The line up this year includes a bigger variety for honored guest, and visiting writers, producers and industry professionals to lead panels and give insights to students. Rachel Needham, a second-year graduate writing student said, “I’m excited for this year’s aTVfest because last year I spoke to the writer of ‘Everybody Hates Chris.’ I can’t wait to see what surprises are in store for this year.”
This year’s honored guests:
Ellie Kemper
Kemper is well known for her roles in “The Office” as Erin Hannon and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” as the titular character. Her roles are typically goofy, but tackle important topics dealing with feminism and equality. Kemper also wrote a memoir, “My Squirrel Days,” which released towards the end of 2018. It’s a humorous telling of her path to becoming a comedian. Kemper has also written for The New Yorker, GQ, Esquire and multiple other platforms.
Mir Zafar Ali
Ali is a visual effects artist who has worked on “Frozen,” “Big Hero 6” and “Zootopia.” Ali attended SCAD to study the art of visual effects and animation. He started in 2004 by working on “The Day After Tomorrow,” which furtherer led to working on “Spider-Man 3” and “The Incredible Hulk.” Ali has also been a part of visual effect and animation teams that have gone on to win multiple Oscar awards. But before his success on films, Ali worked on commercials for TV in Pakistan.
Cast of “New Amsterdam”
The show was first released late last year. It tells the story of a doctor who looks past the rules, and cares more for the patients without regard of his own punishment.
The cast includes: Ryan Eggold, Tyler Labine, Frema Agyemen, Jocko Sims, Anupam Kher and Janet Montgomery
Other events to look forward to:
Thursday, Feb. 7
“SCAD Gets Real”
The panel consists of alumni and who will be providing commentary and showing the behind-the-scenes from popular reality TV shows. The guests include: Heidi Elnora, Candice Glover, George Lovett, Merline Labissere and Michael Wilson Morgan. The event will be at SCADshow, stage 2 and will begin at 12:30 p.m.
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
The Netflix original series “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” is finishing up the series with this next season. Get tickets for a screening of the first episode at SCADshow in the mainstage. The screening will begin at 4 p.m. and a Q&A session with Ellie Kemper will follow.
Friday, Feb. 8
“Below the Line: Costume Design”
This panel will start at 11 a.m. and be held at SCAD’s main building in panel room B. Costume designers attending include Lisa Frucht, Stephanie Maslansky, Paolo Nieddu, Allyson B. Fanger and Jackie Demeterio. Their work ranges from TV shows like “Jessica Jones” to “Empire.” Go hear from these designers about their own experience in the workplace.
“Wonder Women: Acting for TV”
At 4 p.m., at SCADshow on stage 2, a panel of female actors will be speaking to students about their experience on screen and in the industry. A list of panelists will be released later, however one name shown on the website is Sonequa Martin-Green.
Saturday, Feb. 9
“Below the Line: Atlanta Casting”
To kick off the final day of aTVfest, a panel of casting directors from Atlanta will be discussing their work in the entertainment business. The panel will take place at SCADshow on stage 2, and begin at 11 a.m. Specific casting directors have not been announced, however, all are award-winning and have worked with impressive names and will help you understand the ins and outs of the industry.
“New Amsterdam”
The screening is the final event for aTVfest. It will take place at At SCADshow at the mainstage, beginning at 8 p.m. A Q&A session will follow with cast members from the show. At the end, the cast will be presented with the Outstanding Cast Award.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m., Friday, Feb. 1. You’ll find the complete schedule and further aTVfest details here.