Academy Alums Selected for New York Television Festival’s Independent Pilot Competition
Krystle Connor in Harlem Knights
This month, four LA Academy grads will debut their independent pilots at the 11th Annual New York Television Festival. As NYTVF Official Artists, Krystle Connor ('07), Evan Enslow ('07), Ben Stranahan ('07) and Rob McGillivray ('08) will be striving for their chance at a TV development deal in the festival’s Independent Pilot Competition. Past successful pilot projects that emerged from the festival include HBO’s Animals; Sharing, produced by Jimmy Fallon at NBC; and Pivot’s Shrink.
The two alumni productions, Harlem Nights (Connor and Enslow) and The Midnight Anthology (Stranahan and McGillivray) make up two of the just 50 submissions chosen to represent the 2015 event.
“We received more submissions than ever before, and I can honestly say that this is the best line-up, top to bottom, that we’ve ever featured in 11 years of the Festival,” NYTVF Founder and Executive Director Terence Gray announced in August. “It’s very exciting to see the growth in the community and the level of creative firepower coming into the NYTVF, and we’re thrilled to share these selections with the world.”
Festival winners are divided into a series of categories including, but not limited to, Best Drama, Best Comedy and Official Selection. In addition to the chance at winning a category award, Official Artists can qualify for the chance at connecting with the festival’s Development Partners, comprised of studios and networks that have committed to offering a minimum of one deal to the event’s independent submissions.
The 2015 Independent Pilot Competition will feature selects in a variety of themes like Sketch Comedy, Dramatic Thriller, Sports Dramedy and Investigative Drama. Among those competing, festival-goers can expect to see a number of notable names and faces such as Minnie Driver, Hannibal Buress, Hana Mae Lee, David Koechner and many more.
Harlem Nights, created by Ben Pitts, Kevin Morris and Otoja Abit, follows the lives of five former star basketball players who have reunited to rebuild their lives and relationships both on and off the court. Academy alums Connor and Enslow both produced and acted in the film, with co-stars Brendan Dooling (Carrie Diaries), Aaron Dean Eisenberg (Public Morals) and former professional athletes Anthony Mason Jr. and Taylor Sele.
“Making this project come to life was one of the most rewarding challenges Evan and I have faced as actors,” said Connor. “There were so many moments of having to switch between being the actor and being the producer. We made some mistakes and learned a lot of lessons; but overall, we made something. We set out to do it, and we did it!”
Having raised money for the project through IndieGogo and self-produced fundraisers throughout the Big Apple, the Harlem Nights crew shot the film over 10 days in Harlem, New York City, where Connor and Enslow now reside.
Harlem Nights will premier in the Sports Dramedy category. Click below for the official NYTVF trailer.
The Midnight Anthology takes audiences into the future, where time-travel is reality. Created by Andrew Chan and Sherman Alan Kew Jr., the film stars Clancy Brown (Sleepy Hollow) as a death row inmate who sends a letter to his eight-year-old self with a secret message that only he can decode. Academy alums Stranahan and McGillivray, who produced and acted in the Official Selection, also recruited LA-campus Academy instructor Tim Landfield as the film’s narrator.
“The Academy and its entire outstanding and caring faculty provided us with a sound foundation that guides us daily in our artistic pursuits,” Stranahan said. “Knowing all that we do from our training, faculty and fellow alumni has helped us make this project successful.”
After graduating from The Academy, Stranahan and McGillivray founded Tip-Top Productions in 2011, a fresh and fast-growing film production house based in Los Angeles. In addition to The Midnight Anthology, their films include It’s a Disaster, starring Julia Stiles (The Bourne Ultimatum), America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) and David Cross (Scary Movie 2); Population Zero, featuring award-winning documentarian Julian Pinder; and their pre-production adventure thriller Mean Dreams.
The Midnight Anthology will screen on October 20th in the Dramatic Thriller category. Click below for the official NYTVF trailer.
Like so many alums who have graduated from The Academy, these four artists have formed a unique bond that they continue to take with them in their professional and personal lives.
