Edinburgh, N.Y. TV festivals unite

Duo partner for 'PassPort' program

By SAM THIELMAN

The New York Television Festival is sending four of its favorite creators to Scotland. The fest is partnering with the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival to form an exchange program called “PassPort.” For the 2008 Edinburgh fest, four creators from the New York pilot contest will screen their shows before the Edinburgh audience in hopes of securing UK distribution.

Producers Mitchell Hurwitz, Tom Rosenthal, Tom Fontana, and Michael Davies each picked a creator based on the 28 finalists in the pilot competition. Naren Young’s “The Happy Hour,” Kevin Napier’s “Ex-Pats: Bangalore,” Anne Jarmain’s “Dear Harvard,” and Barry Gribble’s “Codeword: Secret” have each earned their respective creators a place at the Edinburgh competition. “Dear Harvard” took home Gotham fest’s award for best drama.

Amy Brown, director of the 33-year-old Edinburgh confab, expressed confidence that “this collaboration will lead to other joint projects between the two festivals.” As part of the bargain, Edinburgh’s Fast Track program will now include comp passes to the 2008 edition of the NY TV fest.