Sean Stewart to deliver PttP's Cross-Media Forum keynote presentation

Sean Stewart [pictured] will deliver the keynote presentation at the opening of Power to the Pixel’s (PttP) annual Cross-Media Forum, which runs Oct 16-19 with the public forum days taking place on Oct 16-17.

Stewart, co-founder and head writer of US-based Fourth Wall Studios which recently won a Primetime Emmy in Interactive Media for Dirty Work, will deliver ‘Storytelling V: The Audience Strikes Back’ which will focus on the changing relationship between author and audience and how it is transforming the art of storytelling. It marks his first time speaking in the UK.

Liz Rosenthal, CEO and founder of PttP, commented: “Sean Stewart is a prolific and innovative force within the cross-media industry and it is a real coup to have him kick off this year’s event.”

Other speakers at this year’s Conference, taking place on Oct 16, include former Pixel Pitch finalist Peter de Maegd, Tribeca Film Institute’s Ingrid Kopp, Egmont Press’ Cally Poplak & Tim Jones, who will talk about their soon-to-be-released multimedia interactive app of War Horse, and Lance Weiler who will close the conference with the largest live story collaboration ever attempted.

As previously announced, The Pixel Pitch will take place the day after the conference on Oct 17 where the eight selected projects (out of the Pixel Market’s 30 teams) will present their work for expert feedback. Michel Reihac, executive director of Arte France Cinéma, will open the day with the keynote speech.

The winning project will receive the £6,000 ARTE Pixel Pitch Prize, chosen by the jury consisting of 27 entrepreneurs, commissioners and financiers. Rob Crossen, exectuive producer for Entertainment, EMEA at Xbox LIVE, Louise Brown, multiplatform commissioning lead at Channel 4, and Lizzie Francke, senior executive at the BFI Film Fund, are among the jurors.

“In our pre-Pitch series of interviews several jurors have already told us that they will be looking for strong stories, workable project proposals, and good strategies for audience engagement – but they also want to be surprised,” added Rosenthal.

The sixth annual Cross-Media Forum, held in association with the BFI London Film Festival, will take place at the BFI’s National Film Theatre on London’s South Bank. It is supported by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union. Additional support from the BFI, Arts Council England, Creative Skillset’s Film Skills Fund, Canada Media Fund, ARTE, Creative Industries KTN, Telefilm Canada, beActive, Tribeca Film Institute, Cinekid and Mozilla.   

For the full lineup of conference speakers and Pixel Pitch jurors, as well as more information on the Cross-Media Forum, visit PttP’s website.