“At The Academy, we met and created relationships with amazing and talented people who have every intention of succeeding in this industry – many of these people we are still in touch with to this day, and plan on working with in the future,” said Enslow. “I am endlessly grateful to The Academy for giving us friends from all over the world, but most importantly a foundation to build on our careers, and connections to last a lifetime.”
Congratulations to all for being officially selected in the New York Television Festival – and for all your future successes to come.
The two alumni productions, Harlem Nights (Connor and Enslow) and The Midnight Anthology (Stranahan and McGillivray) make up two of the just 50 submissions chosen to represent the 2015 event.
“We received more submissions than ever before, and I can honestly say that this is the best line-up, top to bottom, that we’ve ever featured in 11 years of the Festival,” NYTVF Founder and Executive Director Terence Gray announced in August. “It’s very exciting to see the growth in the community and the level of creative firepower coming into the NYTVF, and we’re thrilled to share these selections with the world.”
Festival winners are divided into a series of categories including, but not limited to, Best Drama, Best Comedy and Official Selection. In addition to the chance at winning a category award, Official Artists can qualify for the chance at connecting with the festival’s Development Partners, comprised of studios and networks that have committed to offering a minimum of one deal to the event’s independent submissions.
The 2015 Independent Pilot Competition will feature selects in a variety of themes like Sketch Comedy, Dramatic Thriller, Sports Dramedy and Investigative Drama. Among those competing, festival-goers can expect to see a number of notable names and faces such as Minnie Driver, Hannibal Buress, Hana Mae Lee, David Koechner and many more.
Harlem Nights, created by Ben Pitts, Kevin Morris and Otoja Abit, follows the lives of five former star basketball players who have reunited to rebuild their lives and relationships both on and off the court. Academy alums Connor and Enslow both produced and acted in the film, with co-stars Brendan Dooling (Carrie Diaries), Aaron Dean Eisenberg (Public Morals) and former professional athletes Anthony Mason Jr. and Taylor Sele.
“Making this project come to life was one of the most rewarding challenges Evan and I have faced as actors,” said Connor. “There were so many moments of having to switch between being the actor and being the producer. We made some mistakes and learned a lot of lessons; but overall, we made something. We set out to do it, and we did it!”
Having raised money for the project through IndieGogo and self-produced fundraisers throughout the Big Apple, the Harlem Nights crew shot the film over 10 days in Harlem, New York City, where Connor and Enslow now reside.
Harlem Nights will premier in the Sports Dramedy category. Click below for the official NYTVF trailer.
The Midnight Anthology takes audiences into the future, where time-travel is reality. Created by Andrew Chan and Sherman Alan Kew Jr., the film stars Clancy Brown (Sleepy Hollow) as a death row inmate who sends a letter to his eight-year-old self with a secret message that only he can decode. Academy alums Stranahan and McGillivray, who produced and acted in the Official Selection, also recruited LA-campus Academy instructor Tim Landfield as the film’s narrator.
“The Academy and its entire outstanding and caring faculty provided us with a sound foundation that guides us daily in our artistic pursuits,” Stranahan said. “Knowing all that we do from our training, faculty and fellow alumni has helped us make this project successful.”
After graduating from The Academy, Stranahan and McGillivray founded Tip-Top Productions in 2011, a fresh and fast-growing film production house based in Los Angeles. In addition to The Midnight Anthology, their films include It’s a Disaster, starring Julia Stiles (The Bourne Ultimatum), America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) and David Cross (Scary Movie 2); Population Zero, featuring award-winning documentarian Julian Pinder; and their pre-production adventure thriller Mean Dreams.
The Midnight Anthology will screen on October 20th in the Dramatic Thriller category. Click below for the official NYTVF trailer.
Like so many alums who have graduated from The Academy, these four artists have formed a unique bond that they continue to take with them in their professional and personal lives.
“At The Academy, we met and created relationships with amazing and talented people who have every intention of succeeding in this industry – many of these people we are still in touch with to this day, and plan on working with in the future,” said Enslow. “I am endlessly grateful to The Academy for giving us friends from all over the world, but most importantly a foundation to build on our careers, and connections to last a lifetime.”
Congratulations to all for being officially selected in the New York Television Festival – and for all your future successes to come.