Just got back from the Banff World Television Festival and all I can say is it was absolutely amazing and surpassed even my wildest notions of coolness.
Over the four days I was fortunate to spot and meet Mike Clattenburg, creator of the Trailer Park Boys, Greg Daniels, executive producer of The Office, Laszlo Barna, executive and CEO of Barna-Alper Productions, Jon Plowman, Head of Comedy at the BBC, Charlotte Odelle, Commissioning Editor for CBC Television’s The Lens, Anton Leo, Head of Comedy for the CBC, Brent Haynes, Director of Programming at The Comedy Network, and Megan O’Neill of AtomFilms. It was an absolutely amazing roster of talent and an overwhelming few days.
Upon our arrival at Banff, Leanne and I found ourselves stunned by the sheer scope and scale of the event - walking into the Ballroom for the Opening Night Soiree was a spectacle unto itself. The acoustics of the century old building only served to amplify the buzz happening in this place, with new relationships being made and deals being struck in nascent corners. Any anxiety Leanne and I felt was quickly quelled by the sight of familiar faces - and the race was on to shake as many hands as possible during our oh-so-brief four day stint.
This year’s BWTF was a hit for comedy makers and the panel discussions were fantastic, highlights being Greg Daniels (‘The Simpsons’, ‘King of the Hill’, ‘Saturday Night Live’, ‘The Office’) discussing the success of The Office and letting aspiring writers in the room in on his process, as well as the risky decision to hire reality tv camera operators to give the American version a documentary style feel. Appointment TV with the BBC’s Jon Plowman (think ‘Little Britain’, ‘Ab Fab’ and ‘The Office’) was a very intimate discussion with the creative mind behind the most successful BBC Comedy programs of late - and to cap it all off, Trailer Park Boys creator Mike Clattenburg discussed the genesis of Ricky, Julian and Bubbles with the Globe & Mail’s John Doyle, as part of a Master Class session held in the theatre at the Fairmont.
The biggest hit of the festival for Leanne and I, though, came during our meeting with Anton Leo, where we crafted the beginnings of our show, ‘Citizen Janes’ and left with talks of a three segment trial run floating wonderfully in the air.
Banff was a huge success for my sis and I, and a wonderful introduction to the international television production community at large. It’s a fantastically wide world out there, and this year we took the first steps towards fully realizing our potential within it. That’s the most exciting thing of all.
Cheers,
Roz
