North Fork TV Festival Announces 2020 Dates for Drive-In Festival at Long Island's Founding Vineyard

The North Fork TV Festival announced today that the fifth annual festival will take place on Saturday, October 17, 2020. In response to the global pandemic, the North Fork TV Festival will celebrate the evolution and craft of television by hosting an exclusive drive-in event at the Castello di Borghese Vineyard in Cutchogue, New York. Parking opens at 5:30pm, food goes on sale at 6:00pm and the program starts at 7:00pm

"2020 has been a year no one expected, but we are proud to have found a safe way to celebrate the 2020 North Fork TV Festival at the Borghese Vineyard with our great community and partners," said festival Founder Noah Doyle. "This year's festivities will feature great conversations, screenings, and more from the socially distanced comfort of your car. We look forward to seeing everyone in the North Fork this October!"

Proudly highlighting the best in independent TV from around the world in front of established industry talent, professionals, and an engaged local audience, the festival will premiere "Freeze" and "Slayed by Divya" - two of the winners of the 2020 competition for independent pilots. Chosen for their artistic merit and commercial potential, the pilot screenings will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers, moderated by News 12's award-winning entertainment reporter Elisa DiStefano.

Details about the pilots below:

FREEZE (Web Series / Thriller)

Director/Writer/Producer: Maya Albanese

Producer: Valerie Steinberg

When Joy's fairytale romance crashes and burns on the eve of her 35th birthday, the TICK-TOCK of her biological clock amplifies, pushing her to try new things.

SLAYED BY DIVYA (Dramedy)

Director/Producer: Van Maximilian Carlson

Writer: Ni Belete

A mobile hair stylist struggles to expand her business.

The esteemed jury comprises actress Abigail Hawk (Blue Bloods); acclaimed science fiction screenwriter, director, and showrunner Rockne S. O'Bannon; and Christina Wayne, Principal International Creative Executive at Amazon Studios.

The festival will also feature a sneak peek of the pilot premiere of the recently announced winner of the second-annual Alfred P. Sloan Science + Tech Pilot Script Competition "Superuser Do" by Sudanese-American filmmaker Zuff Idries. The competition invites writers to submit pilot scripts for a television series that's rooted in science and technology and that challenges existing stereotypes about scientists and engineers in the popular imagination.

"Since its inception as Long Island's first-ever established vineyard, Borghese Vineyard has been a huge proponent of the arts" said Giovanni Borghese, Co-Owner of Castello di Borghese Vineyard. "We're delighted to partner with the North Fork TV Festival and welcome everyone to Long Island's founding vineyard."

Additions to the official lineup and schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

In adherence with the Phase 4 reopening guidelines for New York, the festival will provide designated parking spaces for each vehicle, set at least 6 feet apart and require masks not only of patrons but of all employees and volunteers. Food and drink from local vendors will also be available for purchase via contactless payment, placed from within individual vehicles. More examples on how the festival will implement proper social distancing guidelines can be found at www.northfork.tv/faq.

Tickets starting at $20 per vehicle are now available for purchase online at www.northfork.tv/tickets.