In the fall of 2024, WebSeries Canada presents the 11th anniversary of T.O. Webfest. The festival is designed to support, connect, promote, and celebrate independent short form digital content creators and podcasters from Canada and around the world. The TOWF Conference offers engaging keynotes, panels, networking sessions, screenings, and an Awards Gala!

SUBMIT YOUR WEB SERIES:
1. a) What is an eligible web series/short form digital series?

A series of at least 4 episodes, scripted or unscripted, designed primarily for online digital streaming, with running time of less than 20 minutes per episode.

a) What is an eligible podcast?

A fiction podcast, unscripted podcast (interview, variety, documentary), or actual play podcast or video. **Running times are not fixed, but the jury will only listen to up to 20 minutes.

2. Does your release date qualify?


Your series or podcast must be released between January 1, 2023, up until July 1st, 2024 in order to be eligible.

3. Next pick your genre category:

SHORT FORM DIGITAL SERIES CATEGORIES:

Comedy
Drama
Documentary
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Horror/Thriller/Action
Variety/Musical
Lifestyle
Animated
Children's (12 and under)
Youth (13-18)

PODCAST CATEGORIES:

Fiction Podcast
Unscripted Podcast
Actual Play Podcast
Actual Play Video

Once you apply with your genre pick you will automatically be considered for the TOWF craft categories.

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The WSC Spark Equity Program for Canadian creators, funded by the Canada Media Fund, ensures that cost is not a barrier for anyone to participate in T.O. Webfest. This fund will provide submission fees to those that may require it and identify as Black, Indigenous or persons of colour. Please contact leah.rifkin@webseriescanada.org for more information.

PRIMARY AWARDS:

Best Series - Grand Prize
Best English Canadian Series
Best French Canadian Series
Best International Series
Best Toronto Series
Suzette Laqua Best of BC Series

GENRE AWARDS:

Best Comedy Series
Best Drama Series
Best Documentary Series
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series
Best Horror/Thriller/Action Series
Best Variety/Musical Series
Best Lifestyle Series
Best Animated Series
Best Children Series (12 and under)
Best Youth Series (13-18)
Best Fiction Podcast
Best Unscripted Podcast
Best Actual Play Podcast
Best Actual Play Video

CRAFT AWARDS FOR SHORT FORM DIGITAL:

Best Directing
Best Writing
Best Editing
Best Actor in a Canadian Series
Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Series
Best Actor in an International Series
Best Supporting Actor in an International Series
Best Ensemble Cast
Ben Houtman Memorial Award for Best Cinematography
Best Original Score
Best Production Design
Best Visual Effects
Best Sound Design
Best Costume Design
Best Hair & Makeup

CRAFT AWARDS FOR PODCAST (including Actual Play):

Best Writing
Best Sound Design
Best Ensemble Cast

SPECIFIC CRAFT AWARD FOR ACTUAL PLAY:

Best Game Master
Best Player Character Performance

ELIGIBILITY FOR PRIMARY CATEGORIES:

BEST SERIES GRAND PRIZE
Open to all participating short form digital series.

BEST ENGLISH CANADIAN SERIES
Only open to English-language short form digital series produced in Canada.

BEST FRENCH CANADIAN SERIES
Only open to French-language short form digital series produced in Canada.

BEST INTERNATIONAL SERIES
This is given to the best foreign series (produced outside of Canada). Open to all languages.

TORONTO AWARD
Only open to short form digital series produced in Toronto.

BEST OF BC WEB SERIES AWARD
Only open to short form digital series produced in British Columbia.

Other Special Awards include but are not limited to:

TRIPLE THREAT AUTEUR AWARD
Open to anyone person who occupied at least three of the following four key roles in connection with a selected web series, as listed in your FilmFreeway submission form: writer, director, director of photography, and lead actor. Finalists will be determined by the highest overall scores as determined by the festival jury.

WEBSERIES CANADA HONOURABLE MENTIONS
The Honorable Mention Awards are given to artists and production companies that stand out and deserve special recognition. The jury may award as many honorable mentions as it feels is necessary.

Rules & Terms

HOW TO SUBMIT:
1) Ensure that you meet all the eligibility criteria. (Your project has been released between January 1, 2023 up until July 1st, 2024.)

2) Submit with your Genre Category

3) There is no limit on the length of content submitted for consideration, but the jury will only consider the first ten (10-20) minutes. The festival reserves the right to screen a portion of your submitted content instead of its full length.

