Los Angeles Web Series Festival
{{Infobox award
| name = Los Angeles Web Series Festival
| image = Lawebfestlogo.jpg
| caption = Festival Logo
| country = United States
| year = 2010
| website = http://www.lawebfest.com/
}}
The Los Angeles Web Series Festival, more commonly known as the LA Web Fest, is a web series festival based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2009 by Michael Okwudili Ajakwe Jr and was one of the first web series-based events; Filmmaker Magazine called it "the granddaddy of all webfests."{{Cite web|url=http://filmmakermagazine.com/74875-the-essential-guide-to-webfests/#.Vncg-nhl_Rl|title=The Essential Guide to Webfests {{!}} Filmmaker Magazine|website=Filmmaker Magazine|access-date=2015-12-20}} The event has attracted controversy for its policies.
Background
The festival had its first official event in 2010.{{Cite web|title = Marco Sparmberg|url = https://haexagon.wordpress.com/author/marcosparmberg/page/2/|website = Haexagon Concepts|access-date = 2015-12-20|language = en-US}}{{Cite book|title = Digital Storytelling: A Creator's Guide to Interactive Entertainment|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fqvpAwAAQBAJ|publisher = CRC Press|date = 2014-06-27|isbn = 9781135044459|language = en|first = Carolyn Handler|last = Miller}} The venue has changed several times since its inception, with the 2015 festival being held at the Hilton Universal City Hotel in Universal City.{{Cite web|title = Web Series Festival & Awards Guide|url = http://snobbyrobot.com/2013/12/09/web-series-festival-awards-guide/|website = Snobby Robot|access-date = 2015-12-20}}
When asked about the importance of web series as a creative medium by Carolyn Handler Miller for her book Digital Storytelling: A Creator's Guide to Interactive Entertainment, founder Michael Ajakwe, Jr. said:
Before, filmmaking was a rich man's game. And if you couldn't afford to make a film, a great voice might be lost ... Web series offer freedom.Since the festival's inaugural presentation in 2010, it has helped produce web series-based festivals in several major cities around the world, including in Marseille{{Cite web|title = Partners|url = http://www.marseillewebfest.com/en/partners/|website = Marseille Web Fest|access-date = 2015-12-20|language = en-US}} (Marseille Web Fest), Melbourne{{Cite web|title = PARTNERS|url = http://www.melbournewebfest.com/partners/|website = Melbourne WebFest|access-date = 2015-12-20}} (Melbourne Web Fest), Rio{{Cite web|title = Rio WebFest|url = http://www.riowebfest.net/#partners|website = www.riowebfest.net|access-date = 2015-12-20}} (Rio Web Fest) and Seoul{{Cite web|title = KWebfest: KO WEBFEST 2015 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS|url = http://kowebfest.blogspot.ca/2015/02/ko-webfest-2015-official-selections.html|website = kowebfest.blogspot.ca|access-date = 2015-12-20}} (Seoul Web Fest).
Controversy
In 2015, after other LA-based web series festivals scheduled their events around the same time (including the HollyWeb Festival and Indie Series Awards), Ajakwe came under fire for enforcing an 'exclusivity clause' stating that all entrants "must withdraw their shows from HollyWeb Fest and their award consideration at the ISAs, or be disqualified from LA WebFest."
The clause has since been the subject of controversy and derision in the web series community, with many calling it "anticompetitive" and "unreasonable."{{Cite web|title = LA WebFest Strikes Back Against Competition. Creators Caught In Crossfire.|url = http://snobbyrobot.com/2015/02/10/la-webfest-strikes-back-against-competition-creators-caught-in-crossfire/|website = Snobby Robot|access-date = 2015-12-21}} Ajakwe spoke to Snobby Robot about the issue, claiming it stems from earlier conflicts in 2012 when the Hollywood Web Series Festival planned their festival on the same weekend as the LA Web Fest.{{Cite web|title = LA WebFest Strikes Back Against Competition. Creators Caught In Crossfire.|url = http://snobbyrobot.com/2015/02/10/la-webfest-strikes-back-against-competition-creators-caught-in-crossfire/|website = Snobby Robot|access-date = 2015-12-20}}
The Daily Dot also published a story about the controversy, writing: "The battle lines are drawn in the emerging web fest world, as the venerable LA Web Fest has drawn an exclusivity line in the sand for its 2015 entrants."{{Cite web|title = LA Webfest flexes its muscle to beat down the competition|url = http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/la-webfest-exclusivity-clause/|website = The Daily Dot| date=11 February 2015 |access-date = 2015-12-20}}
Award categories
- Outstanding Comedy Series
- Outstanding Writing (Comedy)
- Outstanding Directing (Comedy)
- Outstanding Female Performance (Comedy)
- Outstanding Male Performance (Comedy)
- Outstanding Ensemble Performance (Comedy)
- Outstanding Drama Series
- Outstanding Writing (Drama)
- Outstanding Directing (Drama)
- Outstanding Female Performance (Drama)
- Outstanding Male Performance (Drama)
- Outstanding Ensemble Performance (Drama)
- Outstanding Action Series
- Outstanding Writing (Action)
- Outstanding Directing (Action)
- Outstanding Ensemble Performance (Action)
- Outstanding Animated Series
- Outstanding Music Video
- Outstanding Documentary Series
- Outstanding Variety Series
- Outstanding Educational Series
- Outstanding Directing (Non Fiction)
- Outstanding Writing (Non Fiction)
- Outstanding Cinematography
- Outstanding Editing
- Outstanding Costume Design
- Outstanding Production Design
- Outstanding Makeup
- Outstanding Soundtrack
- Outstanding Special FX
- Outstanding Sound Editing
See also
{{Portal|Internet}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.lawebfest.com/}}
Category:Awards established in 2009