Today the Independent Web Series Creators of Canada (IWCC) announced the date and location of TO WebFest 2014, the inaugural year for this upcoming annual screening festival/conference exclusively dedicated to web series.

TO WebFest 2014 will take place at Harbourfront Centre, May 9-11th. The Toronto based festival will support independent, creator-driven, audience-focused web and digital series from both Canada and around the world. The festival will represent the whole spectrum of entertainment genres including screenings of kids, youth, drama, comedy, LGBTQ, sci-fi, fantasy, non-fiction, after dark programming and more. Three special gala screenings are also in the works: the kick-off gala of Canadian screenings, a special gala dedicated to LGBTQ web series, and a closing gala.

The festival will offer a positive, inspiring, and educational environment, where creators and audiences alike will discover, challenge, and grow the web series industry. There will be screenings, panel discussions (for both an Industry and Community/Creator’s track), live events, signings and more!

TO WebFest promises to bring together a wide mix of creators, not only from Canada but also the international stage, to the city of Toronto, a centre for diversity and a recognized hub for web series production. By combining screenings, panels, presentations, workshops, live events, networking opportunities, parties, and signings, TO WebFest will support both the local web series industry as well as bring new audiences to our visiting international creators and their projects.

The Industry track will appeal to not only creators, but also producers, varied members of the entertainment and media industry, students, and anyone interested in learning more about best practices and opportunities that exist in this now firmly established medium. The Community/Creator’s track will give audiences a chance to connect with their favourite web series stars, creators, and even characters.  Special guests include Dominik Rausch, creator of Easy to Assemble, and Tina Cesa Ward of Anyone but Me and Producing Juliet. You can learn more about our programming as it evolves on TOWebFest.com.

Submissions open January 2nd on TOWebFest.com

TO WebFest is produced by the Independent Web Series Creators of Canada.

The Independent Web Series Creators of Canada – CréateursIndépendants de Séries Web du Canada (IWCC-CIWC) is a Canada wide non-profit association of web series creators that seeks to support, promote and bring awareness to independent and creator-driven, audience-focused web series in Canada and around the world.

Founded in 2013, the IWCC-CIWC grew out of a community of web series creators who, initially, were making web series in Toronto. They started organizing bi-monthly social nights, which grew into a Facebook group: The Toronto Web Series Community. It quickly grew beyond simply those who were creating in Toronto, even beyond Canada. The spirit of mutual support they found in all web series creators was something new – and something to be nurtured.