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Banff World Media Festival Scholarship

An exciting career-accelerating opportunity for a mid-career professional looking to make key connections at a leading international marketplace.

  • Complimentary 2019 Banff World Media Festival registration (valued at $1695.00)
  • Opportunities for networking with potential partners from across the globe
  • Hear keynotes from industry leaders, panel discussions, expert forecasts, celebrity Master Classes, critical case studies, key strategy sessions and more

The WIFT-T Banff World Media Festival Scholarship is a competitive opportunity providing two WIFT-T members with a full delegate pass to attend the Banff World Media Festival, June 9-12, 2019.

Each winner will also receive a $2,500 bursary—provided by the Foundation for WIFT-T—to cover travel and accommodation expenses.

Celebrating its 40th year in 2019, BANFF has grown into a must-attend annual conference where media moguls, producers, creatives and industry stakeholders along with broadcasters and digital media companies tackle issues and trends, forge relationships and nurture partnerships in one of the world’s most stunning landscapes.

Attracting over 250 international buyers and a wide-ranging cross-section of television and digital media professionals from around the world, BANFF delivers a comprehensive examination of the most critical issues facing the television and digital media industries through keynotes from industry leaders, contentious panel discussions, pre-booked Face-to-Face Meetings with industry decision-makers, expert forecasts, celebrity Master Classes, networking opportunities, critical case studies, key strategy sessions and more.

Learn more about this year's speakers, featured delegations and conference agenda at banffmediafestival.playbackonline.ca.

Applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible for consideration:
  • Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident, or Landed Immigrant
  • WIFT-T Full member in-good-standing. May join at time of application.
  • Minimum 5 years’ professional experience in the television or media industry. The ideal candidate will have 5 - 12 years’ experience
  • WIFT-T Staff and Board are not eligible to apply
  • Must complete a final report within two weeks of returning from the conference, including a testimonial

If selected, and for any reason you are not able to attend, you must notify WIFT-T immediately, and forfeit your claim to the scholarship. The scholarship may be offered to a runner-up in the event that the selected applicant is unable to attend the conference.

The 2019 call for applications is now closed. Successful applicants will be notified by April 29.

Supporting documents:

  • Professional bio (150 words)
  • Cover letter outlining your response to the following questions (max 2 pages): Have you attended the Banff World Media Festival within the past 3 years? Which other industry conferences, if any, have you attended in the past 3 years? What are your current professional development goals and how will your attendance at BANFF impact your achievement of these goals and the advancement of your career? (ex. Are there specific people with which you wish to meet, and why?) How do you intend to maximize your time at BANFF? What is your conference strategy?  
  • Letter of Recommendation (supervisor or colleague, supporting your suitability for the scholarship)

The winners will be announced by mid-May. All applicants will be notified by the end of April.

Please submit your files in PDF format, and name them according to the order listed above, using this template: BANFF2019 – Full Name – Description of File.PDF (e.g. BANFF2019– Alex Talent –Bio.PDF)

Receiving the Banff scholarship was invaluable to my growth as a professional in the television industry. I was able to make important connections for moving my projects forward and build relationships for future collaborations. Having the TV world gathered in one place provided the opportunity to be fully immersed and fast-track my learning curve.
— Jordana Aarons, producer (2016 recipient)
2019 call for applications now closed.
Questions?
2019 call for applications now closed.
Questions?