After a 2022 edition that brought together more than 3,300 accredited executives from 64 countries, with a great focus on the European market, Series Mania and its Forum, the commercial and business segment of the event, returns for a new edition, positioning itself among the most important events of the year for the industry.
The event is already habitual on the agenda of pan-regional executives from Europe and the rest of the world (along with markets such as CannesSeries and Rendez Vous), who attend the city of Lille to explore this market rich in public broadcasters, emerging filmmakers in a condensed event dedicated to business.
For this year, the organization confirmed more than 3,800 registrations, classifying it as a record number of commissioners, producers, writers, public institutions and delegations from Taiwan, Korea, Canada, Spain, Germany, Norway, Finland, Belgium, among others, who confirmed that they will have dedicated stands at the event.
New sections
Among the novelties this year is the “Creative Campaign Award”, which recognizes the series that had the most viewing and impact on social media. Likewise, in alliance with Telefilm Canada, CNC and the BANFF World Media Festival, it presents the «Canada-France Series Lab», a section that aims to promote and facilitate relations between 15 Canadian and French producers.
Also, being another of the initiatives of the CNC, there is «Going Europe», a program that will form international teams of authors to face the challenges of international serial co-productions. This section is possible thanks to the European Commission’s Media program in partnership with Conecta Fiction and the Sarajevo Film Festival.
Finally, as the latest novelty, the «Seriesmaker» section will be held, which will focus on feature film directors who venture into the world of series. The program was created in partnership with BETA Group, and in this first edition, ten teams with an idea for TV were selected to be trained to translate their idea into a series.
Pitching rounds
At the same time, there will be a new edition of the long-awaited Pitches sessions to be held on April 21, which on this occasion fifteen projects from around the world compete for a prize of 50,000 euros, and whose jury includes renowned names such as Caroline Hollick, from Channel 4 (UK), president of the jury; Michele Zatta, from RAI (Italy); Françoise Guyonnet, from StudioCanal (France); Jarmo Lampela, from YLE (Finland); and Lindsey Martin, from CBS Studios International (UK). Projects from Spain, Mexico, Uruguay, France, Belgium, among others, compete.
Dialogues of Lille
Turning 13 years old, the «Lille Dialogues» are once again held within the framework of the event. This year’s motto is ‘Shaping the future with the audiovisual sector’, and according to Laurence Herszberg, Founder and General Director of Series Mania, the talks will have a ‘progressive and decidedly optimistic’ imprint.
This year’s program will have an ambassador for the first time, the French writer, director, poet and environmental activist Cyril Dion, who will be joined by executives such as Rodolphe Belmer, General Director of TF1; Romain Bessi, CEO of Newen Studio; Cécile Frot Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios; Lisa Perrin, managing director international production at ITV Studios, who will talk about sustainability, the role of governments on filmmakers, new technologies and their impact on narratives, and the persecution of IPs.‘The future of the audiovisual industry goes hand in hand with the ecological transition and the arrival of more egalitarian models. Series Mania Forum wants to show all our registrants how to explore strategic and narrative paths in a scenario where the representation of catastrophes and survival continue to be dominant. The trend this year is girl power, social debates and sustainability, and how we can use these resources to inspire ways of doing business and creating stories,’ added Herszberg.
