North Fulton Today

A weekend gathering that brings writers, producers, directors, actors and entertainment entrepreneurs to Atlanta recently reached its 10th year.

The Atlanta Pitch Summit was created by author and producer Ty Johnston-Chavis in 2011, and as the event’s name indicates, serves as a marketplace where scripts or completed projects are pitched to executives and buyers in the motion picture and television industry, a press release said.

The 10th APS was held the weekend of Nov. 5.

Johnson-Chavis compared his brainchild to speed-dating, with the exception that there’s an idea for a show or a film involved.

"This is where content meets distribution and it's like speed-dating with a script in your hand," the release quoted Johnson-Chavis as saying. "This is the only pitch event on this side of Southern Hollywood where the most influential industry executives and decision makers in the entertainment industry share a marketplace during an extraordinary weekend."

The summit’s website echoed Johnson-Chavis’s remarks, touting the conference as “the most anticipated entertainment networking event in the Southeast.”

“The Atlanta Pitch Summit elevated Atlanta yet another level by creating a local platform that’s as common in Hollywood West as movie premiers,” the website said. “Aspiring and professional screenwriters, filmmakers and content producers had an opportunity to sit at the feet of accomplished Hollywood veterans and content acquisition executives to learn the ropes and pitch their ideas. This annual event draws Motion Picture and the Television industry’s most prominent studios, development/creative executives, producers, talent/literary agents, managers, attorneys & casting directors.”

Sponsored by Fulton Films, the APS was graced by representatives from Fox Soul, OWN, Harpo Films, AllBlk, Just a Rebel, WeTV, ABC, Autumn Bailey Entertainment, Level 1 Entertainment, The Film Factory and Swirl Films, the release said.

Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was held virtually.