The Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival will expand its workshops and introduce a pitch session to bolster business opportunities when the four-day fest returns to the southern Saskatchewan town on May 25.

‘We wanted to give delegates the opportunity to do some real business at the festival,’ says organizer Fay Kowal, citing the lunchtime ‘Pitch & Munch’ on May 27. ‘It’s a chance to pitch your project to a room full of industry players.’

The session will follow a ‘speed-dating’ model, she says, with filmmakers getting two minutes to pitch shorts, features, docs, etc. to a selection of broadcasters, distributors and funders. Participants will include Steve Gamester of Alliance Atlantis Communications, Global TV’s Michael Ghent, Robert Hardy of CTV, CBC documentary commissioning editor Charlotte Odele, and ranking execs from APTN, Telefilm Canada, the National Film Board, SCN and OMNI Television.

‘We want our festival to be a premier event for filmmakers concerned with refining their craft,’ says Kowal. ‘So we are looking at providing opportunities for delegates to learn from people who are at the top of their profession.’

For example, a day-long session about the key ingredients of hit TV shows will be led by producer Laszlo Barna (Da Vinci’s Inquest) on May 26, joined by writer/producer John Pattison (Puppets Who Kill), producer Dennis Jackson (Wapos Bay), Chris Triffo and Ron Goetz (Trading Places, Very Odd Jobs), and Galafilm’s Brian McKenna (Webdreams, Bliss).

An ‘alternative distribution’ panel will discuss new delivery systems, including podcasts and cell phones, with guests including Daniel Cross of EyeSteelFilms in Montreal and representatives from SaskTel.

The festival is also holding an emerging filmmakers day, hosted by directors Brian Stockton (Internet Slutts, Wheat Soup) and Gail Maurice (Little Indians, Smudge), among others.

The Golden Sheaf Awards will close the festival on May 27. Over 400 films were submitted to this year’s competition, all of which can be screened at the festival’s micro cinema center.

www.yorktonshortfilm.org