Village Gamer

The Banff World Media Festival has announced the complete programming schedule for its 33^rd annual event, which takes place June 10th through 13th at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. The Festival will include over 100 sessions covering every genre of entertainment, including: Scripted, Comedy, Kids & Animation, Non-Fiction and Digital. Discussions will be led by industry heavyweights such as:

• Stuart Snyder (President and CEO at Turner Broadcasting System)
• Harold Gronenthal (Senior Vice President and GM of Program Acquisitions and International Development at AMC)
• John Pollack (President at Electus International)
• Matt Loze (SVP of Programming at Fox Television Studios)
• Steve Hannah (CEO of The Onion)
• Jonathan Ford (Vice President of Distribution at ContentMedia)
• Glen Mazzara (Executive Producer of The Walking Dead)
• Mike Fleiss (Creator and Producer of The Bachelor)
• Terence Winter (Executive and Creative Producer of Boardwalk Empire)

Known for its world-renowned programming including:

• “View from the Top” sessions
• esteemed “Master Classes”
• Rockies Award Gala
• live 21st Century pitching forum/game show “Deal Makers Live”

This year the Festival is also offering new exciting programs including The Co-Production & Co-Venture Business Market which was developed to help foster new partnerships between leading international content producers, distributors and funders and new digital sessions, supported by nextMEDIA, to expand conversations around advertising and branding with a program titled “The Branded Content Exchange” which will include a Digital Buyer’s Market on June 10^th, 2012.

The Digital Innovator Series and The Digital Launch pad, which will showcase the hottest emerging websites and online programs from content creators worldwide, are also returning. The sessions are designed to introduce advertisers and brands to producers and broadcasters in order to open up alternative sources of revenue. Participants for these sessions include Paul Chard (Global Head of Content at MediaCom) and CJ Yu (Head of Branded Entertainment and Integrated Media at Carat).

Also new this year at the Festival is a dedicated roster of programs developed specifically for the Comedy genre. Attendees can expect to meet and hear from Troy Miller, the four-time Primetime Emmy-nominated producer, David Miner, Executive Producer of NBC’s 30 Rock, and Chuck Lorre, Executive Producer of Two and a Half Men and 2012 Sir Peter Ustinov award recipient. Larry King, former host and CNN anchor will also accept the 2012 Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s festival.

As if all the Banff staple programs, newly-unveiled programs and dedicated comedy roster weren’t enough, attendees will enjoy the once-a-year opportunity to book face-to-face meetings with hundreds of global development executives, agents, funders and advertisers. They’ll also attend sessions that explore the intersection of media, marketing and technology; join broadcasters and delegates from around the world, and hear from decision makers that are creating the top entertainment content on the market.