SERIES MANIA SERIES MANIA GROWS AND TURNS INTO A GLOBAL EVENT

THE EVENT GATHERED 3,800 INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONALS FROM 64 COUNTRIES REPRESENTED BY 1,600 COMPANIES AND FEATURED A SCHEDULE WITH 600 SPEAKERS AT THE SÉRIES MANIA FORUM PANELS AND PITCHES.

Series Mania Forum has become a global event. This year, the event again broke its attendance record, with 3,800 international professionals from 64 countries represented by 1,600 companies. About 52 projects were pitched, with titles like "The Fortress," awarded as Best Screenplay in the International Competition this year and pitched in the 2019 edition.

Moreover, the new Séries Mania+ platform and the official seriesmania.com were also great successes, with nearly 1.2 million page views. Thanks to that development, the Séries Mania experience was enjoyed worldwide. International stars such as Marcia Cross, Brian Cox, and Tomohisa Yamashita attended the event, which also held the Grand Prix of Séries Mania awarded to "The Actor," the first Iranian series in the International Competition. Over 600 guests were invited to attend the 57 series in the program, which had 600 speakers on the Séries Mania Forum panels and pitches. Finally, more than 85,500 spectators participated in the festival's screenings, conferences, and events, up nearly 20% from the previous edition. "We would like to warmly thank our partners without whom Séries Mania could not take place: the Hautsde-France Region, the CNC, the European Metropolis of Lille, the City of Lille, Media Europe Créative, Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe, and

2023 Figures all the partners of the Séries Mania Festival as well as those of Séries Mania Forum. Throughout these eight days of screenings, masterclasses, meetings, parties, and photos on our purple carpet, Séries Mania has once again left its mark on the world of serial creation. It is where the series begins. And we can't wait to see what the next episodes have to offer," said Laurence Herszberg, Founder and General Director of Series Mania.

+85,500 participants.

396 series submitted and viewed. 57 titles selected. 24 countries represented. 5 competitions.

CO-PRO PITCHING SESSIONS

Series Mania Forum's annual Co-Pro Pitching Sessions had 15 projects selected and pitched on the first day of Series Mania

Forum. The jury team chose the Ukraine/Poland war thriller drama "Unspoken" to win the Series Mania Forum Best Project Award. "Unspoken" is produced by Dmytro Sukhanov, Toy Cinema (Ukraine), Natalia Libet, 2Brave Productions (Ukraine), and Anna Rożalska, Match&Spark (Poland); and

written by Zhanna Ozirna

and Filip Syczyński. "The winning project united the judges unanimously with the raw, emotional intensity of the storytelling. The powerful, relatable tale of a father prepared to go to any lengths to save his family was a bold and original take on the most urgent subject matter of our time," said Caroline Hollick, Head of Drama at Channel 4.

"The Co-Pro Pitching Sessions are one of the most anticipated parts of the Series Mania Forum, and we are delighted to be giving the €50,000 prize to 'Unspoken.' We are extremely pleased that our illustrious jury chose to give the award to a Ukrainian project which is very much connected with what is going on in Ukraine today. Despite this war, Ukraine, its creators, and its culture are still very much alive and thst is another reason to admire the courage of the Ukrainian people," Laurence Herszberg said.

Seriesmakers

The creative initiative Seriesmakers, led by Series Mania Forum and supported by European content powerhouse Beta Group, announced the three winning projects. In addition to the winners, Beta Group and Series Mania have decided to open a second edition following the overwhelming success of the first edition. The two Beta Development Awards (€50,000 each) went to "Yours, Margot," by director Juho Kuosmanen and producer Jussi Rantamäki, and "The Invisible Ink," by director César Díaz and producer Fernando Epstein. Moreover, The Kirch Foundation, in collaboration with HFF (University of Television and Film Munich), awarded €20,000 for a further project, "Amigas," by director Beatriz Seigner and writer Maíra Bühler.

This year's Beta Development Award recipients will work closely with Beta's Content Division, led by CCO Koby Gal Raday, to develop the pilot script. The two teams will be invited to Series Mania's Forum 2024 to present their projects to the industry's most influential decisionmakers, broadcasters, platforms, co-producers, and financiers.

2024 Dates

Festival

MARCH 15 TO 22

Forum

MARCH 19 TO 21