Independent Filmmakers Unite to Create Their Own NYC Showcase After Withdrawing from Festival
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Felicia Greenfield
Phone: 917.974.2676
Email: Felicia@FeliciaGreenfield.com
Company: Right Pit Productions
Website: FriendsNotFoodtheFilm.com
Independent Filmmakers Unite to Create Their Own NYC Showcase After Withdrawing from Festival
A Filmmaker-Led Model for How Independent Work Can Reach the Screen
NEW YORK, NY — January 20, 2026 — A group of international independent filmmakers have launched
their own screening event in New York City, The Network NYC: A Filmmaker-Led Television Showcase,
after withdrawing from participation in a previously accepted NYC film festival due to undisclosed
post-acceptance changes.
The filmmakers were initially told their projects would screen live at the SVA Theatre on January 21 and 22,
but on January 2, just 19 days before the event, they received an email stating that films would be removed
from the live program and shifted to online-only unless each filmmaker sold upwards of 30 tickets, a
requirement that had not been disclosed at acceptance. A separate error by the festival organizer, a
mass email sent without blind copy, unexpectedly connected the filmmakers.
Rather than disengage or proceed individually, the group chose to move forward together. Planning began
with a group call on January 4, and in less than three weeks the filmmakers organized and self-funded a
two-night showcase featuring 12 independently produced television pilots, along with a reception and
networking event. “This wasn’t about making noise for the sake of it,” said Chris Jaddalah of Calliope Films.
“Once we started talking to each other, it was clear silence was the expectation. We chose to build something better
together.”
The Network NYC will take place January 21 and 22 at the SVA Theatre from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. each
evening. The organizing process has been filmed and will continue to be recorded as part of a forthcoming
documentary examining transparency, power, and collective action in independent film culture.
The Network NYC stands as both a celebration of independent television and a testament to what artists
can accomplish when collaboration replaces silence and integrity replaces intimidation.
Event: The Network NYC: A Filmmaker-Led Television Showcase
Dates: January 21 & 22, 2026, 6:00 p.m.
Venue: SVA Theatre
333 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011
The SVA Theatre is a professional cinema located in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood and is operated by the
School of Visual Arts.
The Network NYC: A Filmmaker-Led Television Showcase Participants
Chris Jadallah
Kitty get a Job
Sketch Comedy Pilot
Kyle More & Nino Mancuso
Fatal Konflict:Behind the Blood
Hybrid Animated Comedy
Felicia Greenfield
Friends Not Food
Sitcom Pilot
Glen Evelyn
Our Family Pride
LGBTQ Comedy/Drama
Hayden Roper
The Independent Newspaper Company
Sitcom
Janet Torreano Pound
Motor City Casting
Sitcom Pilot
Allie Del Franco
Witch City
Comedy TV Pilot
Janet Torreano Pound
Home Again
Drama
Julia Wackenheim
Ethel & Ernie
Comedy Sitcom Pilot
Max Reinhardsen
Sports Talk Right Now!
Comedy Talk Show Pilot
Patrick Sheehan
The Scott & Jeff Show w/ Doug & Kip
Sketch Comedy
Pola Rapaport
PANORAMIC VIEW: Portrait of Artist Francine
Tint
Documentary Short
Timothy Kukucka
Hazel
Sci Fi/Drama
Yolanda Brown Melian
Los Aspirantes (The Applicants)
Comedy TV Pilot
XXX
- fgreenfield@gmail.com
- https://www.friendsnotfoodthefilm.com/
- Right Pit Productions
-
- Felicia Greenfield
- 9179742676
- 167 East 61st St
- New York
- NY
- United States
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