Just For Laughs and the International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) have teamed-up for the fifth iteration of Beyond the Box: Playing It Short, a pitch program for web series creators which takes place during ComedyPRO, the industry section of the annual Montreal Just For Laughs Festival, presented by Videotron in association with Loto-Québec.

The call for submissions to Beyond the Box: Playing It Short is for digital-first shows with episode lengths no greater than 15 minutes.

Pitches can include scripted, animated, factual, variety and sketch — but must be short-form series ideas aimed at digital video platforms.

Deadline for submissions is May 8, 2015 at midnight (PT).

Finalists will present their pitches before a jury of industry executives on Saturday, July 25, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Montreal during the 2015 edition of Just For Laughs ComedyPRO. Past jury members have included senior executives from Cracked, CollegeHumor, Fullscreen, Funny or Die, Maker Studios, Yahoo and YouTube.

“Just For Laughs ComedyPRO is the premier place to pitch digital-first decision-makers,” says ComedyPRO’s Director, Paul Ronca. “Our partnership with an experienced and leading brand such as the IAWTV allows us to strengthen our offering to web series creators.”

“We’re excited to partner with Just For Laughs, and look forward to supporting web series creators through this program,” says IAWTV Chairman, Jeff Burns. “For anyone interested in digital entertainment content, now is the time, and this is the place!”

Previous participants in Beyond the Box: Playing It Short have not left the pitch empty-handed. Last year’s winning team of Nadine Djoury and Aurora Brownreceived an option from Defy Media for their web series, Newborn Moms. 2012 winners Mark Little and Daniel Beirne picked-up a development deal with Cracked.com. Canada-UK production, SOS: Save Our Skins, which got its start at ComedyPRO, is now in pre-production for a second season with BBCWorldwide and Hollywood Suite.

Beyond the Box: Playing It Short is open to international applicants ages 18 and over. Submissions can be made online at http://comedypro.hahaha.com/pitch-your-project/. A non-refundable fee of $45.00 USD must be included with each submission.

Just For Laughs ComedyPRO runs from July 22 – 25, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Montreal.

Registration starts now, with Early Bird prices in effect for industry members (you know who you are) until March 20, 2015 at the ComedyPRO website.