Los Angeles, CA/ Dec. 21, 2020/ — Omni Cultural TV Fest (OCTVF) and S.T.R.E.A.M. Global Innovations joined forces on Dec. 8 on a groundbreaking avatar-populated virtual festival.
The Second Annual OCTVF was hosted in partnership with NATPE (The National Association of Television Program Executives) and S.T.R.E.A.M. Global Innovations, a non-profit educational organization that supports underserved communities. The all-day expo featured back-to-back panels, screenings, an award show and after-party in an interactive virtual world with personalized avatars.
“This year’s OCTVF was epic! Not even a pandemic could keep us from showcasing the new talent that we discovered,” said Cindy Cowan, Festival Co-Founder. “S.T.R.E.A.M. provided us with a superior virtual networking experience and our avatars allowed us to meet each other, participate in panels and the award show — and dance the night away!”
At the after-party, guests mingled with Kool from Kool and The Gang and Hanna El Bayeh, and danced to performances by Sandra G. and James Maslow. Vicki Barbolak (“America’s Got Talent”) hosted the award show.
The event was designed to connect a diverse group of filmmakers and creatives with buyers, distributors, studios and networks in a socially-distanced environment. Participants from around the world gave the event enthusiastic reviews.
“It was amazing! I actually watched for 14 hours straight in my pajamas,” said Adeline Ferro, Executive Producer of “Mambochella,” (Official Selection/Documentary). “The panels were superb, the screenings and award show were exciting, and the party made me feel like I had gone out for the first time since the pandemic.”
Geoff Silverman, Partner at The Cartel Agency was one of many executives who made successful connections. He commented, “I found all the creative talent to be fresh, diverse and ground breaking new voices. In fact, I am now in representation talks with a few of these fantastic creators.”
Hosts of the platform reported that the festival had over 1,200 log-ins, with 196 guests interacting and navigating their avatar for the entire 14-hour day!
“These are impressive numbers and we were very honored to have been the official platform for this much needed event that connects the dots between thriving creators and their possibilities. This event made history for us both!” said Nikia Richards, co-founder of S.T.R.E.A.M. Global Innovations.
The Winners of the Second Annual OCTVF Awards are:
● Best Foreign Language – “Dia De las Carpas” by Joāo Dall’Stella
● Best Animation – “Fantomville” by Glaudius Studios, Puerto Rico
● Best Documentary – “What War” by Parvez Satter
● Best Scripted Comedy – “Winfield Historical Times” by Julia S. Cowle
● Best Comedy Special – “America’s Funniest Teen” by Corey Craig
● Short Web Series – “Hialeah” by Director David A Vargas
● Best Talk Show – “Trend Talk” by Bel Hernandez and Naibe Reynoso
● Film or Shorts – “Rosie” by Destry Alyn Spielberg & “Overkill” by Alex Montilla
● TV Scripted Drama – “Variable” by Chris Valenziano and Maurice Whitfield
● Best Unscripted or Reality – “First Week Out” by Isaac Fuentes
Industry professionals were honored for their contributions to diversity and inclusion:
● The Pioneer Award to DL Hughley
● The Legacy Award to Shari Belafonte
● The Visionary award to Maurice Fadida
● The International Icon Award to Guy Ecker
● The Circle of Excellence Award to Yancey Arias
● Trailbazer to Emily Tosta
Anannke Entertainment, Maverick Entertainment, Serquet Productions, DG CINE, Dominican Republic Film Commission, Hispanic Star, Latin Heat, TV MAS, Prensario Internacional, and El Nuevo Diario were among supporting sponsors.
Submissions are now open for Omni Cultural TV Fest 2021 at:
“No matter what, we will make it happen for our filmmakers,” said Kiki Melendez, CEO of Latin Hollywood Films and Founder of OCTVF. “We are grateful to have found a new way to bring us together.”
For more information on S.T.R.E.A.M. Global Innovations or to check out their innovative platform, please visit streamglobal.org
