InsIder’s PoInt of VIew: wrItIng
elbow rubbing and business card swapping
Writing and
is done, the delegates to the festival enjoy a
number of social events most evenings where
the food and the booze are in ample supply.
In addition to the awards presentations,
one of the most popular traditions is the
annual barbeque for which a parade of busses
rocking
transport the delegates to the outskirts of
Banff to enjoy a Wild West beer and beef
bacchanal. What better place to snap that
humiliating digital photo of a drunken
broadcast executive wearing their de rigueur
straw Stetson?
in the rockies
With the exception of the barbeque, the
Banff World Television Festival lacks the
cheesy carnival-like atmosphere that
permeates similar gatherings where the pall
of desperation can linger like cheap perfume
in a lift. Maybe it’s the mountain air, or
perhaps the calibre of the truly international
The Annual Banff
delegates, but this unique confluence of
buyers and sellers maintains an unusually
World Television Festival
positive vibe. Here, Canadian, American,
British, and other global players share
their wares and their needs with the power
players who can make it all happen: writers
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
and producers.
For the first time this year Canadian
broadcaster, Canwest Global, sponsored The
Canwest Global Showrunner Training Program,
for which ten experienced television writers
from across Canada were selected to
participate in an intensive programme of
professional development. I am happy to
report I was among the lucky participants
who enjoyed the benefits of this grand
opportunity, which will include a trip to
Los Angeles in the fall to observe writer’s
rooms in action. We had the benefit of
meeting directly with the guest speakers as
well as the broadcasters to learn firsthand
about the ins and outs of network television
and the voracious demands of production.
WHAT THE HELL IS A SHOWRUNNER?
Travelling from the four corners of the
he Banff World Television Since participating in the Banff World
globe to the cradle of the Rocky
Festival is unlike other annual events Television Festival in June, I have had the
like MIPCOM and NATPE which are great delight of attending the SWF
Mountains seeking the promise of a
Tessentially all about the buying and Screenwriters’ Festival in Cheltenham this
golden tomorrow—not unlike the
selling of commoditised television summer. While there, I was surprised to
determined pilgrims who carved a path
programmes as if they’re pork belly futures. learn that the concept of showrunning, is a
to the west in days gone by—these
Banff has developed into a hybrid of an relatively new and somewhat suspect concept
awards competition, an educational event, in the UK.
starry-eyed dreamers find their way to
a non-stop party—and yes, a marketplace In Canadian and American television
the promised land.
where pitches can open the door to fame production, it is customary to have an
and fortune. Or not… executive producer (most often but not
By Rick Drew This year the event took place from 8th always the creator of the programme)
to 11th June, held as always at the gothic provide a central vision for the series,
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, a palatial which includes writing and overseeing the
Canadian railway hotel that has been staff writing of the episodes, casting, the
accommodating tourists since its leaded supervision of all production details and
glass doors opened in 1888. When all the the approval of all the elements of post-
44 By fIlmmakers. for fIlmmakers.
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