North Fork TV Festival announces winners of its independent pilot competition

The North Fork TV Festival has revealed it is honoring “The West Wing” actor Richard Schiff as an ambassador for the arts. The organization also announced the full list of winners of the Independent Pilot contest, including Sue Zarco Kramer’s comedy “Swipe NYC,” which stars Schiff. The festival takes place in Greenport, NY on August 27 and 28. .

Al Julian and Vince Eisenson’s drama “The Sessions,” Juliana Piscina’s comedy “The Ladies” and Scott Kruse, Josh Long and Kurt Quinn’s sketch pilot “Typical Dan Peterson Stuff” have all been chosen as winners for the competition.

“This year’s winners include an immersive therapy group for convicted murderers, a coming-in-age comedy with a hilarious backdrop of online dating in Brooklyn, an offbeat sketch comedy and the feel-good story of high school basketball team,” says Mike Stern, the festival’s artistic director and television and film writer and producer. “The eclectic creativity on display in this year’s winners reaffirms North Fork as a premiere destination for the independent television movement.”

Actors John Turturro (“Severance”) and Marcia Gay Harden (“The Morning Show”) will also participate in the festival, with Turturro leading a conversation about the evolution of television and Harden receiving the Canopy Award. Other participants include Bridget Moynahan (“Blue Bloods”) and Kelsey Grammer (“Frasier,” “Cheers”).

In addition, the festival will feature a panel with veteran TV showrunners Kevin Wade (“Blue Bloods”) and Chris Brancato (“Hotel Cocaine”). Moderated by Roy Ashton, the conversation will pull back the curtain on the creative and organizational process involved in developing and producing network and streaming content.

The festival also announced the winners of its pilot script competition, including Gregory Abbey for his coming-of-age drama “Shark” and Heidi-Marie Ferren for her Cherokee police detective drama “Backwoods Chief.”