Female-Driven Projects Are The Big Winners At The 2018 Just For Laughs ComedyPRO Pitch Competitions

By: Jul. 30, 2018
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Female-driven projects are the big winners at the 2018 Just For Laughs ComedyPRO pitch competitions, which took place this past week during the key industry / media / performer dates of the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, Canada.

Winners were selected by a blue ribbon panel of judges which, this year, included senior creative and production executives from Amazon Studios, Above Average, Bell Media, CBC, FOX, HBO, Hulu, Powderkeg, Some Spider Studios, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, TBS and YouTube Originals.

The 2018 pitch winners are:

* Brittany Tomkin and Jorja Hudson for Myrtle & Willoughby, a comedy mini-series about two, young female detectives on Brooklyn's Millennial Crimes Unit - Stand Up & Pitch "Beyond The Box: Playing It Short" presented by Some Spider Studios in conjunction with Tubefilter.

* Leslie Rathe for Tethered, a "traumedy" about a new mom suffering an identity crisis after giving birth to her son and alter ego - Stand Up & Pitch "From Set to Screen: TV, OTT, SVOD and More" presented by Project 10 Productions Inc. in conjunction with the Independent Filmmakers Project (IFP).

* Leah Cameron and Natalie Novak for The Communists' Daughter, a comedy web series set in the Mulroney '80s about the daughter of two happily married communists struggling to fit in at a new high school while simultaneously trying to uphold her family's outdated beliefs - "CBC Comedy Originals Pitch Program".

Moderator of "Beyond The Box" was Drew Baldwin, Founder and CEO of Tubefilter. Andrew Barnsley, President and Executive Producer of Project 10 Productions moderated "From Set to Screen" while Louis Calabro, Vice President, Programming, Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television moderated the "CBC Comedy Originals Pitch Program".

Brittany Tomkin and Jorja Hudson
Brittany Tomkin is a New York-based comedy writer and video producer. Her independent comedy duo Brit & Brit has created numerous online sketches, and she also has written and staged live shows at The Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre and The People's Improve Theatre. Brittany is both a contributing writer to Reductress, the satirical, online women's magazine, and a produced playwright. Jorja Hudson is a Brooklyn-based writer, comedian and producer whose work has been featured on Funny or Die, CollegeHumor, Reductress, Elite Daily, Bustle, Refinery29, and more. She is the creator and head writer of indie web series Low Budget Sketch Show, which screened at The Hollyweb Festival, New York Independent Film Festival, and was featured in the AV Club, The New York Times and The Observer.

Leslie Rathe
Leslie Rathe is a bold new voice in film and television having worked out of Los Angeles, San Francisco and London. An honours graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, her films have screened with Gen Art, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and IFC. Leslie currently lives in Los Angeles where she is developing original TV series across all platforms having worked with Pulse, Blackpills, and Conde Nast Entertainment. She is also writing a dark comedy series for JAX Media and developing a mini-series for Kids At Play. Tethered participated in the IFP's Screen Forward Episodic Lab, which was held this past June in New York City.

Leah Cameron and Natalie Novak
Leah Cameron is a Toronto-based writer and director who grew up with a different perspective on world events than most Canadians: her dad was a dyed-in-the-wool Communist in the thick of the Mulroney '80s. To date, The Communist's Daughter has earned funding through the Independent Production Fund (IPF) and has been shortlisted for Sundance's Episodic Story Labs. Natalie Novak is a Toronto-based producer and the youngest daughter of Polish immigrants who "escaped" Communism in 1986. She is currently at work on a book of short stories called 'Cool by Association; Three Decades of Art as Business'. She has produced several award-winning short films that have played festivals internationally.

Just For Laughs ComedyPRO is a unique, annual global gathering of the biggest players in the comedy industry. The event takes place during the peak industry/media/performer dates of the Just For Laughs Festival. You simply cannot get any closer than this to the people who truly make comedy happen! Registrants for this one-of-a-kind, four-day industry experience gain exclusive access to some of the most sought-after events in all of comedy, including keynotes, panels, 'In Conversation' sessions, industry luncheons, cocktail parties, and exclusive live performances from comedy's buzziest podcast hosts. Just For Laughs ComedyPRO also plays host to Variety's Top 10 Comics to Watch showcase, the prestigious New Faces showcase series, and the Homegrown Comic Competition.

Founded in 1983, the Just For Laughs Group concentrates on three major focal points: estivals (in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney); television production and stand-up specials, most notably Gags, seen in 135 countries and on 95 airlines; and live shows, including Canadian tour dates for Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, Jimmy Carr, Danny Bhoy, and North American dates for John Cleese & Eric Idle and Family Guy Live! to name a few. The Montreal Just For Laughs Festival, which celebrates its 36th edition in 2018, is the world's largest and most prestigious comedy event, welcoming more than 2 million people each summer. The Group has offices in Montreal, Paris, Los Angeles, Toronto, and London.

 


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