Watch the NYTVF-winning pilot for “RE:VERSE” and see who earned TV development deals at the 2013 fest

Re:Verse, a comedy pilot created by Stephen Soroka and Nic Rad and starring Maria Krovatin as a 22-year-old who quits law school and pursues multiple futures in New York City, won the inaugural “Best of Fest” award and the Audience Award at last weekend’s New York Television Festival.

Soroka wrote and directed the pilot for Re:Verse, which also co-starred Rebekka Johnson and Mike O’Gorman, and features supporting roles from Kate Burton and Anna Quindlen, among others. Here’s the full 22-minute pilot!

Coincidentally, Soroka is moving to Los Angeles. A performer at both the UCB and the PIT, as well as a teacher at the PIT, Soroka will be the guest of honor at a goodbye roast on Wednesday.

While Re:Verse was the big winner in this year’s Independent Pilot competition (which has seen at least two pilots in recent years make the jump to TV and IFC, with what would become the game-show parody, Bunk, and the semi-autobiographical Marc Maron vehicle, Maron), there were plenty of other awards, and 20 very real awards in the form of development deals to be handed out over the weekend, as well.

“We launched our first 2013 development initiatives during the 2012 Festival and in the year since, we’ve seen growth across the board – from the number of industry participants attending the Festival and partners committing to development options, to a jump in both submission opportunities offered and artists creating projects for our competitions,” said NYTVF Founder and Executive Director Terence Gray. “It’s been a banner year for the organization and we are indebted to our terrific partners and extremely talented creative community for their commitment to the independent television movement.”

2013 Development Deals

MSN Short-Form Storytellers Challenge

  • “Coolest Thing I’ve Ever Made,” by Guy Georgeson (Toronto), receiving a $75,000 production budget from MSN to create an original short-form series for the Microsoft video platform.

NYTVF Pitch

  • BIO Channel: Anre Garrett (Miami, FL)
  • Gannett Broadcasting: David Guthrie and Nick Nelson (Toronto, Canada)
  • National Geographic Channel: Justin Lamb (New York, NY)
  • Sundance Channel: Alex J. Mann (New York, NY)

FOX-NYTVF Comedy Script Contest

  • “We’re Not Your Parents,” by Erin Cardillo and Richard Keith (Los Angeles, CA), winning $25,000 and a development deal

A&EHISTORY and Lifetime Unscripted Development Pipelines

Winning producers received $10,000 and the opportunity for future development with the partnering network.

  • Rick Dobbis, “Fire Bombers” (New York, NY), for HISTORY’s Unscripted Development Pipeline
  • Nathan Stoll, “Dirt Track Outlaws” (New York, NY), for A&E Unscripted Development Pipeline

Finalists in the second-annual Lifetime Unscripted Development Pipeline (winner to be announced at a later date):

  • Jake Greene for “JR – Style by Fire” (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Sue Mowris for “LumberJill” (Madison, WI)
  • Harold Abrams for “Miss Vivian – the Funeral Lady” (Virginia Beach, VA)
  • Bill Herndon and Brett Gay for “Sisters of the Game” (Baltimore, MD and Fresno, CA)
  • Soreyrith Um for “Wrestling Hollywood” (Nashville, TN)

2013 Festival Development Awards

Independent Pilot Competition

  • Best Comedy Pilot: “Animals” created by Phil Matarese and Mike Luciano (New York, NY)
  • Best Drama or Dramedy Pilot: “Hereafter” created by Johnny Kenton (London, England)
  • Best Web Series Pilot: “Escape from Brooklyn” created by Sue Galloway and Megan Neuringer (New York, NY)
  • Best Unscripted Pilot: “Anything You Can Do” created by Omar Kenawi and Martina Kabelkova (London, England)
  • Best Actress: Alison Rich for “Incognito” (New York, NY)
  • Best Actor: (tie) Peyton Brown, Brian Hurwitz, Josh Segovia, and Tyler Smith for “Exquisite Corpse” (Chicago, IL)
  • Best Directing: Todd Bieber for “Engaged” (New York, NY)
  • Best Writing: “Disenchanted” written by Justin Neufeld, Mark Spacek, Galen Church and Bill Wise (Austin, TX)
  • NYTVF Critics Award: “Killer Moves” created by Ben Hillyar and David Mayes (Beconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England
  • NYTVF Audience Award: “Re:Verse” created by Stephen Soroka and Nic Rad (New York, NY)
  • NYTVF “Best of the Fest”: “Re:Verse” created by Stephen Soroka and Nic Rad (New York, NY)

Other Previously-Announced 2013 Development Deal Winners

Earlier in 2013, the NYTVF announced winners of the Comedy Central Short Pilot Competition and the NBC Voice and Vision Drama Challenge, as well as finalists in the A&E and HISTORY Unscripted Development Pipelines, with each receiving a development deal from the network.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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