The VIFF 25th Annual Film & TV Forum promises five full days of pitching sessions, seminars, panels, master classes, and networking opportunities with the brightest creative and most astute business professionals in film and television today. The Forum opens with an extended version of Storyville Vancouver followed by DOC Day, FILM Day, and TV Day, featuring thematic streamlined programming catering to all levels of Vancouver filmmakers. The ever-popular New Filmmakers' Day rounds out the week on Saturday, Oct. 2. All sessions take place at the Rogers Industry Centre at the Vancouver International Film Centre, September 28 - October 2. 

Storyville Vancouver, in partnership with BC public broadcaster Knowledge Network is off to a flying start with 14 creative documentary projects from filmmakers across BC and the Pacific Northwest selected to pitch to our international team of commissioning editors from the US, UK, Germany, Japan and Canada. This year also heralds in the Mountie Hat Pitch, where a project will be drawn by lottery during the event from the business cards of producers, who drop their card in the hat at the pitch session. The producer whose card is drawn will have the opportunity to pitch their current project to our panel of commissioning editors.

On the business front, DOC Day presents Acquisitions in the Doc World, where international distributors from Zeitgeist Films, The Film Sales Corporation and Roadside Attractions share their insights on what kinds of docs continue to engage audiences and the criteria used to determine their acquisitions. Reality Success Stories features John Brunton (Insight Production Company) a leading producer and distributor of non-fiction programs as he shares his expertise on how to produce world-class non-fiction programming in the ever-evolving marketplace. On FILM Day, The Changing World of Independent Cinema offers a reality check from a stellar panel of industry veterans including distributors D Films and Paladin plus producers Peter Saraf, (Sunshine Cleaning) and Frida Torresblanco (Pan's Labyrinth). TV Day presents a range of sessions all critical to a produces success such as, Showrunning: Team Leaders that focuses on the multi-faced talents required of producers in order to execute a successful and long-running TV series.

Creativity abounds on Getting to The Heart of the Matter (Doc Day) featuring Oscar-nominee Jeffrey Blitz, director of Lucky (nominated for this year's Grand Jury Prize at Sundance), Lucy Walker, director Waste Land (winner of the Audience Award at Sundance) and Oscar-winnerJohn Zaritsky, director, Leave Them Laughing as they offer their insights into the methods used to draw out the unfiltered truth from their subjects. Meanwhile, on Film Day, Adapting Material for the Screen shines the spotlight on Robert Nelson Jacobs (screenwriter Chocolat, The Shipping News) and Jose Rivera (On The Road, Motorcyle Diaries) as they discuss the elements for creating a success screenplay from another narrative form.

Not to be outdone by its big sister, TV Day features the scribes from Breaking Bad (Vince Gilligan), Treme (Eric Overmyer) and Intelligence (Chris Haddock) as they discuss the process of creating truly great drama and audience loyalty.On So You Wanna Write a Comedy...hear from two of the best comedy creators out there: Emmy-award winners Michael Schur (Parks and Recreation) and Dave Finkel (United States of Tara).

New Filmmakers' Day rocks with Hot Tub Time Machine screenwriting duo Sean Anders and John Morris as they share the secret of comedy writing in the Success Stories session. In Frame By Frame, Oscar-winning editor, Stephen Mirrione (Biutiful, Ocean's Thirteen, Babel, Good Night and Good Luck, 21 Grams, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Traffic) discusses the aesthetic and technical contributions he makes to the filmmaking process. Anatomy of a Scene ends the day on a high, with David Slade, director, (Hard Candy, Twilight: Eclipse) giving us the insider's scoop on two scenes that created unique challenges for him and the manner in which he turned them into little masterpieces.

Networking opportunities abound at this year's Forum! Speed Dating Sessions offers emerging filmmakers some quality face time with broadcasters and local senior producers on Storyville and Doc Day. Feature projects looking for financing, co-production partners or distribution are front and centre on Film Day meetings, and on TV Day it's television producers turn to get up close and personal with broadcasters and potential investors and partners. For projects with an international appeal the Forum hosts the Telefilm Canada International Tête-à-tête Meetings where those looking for co-production and international sales can book a unique series of meetings to discuss current projects with international producers, distributors and commissioning editors. And the ever-popular Roundtable Discussions enable Vancouver film professionals to network, build relationships, gain market intelligence and personal feedback from commissioning editors, film producers, and episodic television writers and producers