EbonyLife CEO Mo Abudu Leads Banff Jury Alongside Plus Starz, Universal, And DreamWorks Animation Executives

Mo Abudu

The jury for the Banff World Media Festival is led by EbonyLife CEO Mo Abudu and executives from Starz, DreamWorks Animations, and Universal International Studios. This update follows the recently announced nominations for the Rockie Awards.

Abudu will review projects alongside Starz SVP, Head of Unscripted Programming, Alice Dickens-Koblin; DreamWorks Animation Chief Creative Officer, Television, Peter Gal; and Universal International Studios/UCP President Beatrice Springborn. The jury is completed by Cynthia Kennedy, Incendo and Quebecor Content VP, Distribution; Jacqueline Sacerio, eOne EVP, Co-Head of Scripted Development; and Mark Linsey, BBC Studios Managing Director, Scripted.

The seven jurors will oversee the 44th Rockie Awards and determine the Grand Jury Prize winner from among the top-scoring shows in the field of candidates. Last year's winner was Channel 4's The Help, a Covid-19 drama written by Jack Thorne.

There are over 100 nominees, including Euphoria, The White Lotus, and House of The Dragon vying for Drama Series: English Language in a three-way HBO battle alongside the BBC's This is Going to Hurt and the CBC's The Porter. Meanwhile, in the limited series category, FX duo Fleishman is in Trouble and The Patient compete with Emily Blunt's Western The English.

The BBC tops the field with 21 nominations, outnumbering FX, Nat Geo, and Warner Bros. Discovery, which each have five. The prizes will be presented on Monday, June 12, 2023, and the Banff International Media Festival will take place from June 11 to June 14.