Banff World Media Festival Reveals Plans for In-Person 2022 Event; Keynotes Include NBCU’s Pearlena Igbokwe

variety.com:

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeBanff is back. The Banff World Media Festival is returning to a live, in-person conference this June after two years of going virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event, a favorite of execs and producers thanks to its beautiful location at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada, will take place between June 12 and June 15.Among this year’s major sessions is Universal Studio Group chairman Pearlena Igbokwe, who will participate in a keynote conversation on June 14.

The festival will also include an ‘In Conversation With’ session with global health and pandemic expert Dr. Ashish K. Jha and philanthropist and entrepreneur Frank Giustra to discuss the impact of misinformation and disinformation on public awareness and the responsibility of the media and entertainment industry to combat it. “We couldn’t think of more fitting speakers to kick off the festivities than the head of Brown University’s School of Public Health, Dr.

Ashish Jha, a visionary leader who has given useful and politics-free advice to millions during the pandemic; Frank Giustra, founder of Lionsgate which has grown from a start-up in 1999 to a leading content, distribution, and platform studio today, and who was recently named Co-Chair of the Crisis Group; and Pearlena Igbokwe, Chair of Universal Television Group, one of the most prolific television studios operating in Hollywood today,” said Banff Board chair and Lionsgate Television group chair Kevin Beggs.Banff also includes the Rockie Awards International Program Competition, which features entries from more than 55 countries annually including an international jury of 150 industry professionals.