Buffer Festival and WatchMojo Announce Lineup for “Context at Buffer”

Buffer Festival is thrilled to announce a new, strategic partnership and investment from the online producing giant WatchMojo. Buffer Festival’s opening day will be rebranded as Context at Buffer, pairing itself with WatchMojo’s spinoff brand Context TV, and will kick off the festival packed with industry leaders, creators, and trailblazers discussing the creator ecosystem and what’s next in the digital space. Context at Buffer is taking place on Friday, October 4th at the Glenn Gould Theatre and is presented in partnership with the CBC. The one-day series will feature insightful talks from mega companies like YouTube, Viacom, Ignition Factory at OMD on behalf of Mercedes Canada Inc., Twitch, and LaCie. YouTube creators Elle Mills and Swoop will also be giving exclusive insight into the world of online filmmaking and the daily challenges they face.

WatchMojo has come on board as a strategic partner and investor and WatchMojo’s CEO Ashkan Karbasfrooshan will join the Buffer Festival leadership team focused on growing the scope, scale and reach of Buffer Festival.

“YouTube has revolutionized the media industry and Buffer Festival has been at the forefront of showcasing the next generation of storytellers who’ve embraced the platform,” said Karbasfrooshan. “As both Buffer Festival and WatchMojo grow into new frontiers, we wanted to both promote and support Buffer’s vision while accelerating our new initiatives.”

Added Buffer Festival’s CEO Scott Benzie, “WatchMojo is one of the world’s largest media companies, period. This partnership will not only elevate Buffer’s mandate of celebrating, educating and facilitating online content and modern celebrities but the impact of Ashkan’s entrepreneurial spirit and addition to our leadership team cannot be measured.”

Karbasfrooshan will be giving the Opening Remarks, followed by Madeline Buxton from YouTube’s Culture & Trends team, who will speak about how successful digital content creators are challenging the creative status quo and transforming mainstream entertainment in the process.

“Viacom’s Digital Strategy that’s Captivating International Audiences” will feature Brendan Yam, SVP and GM of Viacom Digital Studios International (VDSI), and shed light on how global media companies like Viacom are embracing short form digital content and how VDSI uses its footprint around the world to make local hits into global sensations. Jon Brence, SPM, Partnerships at Twitch will explain his process for analyzing content creation, developing an effective production cycle and re-defining the creative purpose in his session “Starting with You: Content with Purpose.”

Buffer Festival’s esteemed Industry Advisory Board for 2019 includes: Alyssa Whited (Call It Spring), Andy Nulman (Play The Future Inc.), David Beebe (Storified Brands), Evan Shapiro (National Lampoon), Kaaren Whitney-Vernon (Shaftesbury), Nate Houghteling (Portal-A), Sue Haas (Blue Ant Media), and Whitney Bell (Lyft).

This year’s sponsors include: Cadillac Fairview and Ravel by CF, CBC, Epidemic Sound, Fasken Law Firm, Henkel, Henry’s Canada’s Greatest Camera Store, LaCie, Mercedes Canada Inc., Shaftesbury Films, Spacefy, Tourism Toronto, WatchMojo, and YouTube.

Buffer Festival will be held from October 4-6, 2019 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, Ontario. For tickets visit: https://bufferfestival.com

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