In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the upcoming Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is providing a development deal and mentorship opportunities as part of its Pitch THIS! competition, in partnership with Canada’s Corus Entertainment and Corus-owned animation software company Toon Boom.

For the first time, the fest will select 10 pitches and pair the creators with industry mentors who will assist them in developing their ideas.

The pitches will then take place on September 21 during the event’s industry stream TAC (The Animation Conference) in front of a select panel of experts.

From this group, two finalists will be picked to present their concept at the official Pitch THIS! event on September 22 in front of a panel of broadcasters and a TAC audience of more than 300 potential industry buyers.

The grand prize includes a development deal with Corus and Toon Boom animation software licenses for Harmony and Storybook Pro, plus training.

Pitch THIS! is open to Canadian and international creators with a project that targets kids two to 11. Submissions should include a project synopsis with log line and character descriptions, one episode synopsis, concept art and bios of key creators.

The deadline for submission is August 15, 2016. More information can be found here.

OIAF runs from September 21 to 23, 2016.