PitchFest confusion and nonsense...

So, I hadn't received any information about FadeIn's Hollywood PitchFest (which is supposed to begin today)... No PDF index of the VIPs attending (so I can strategically pick who I want to pitch to)... no link to schedule my Skye meetings... Nothing.

I then emailed PitchFest in an anxious huff this morning and this is what they told me:

1.) I was accidentally placed in their March for their 17th Hollywood Screenwriters Conference - In person/virtual (more on that later).

2.) According to a rep from FadeIn (a woman named Heather) I can slide any unused pitches I don't get to use this pitchfest onto next PitchFest (more on that later).

3.) Only 79 companies (producers and agents) are participating in the December PitchFest.

Okay, my thoughts...

 1.) As for the only 79 companies participating in December: yeah, I coulda told you that having PitchFest in December was a bad idea! It's the end of the calendar year and right before/between the holidays! Everyone (of many religions and cultures) are prepping for the biggest holiday of the year. Just really poor planning, especially when the other options were for January or February. They said they sent out surveys and that everyone unanimously picked December, but we never saw how that data was aggregated, or any kind of a chart showing the results of the polls.All of which is questionable to me. I feel like they sent out surveys in an effort to be democratic, but then just did whatever they wanted anyway and told everyone that it was the way everyone voted. Easy to do when all the voters are strangers and can't share opinions and how they voted with one another.

2.) I like that they told me (especially in writing) that I can slide unused pitches to the next PitchFest, but given how unorganized they have proven themselves to be, and how shady others have said they can be (and I've witnessed this a little bit myself... as it did take them until late November to send me the cash prize for a screenplay competition I won in June), I have a feeling I may have to fight them to get this concession in the future.

Hopefully not.

Hopefully I will use all my pitches during the next PitchFest.

Or, they will honor their word and do as they say without any conflict or drama.

3.)  Furthermore, while I am grateful that I won't have to pitch in December (November and December are already way too busy (in my personal life) stressful (at work) for me as it is, I am a little bothered that they moved me to March despite confirming (in an email I still retain) that I wanted to pitch in December (just to get it over with... and to possibly add to my holiday enjoyment with all the interest in my scripts I encountered during my pitching). 

What if I was out of town in March?

What if I couldn't take off of work in March and thus would miss the very day (Friday) that I had to pitch?

This mistake of theirs was more costly and important than they seem to think.

Also, I would have like for them to offer some sort of compensation (say, a few extra pitches... or perhaps preferential early access to schedule my Skype meetings with VIPs), but I've learned that companies offering their customers compensation for their screw-ups is a thing of the past. That and this company is not one to offer such a generous gesture.

4.) This is the description for their March event (that they accidentally put me under):

"March 15-17, 2024 
17th Hollywood Screenwriters Conference - In person/virtual
This conference will feature one day of virtual pitching (Friday), one day of classes taught by prominent writers/filmmakers (Saturday), agency/management companies first-ten-pages submissions and one day of non-stop, in-person pitching (Sunday)."

I wrote them back and told them that one day of pitching was simply not enough for me (I have 15 pitches!) and that I would like to be slid onto next year's official PitchFest (August 2-4th). They wrote back and told me that 100 companies would be at their event in March. I wrote them back and told them that, regardless, I would like to be slid onto August 2-4th.

This will not only give me time to prepare my pitches, but  will at a time in the year (summer) when I am completely stress free, have oceans of free time (and, thus, won't have to take any time off of work) and am in a really good mindset as a result of the previous two main points. 

So, for now, according to the emails I have received, I am on the books for the August 2-4th PitchFest. I will hopefully use all of my 15 pitches and, if not, I can use them in 2025. 

I have all this in writing, if I need it.

Hopefully I won't.