Banff World Media Festival Boss Jenn Kuzmyk Talks International Buzz, Tackling The Big Topics & Points Of Difference

deadline.com:

This year’s Banff World Media Festival is set to be one of the most international yet and will go beyond TV trends to address some of the globe’s biggest topics, according to Executive Director Jenn Kuzmyk.Speaking to Deadline in the lead-up to the annual event, which takes place in-person after two years online from Sunday 12 June to Wednesday 15 June, Kuzmyk pointed to a flurry of non-North American delegates journeying to the beautiful Rockie Mountains from the likes of Netflix, Warner Bros Discovery, Amazon, the BBC and production companies based in Nigeria, France, Sweden and Korea.“Going virtual during the pandemic has widened our reach and that’s definitely represented in the breadth of participation,” she added. “We’ve always been represented well internationally but perhaps a bit more this year.”She pointed to big international hits in line for the prestigious Rockie Awards such as BBC comedy Motherland, Jack Thorne’s Help and Denmark’s Kamikaze for HBO Max.There were entries from around 45 countries for this year’s Rockies, with more than 150 jurors from a variety of nations.The 2022 festival will be headlined by keynotes from some of the biggest names in the world of TV including Netflix Head of Global TV Bela Bajaria, Universal Studio Group Chair Pearlana Igbokwe and Participant Media CEO David Linde, along with a wealth of panels talking showrunning, distribution, kids’ content and spotlighting various networks and streamers.Delegates are already numbering more than 1,500, which would be a record, although Kuzmyk stressed “this isn’t the biggest event in the world, we’re not Mipcom, but we like to say ‘the right people are at Banff’.”Panel sessions will cover the likes of content trends, consolidation and