‘Odessa,’ ‘duder,’ ‘NotZK’ Among Official 2011 NYTVF Selections

The New York Television Festival will commence its seventh year of “constructing a new and innovative path of program development” (one that gives talented content creators the ability to bypass Hollywood studio bureaucracy and present their work directly to entertainment industry decision makers in one weekend of events) this Fall.

On September 19 through 24, NYTVF will takeover a handful of screening rooms and event spaces around Manhattan to host industry panels and conversations, throw a few parties, and showcase the 48 original television pilots that were selected as Official Selections of this year’s Independent Festival Competition.

Three of the 48 pilots will become recipients of development deals thanks to Independent Pilot Competition awards sponsored by individual networks. Those awards include the IFC Out of the Box Award (which yins favorite web series Greg and Donny took home last year), MTV’s Voice and Vision Award (given to an outstanding comedic writer and animator – last year the animator was Channel 101’s 9AM Meeting – with each artists receiving a development deal), and The FX There is No Box Comedy Award. The winners will be presented at the NYTVF Awards Show on Saturday, September 24.

So, who are the contenders this year? A healthy mix of Hollywood and new media talent, many of which you’ll recognize from coverage here on Tubefilter. Some standout web series favorites from the press release include:

Duder
Created by: Matt Kirsch – Brooklyn, NY

Two ‘duders,’ Ricky and Glen, would rather sit around arguing about minutia than plan their futures and in doing so get themselves into increasingly awkward situations.

Night of the Zombie King
Created by: David Nett – North Hollywood, CA

Created by NYTVF Alum David Nett (GOLD: The Series), Night of the Zombie King is a The Big Chill story for nerds and a tribute to the geeky wonderful world of role-playing gamers.

Odessa
Created by: Al Thompson – New York, NY, Produced by: Brian Rolling

Two-time NYTVF Alum Al Thompson stars in the sci-fi drama Odessa, which follows the story of a father and daughter migrating from town to town, escaping a “program” which performed experiments on them.

For a full list of the NYTVF’s 2011 Official Selections, check out the festival’s YouTube page. We’ll have more coverage of the selections and NYTVF’s development deal competitions leading up to the main event. Stay tuned.