Waterwell Film’s “The Accidental Wolf” Selected for New York Television Festival Competition
Waterwell Films Contact:
Una Mladenovic
212-560-7545
NYTVF Contact:
Matt Biscuiti, The Lippin Group
matt@lippingroup.com
212-986-7080
WATERWELL FILMS’
NEW ORIGINAL SERIES
“ T H E A C C I D E N T A L W O L F ”
NAMED AS OFFICIAL SELECTION IN
NEW YORK TELEVISION FESTIVAL’S
2015 INDEPENDENT PILOT COMPETITION
STARRING KELLI O’HARA
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY ARIAN MOAYED
OCTOBER 19-24
New York, NY (August 14, 2015) — The New York Television Festival, an organization dedicated to identifying and nurturing top independent creative talent and connecting it with networks, studios, digital media companies and brands, today announced the official selections for its flagship Independent Pilot Competition (IPC), including The Accidental Wolf, created by Arian Moayed of Waterwell Films. This explosive thriller, stars Kelli O’Hara (Tony Winner for The King & I), Mike Doyle (Clint Eastwood’s Jersey Boys) and Sahr Ngaujah (Tony Nominee for Fela!), and is one of 50 original television and web series pilots that will be presented for industry executives and TV fans at the 11th Annual New York Television Festival.
“The Accidental Wolf is a compelling and meditative thriller that pumps on all cylinders. It was an amazing experience working with Arian Moayed and the production team to realize the first episode’s vision,” said Tony winner Kelli O’Hara and star of The Accidental Wolf. “Premiering this innovative story at New York Television Festival, while introducing an energized audience to the beginning of a unique and haunting journey, is the dream fit.”
The NYTVF, which is considered by the industry as the preeminent independent television showcase in the world, was launched in 2005 as the first festival with a focus on independently-created television content. Each year the Festival produces dozens of events for artists, executives and fans, while facilitating hundreds of thousands of dollars in development and production funding from its industry partners, available to a select group of Official Artists. This year, the Festival will take place from October 19-24, 2015 at The Helen Mills Theater and Event Space, with additional Festival events at Tribeca Three Sixty° and SVA Theatre.
“It started with Kelli O’Hara – building a world around her immense talent, while exploring class, power, and the struggle between the two,” said Arian Moayed, creator of the original series, The Accidental Wolf. “I’ve always been attracted to those type of stories, and was particularly excited to experiment within the thriller genre and innovative web-series format. It’s only fitting to premiere the pilot episode at the groundbreaking New York Television Festival.”
Winners will be chosen in a variety of categories (including “Best Comedy” and “Best Drama”) by a jury comprised of the NYTVF screening committee and the NYTVF-HRTS Next Generation Committee, with awards being presented at a reception on the Festival’s closing night. Additionally, as Official Artists, the creators of these pilots qualify for a chance to receive a development deal from one of the NYTVF’s Development Partners – networks and studios which have guaranteed they will offer at least one deal to independent artists this year.
“We’re thrilled to present these 50 exceptional projects as Official Selections in the 2015 Independent Pilot Competition,” said NYTVF Founder Terence Gray. “With more submissions than ever before, the bar was raised across every category, and we’re looking at a line-up full of emerging and established talent, outstanding production values, and truly original voices. 2015 is shaping up to be a banner year for the New York Television Festival, and we can’t wait to share these projects in October.”
Descriptions and trailers for each of this year’s Official Selections can be found online at: http://www.nytvf.com/2015_ipc_selections.html
THE ACCIDENTAL WOLF
TAGLINE
A desperate woman’s hunt for a stranger half a world away.
PILOT SUMMARY
One evening, Katie, a Manhattan-rich mother and wife, receives a desperate, wrong call from a stranger named Zuhair, half across the world, pleading for her to save him and his pregnant wife. Zuhair’s final words to Katie are a plea that Tala, his pregnant and wounded wife, is alive. This one phone call emboldens Katie to continue her search and claim ownership for Tala, the person that she feels connected to, but more importantly, for herself.
TRAILER
Link to the trailer here or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rho65B9qhng
ARIAN MOAYED (CREATOR/DIRECTOR)
Arian Moayed is a Tony nominated actor, Artistic Director of Waterwell, arts educator and award winning writer/director for film.
In the theater, Mr. Moayed was nominated for a Tony award in Rajiv Joseph’s Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo and recently completed Guards at the Taj at the Atlantic Theater. He has performed at some of the world’s greatest theaters including the Public Theater, Signature, Manhattan Theater Club, Steppenwolf, Mark Taper Forum, Brooklyn Academy of Music and many more. He is a proud recipient of the Theater World Award, a Drama League and Drama Desk nomination.
As a film/TV actor, Mr. Moayed was worked with some of the best filmmakers including Bill Murray, Alfonso Cuaron, Barry Levinson, Spike Lee, Tom Fontana, Jon Stewart, Mitch Glazer, Tony Kushner, Kevin Williamson and many more. Notable projects: Rosewater (2014), Appropriate Behavior (2015) and Rock the Kasbah (2015).
As an Artistic Director of Waterwell, which he co-founded in 2002, he has helped devise over 13 original productions including GOODBAR (Public Theater), The|King|Operetta (currently on a National Tour), Marco Millions and The Persians… to name a few. Upcoming projects: A.Jax (2015), Hamlet (2016) and Turning Texas Blue (2016).