4) Submit all required information and pay the required fee(s) in accordance with the relevant submission window.

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ADDITIONAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

All submitted content must satisfy the following requirements:

-All Content must follow the Canadian 14A Classification - Suitable for people 14 years of age or older, with the exception of entries in the Children or Youth categories. Parents cautioned: may contain violence, coarse language and/or sexually suggestive scenes.

-The content must have been developed for online audiences.

-The content must be submitted by a creator/producer aged 18 or older who owns the rights.

-At the time of submission, the series must be accessible online or subject to online distribution by June 1, 2024.

-If your content is unfinished or pending distribution, you may submit password-protected unreleased content or works-in-progress for consideration. You can add a password to protect your video uploads on your FilmFreeway project page. If selected, you must have a screening file available by June 1, 2024 or be disqualified.

-Content that is not English language must include English subtitles. Any series with dialogue or visual references that are not spoken or written in English must include English subtitles.

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INELIGIBLE CONTENT:

The following content formats are not eligible for screening during T.O. Webfest and will be rejected regardless of their adherence to any other requirements:

- Commercials
- Corporate videos promoting a product or service
- Pornography
- Product reviews
- Music videos
- Short Films

RULES:

1. All submitters must submit their content to T.O. WebFest through FilmFreeway.

2. All submitters must submit to at least 1 Genre category.

3. Multiple projects may be submitted for consideration provided that an additional submission fee is paid for each entry.

4. All submission fees are non-refundable.

5. Submitting does not guarantee your series as an Official Selection of T.O. WebFest 2024.

6. The Festival prefers that the submitter is the creator/producer of the project, however, in order to submit content on the behalf of its creator/producer, the contact information of the primary creator/producer must be provided in order to document them as the festival’s main point of contact.

7. The submitter must have obtained legal copyright to publicly screen their submitted content and all intellectual property contained therein including, but not limited to, music, lyrics, written work, photos, video content, artwork, and media excerpts.

8. The creator/producer of each Official Selection will receive a discount code to attend T.O. Webfest & Conference 2024.

9. By submitting you agree that T.O. Webfest may display all or part of the submitted content live in a theatre or online or by mobile app from September 1, 2024 to October 1, 2024, to festival audiences.

10. By submitting you agree that T.O. Webfest may display all or part of the submitted press kit content online, mobile or on social media for the lifetime of the post as well as on the T.O. Webfest website.

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JUDGING PROCESS:

-T.O. Webfest and WebSeries Canada maintain that the collective members of the Festival Jury reflect an international selection of esteemed industry professionals of diverse cultural backgrounds.

-T.O. Webfest and WebSeries Canada reserve the right to appoint all members of the Festival Jury.

-The Jury's scores determine all nominees and winners.

-Special Award nominees and winners are determined by the T.O. Webfest Festival Team.

-If the Festival Jury or T.O. Webfest determines that an incorrect category may have been chosen for a submission, the submitter will be contacted regarding reclassification.

-All decisions regarding Official Selections and award nominees and winners are final decisions and non-disputable.

-The identities of the Festival Jury members will be posted on the T.O. Webfest website after submissions close with the exception of any that choose to remain anonymous.

-Staff members of T.O. Webfest or members of the Board of Directors of WebSeries Canada are permitted to submit their web series, but they may not participate in any jury categories in which their submissions are entered.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Clea Frost

    We were so thrilled to be part of the 2024 TO WebFest with our fiction podcast Hovering. Amazing festival, really well organised and lovely staff.

    October 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much! Glad to hear you had a good experience :)

  • Chloe Wilson

    Well organized with good networking opportunities for multiple forms of programming. Thank you for having us!

    September 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for coming!

  • I couldn't be there, but I felt like I was. Communication was very prompt, extremely effective, always keeping us up to date. They were always available to answer questions and help us if necessary. Great programming!

    September 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, João :)

  • Charlie David

    Wonderful festival with educational conference programming and networking over 2 days in beautiful Toronto. Highly recommend.

    September 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for the kind review, Charlie!

  • Nico Drago

    Great festival for Short Form Series and Podcasts with plenty possibilities to network and meet industry leaders! Wonderful Programming and Award Gala.

    September 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for flying in for the festival! Glad to hear you had a good time :)