2025 Banff Media Fest Opens With Star-Studded Script Read

What’s Happening? Taye Diggs is coming to Banff—and he’s bringing a script. Alongside Jennifer Whalen, Dani Kind, Praneet Akilla, and Cody Lightning, Diggs will headline a live reading of New Spanish at the Banff World Media Festival on June 8.

Hot Pilot, Cold Rockies? The reading is part of the festival’s first-ever Hot Pilot Party, a showcase for unproduced TV scripts. New Spanish, written by Andrew De Angelis, beat out 400 submissions and follows a politically spicy plot: a small-town Ontario community tries to secede from Canada in a post-Trump world.

From Scripts to Screens. Banff’s media fest is known as a launchpad for new TV, not just a marketplace. The live read reflects the event’s role in developing series from concept to pitch to greenlight.

More Where That Came From. Four more pilots—including Spin, Hostel California, Crushing, and Over Asking—will also get the spotlight, with writers attending in person.

What’s Next? The Banff World Media Festival runs June 8–11. With stars, scripts, and industry execs flying in, it’s shaping up to be Canada’s mini-Cannes—for television.