As an arts educator, Mr. Moayed administers one of the best public school arts programs in the country as part of the Waterwell Drama Program. With hundreds of students from all economic backgrounds, WDP partners with the Professional Performing Arts School, offering 6-12th graders in New York City the highest quality theater training in the country absolutely free of charge. From acting to movement to clowning to devising, WDP brings world class training to some of the brightest young stars.
As a filmmaker, Mr. Moayed is a partner of Waterwell Films, where he has written and directed three short films, has two full length feature films in development and is working on two drama pilots, Switch and The Accidental Wolf. His films have premiered at Tribeca Film Festival, Palm Springs Film Festival, CineQuest Film Festival, Rhode Island Film Festival, Athens International Film Festival, Noor Film Festival and many more. He most recently was a Juror for the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.
KELLI O’HARA (KATIE)
Kelli O’Hara has unequivocally established herself as one of Broadway’s great leading ladies. This year, Kelli received a Tony Award for her portrayal of Anna Leonowens in the Broadway revival of The King and I. Last year, she garnered her 5th Tony nomination along with Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics nominations for her portrayal of Francesca in the musical adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County.
A native of Oklahoma, Kelli received a degree in opera, and, after winning the State Metropolitan Opera Competition, moved to New York and enrolled in the Lee Strasberg Institute. She made her Broadway debut in Jekyll & Hyde and followed it with Sondheim’s Follies, Sweet Smell of Success opposite John Lithgow and Dracula. In 2003, Kelli committed to a production of The Light in the Piazza at Seattle’s Intiman Theatre. The show landed on Broadway in 2005 and earned Kelli her first Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations. She moved from one huge critical and commercial success to another when she joined Harry Connick on Broadway in the 2006 Tony award winning production of The Pajama Game, for which Kelli received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Award nominations. Kelli starred in the Tony Award winning revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center, enrapturing audiences and critics alike with her soulful and complex interpretation of Nellie Forbush, and garnering a Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Award nominations. She later teamed up with Matthew Broderick in Broadway’s musical comedy Nice Work if You Can Get It, earning every possible nomination, including the Fred Astaire Nomination for dance.
Kelli has worked regionally & Off Broadway in Far from Heaven at Williamstown Theater Festival & Playwrights Horizon, King Lear at the Public Theater, Bells Are Ringing a t City Center Encores, Sunday in the Park with George at Reprise, M y Life With Albertine at Playwright’s Horizons & Beauty at the La Jolla Playhouse. Kelli received critical acclaim for her performances at the New York Philharmonic’s productions of Carousel & M y Fair Lady as both Julie Jordan & Eliza Doolittle respectively. She has sold out her solo show at Carnegie Hall & Town Hall and performed with symphonies and orchestras across the country. She is a frequent guest artist on the PBS Memorial Day and July 4th telecast and has performed several times as part of the Kennedy Honor tributes for Barbara Cook, Jerry Herman & Barbra Streisand.
Among her film and television credits are Sex & The City 2, Martin Scorsese’s short The Key to Reserva opposite Simon Baker; The Dying Gaul, Blue Bloods (NBC pilot), All Rise (NBC pilot), Alexander Hamilton (Maria Reynolds) starring Brian F. O’Byrne (PBS), NUMB3RS (CBS), All My Children, the animated series Car Talk, and numerous live performances on national television shows.
Kelli’s voice can be heard on many cast album recordings including The Bridges of Madison Country, Nice Work If You Can Get It, South Pacific (Sony), The Light in the Piazza (Nonesuch records; Grammy nomination), The Pajama Game (Sony; Grammy nomination), The Sweet Smell of Success (Sony), M y Life with Albertine (PS Classics), Dream True (PS Classics), Jule Styne Goes Hollywood ( PS Classics). She has released two solo albums including Always & Wonder in the World. This past winter, Kelli made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the production of The Merry Widow with Renee Fleming.
WATERWELL FILMS (PRODUCER)
Waterwell Films (Arian Moayed, Tom Ridgely, Damon Owlia, and Andrew Criss, Founding Partners) is an arthouse studio that develops and produces a wide variety of original content for film, television and the web. Waterwell Films uses the moving image to share stories that challenge assumptions, foster connection and celebrate the beauty of our experience in all its heartbreak and joy. Waterwell Films premiered films at TriBeca Film Festival, Palm Spring Film Festival, CineQuest Film Festival, Rhode Island Film Festival, Athens International Film Festival, Noor Film Festival, and many more.
Waterwell Films is a division of Waterwell, established in 2002 by Mr. Moayed and Mr. Ridgely, which is a New York based company of artists dedicated to the collaborative creation of new works for the theatre, as well as a provider of Theatrical Arts and Drama programs at the Professional Performing Arts School (“PPAS”).
ABOUT THE NYTVF
Established in 2005, the NYTVF constructs new and innovative paths of development and talent identification, while simultaneously complementing the traditional television development model. By partnering directly with networks, studios, production companies, digital platforms and brands, the NYTVF provides its Industry Partners with a streamlined development model, leveraging its vast creative community of over 15,000 independent producers and production companies, to create content with specific partners in mind. During the annual New York Television Festival – held each fall in New York City – the NYTVF brings together its top artists and industry decision-makers for a series of events designed to foster networking, collaboration and education. The Festival also marks the culmination of the organization’s yearly development efforts and features screenings of top independent content, educational panels, fan events, red carpet premieres, and more. For more information on the NYTVF and the annual Festival, visit www.nytvf.com, and to learn about opportunities to submit for its year- round competitions, visit http://www.nytvf.com/submit.html.
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