The series, produced by Oficina Burman (The Mediapro Studio),will be presented but excluded from the competition for the grand prize.
Laurence Herszberg, Founder and General Director of Series Mania (March 15-22), today announced the 15 projects of 16 selected as part of the Co-Pro Pitching Sessions (March 19), the founding premise and most anticipated event of the Series Mania Forum (March 19-21).
The 16th project, Witness 36, which was announced earlier this week as part of the Berlinale’s Co-Pro Series will be presented but excluded from the competition for the grand prize.
An international jury of industry professionals will determine the best project among the 15 projects and prize the Best Project Award €50,000 to help develop the winning series. This year, the 15 projects were selected from 413 applications from 57 countries, including four new territories: Mexico, Cameroon, Panama, and Chile.
The Forum has been the launchpad for the release of such series as Off Season (Switzerland / France), No Man’s Land (France), Banking District (Switzerland), Eden (France), Keeping Faith (Great Britain), Manor House (Czech Republic), Stella Blomkvist (Iceland), Tabula Rasa (Belgium), Trepalium (France), Warrior (Denmark), Devils (Italy), The Head (Spain), Ever After (Italy), The Last Socialist Artefact (Slovenia, Finland) and We Got This (Sweden).
“Since its inception in 2013, the goal of the Forum’s Co-Pro Pitching Sessions has been to help the high-end European and International drama projects find potential financial partners. Given the illustrious list of titles which have received their start at the Forum, we know for a fact that this works. This year we have seen a significant increase in projects coming from South America, especially from Brazil and Mexico and have noted the emergence of Asia as a newcomer highlighted by the presence of two Japanese companies in this year’s selection,” commented Herszberg.
“Also, this year we received a number of stories inspired by true events and many projects based on strong IPs. While we saw a decline in dystopian themes in favor of more realistic projects and found that the submissions favored more traditional thrillers with an increasing number of dramedies. We look forward to unveiling the winner of the Best Project Award with €50,000 on March 19 in Lille,” added Herszberg.
The 2024 international jury of industry professionals includes:
Jury President: Nina Lederman (USA), EVP Global Scripted Development & Programming, Sony Pictures Television
Marco Chimenz (Italy), Group Co-General Manager, Federation Studios
Jennifer Ebell (United Kingdom), EVP, EMEA Sales and Acquisitions at FIFTH SEASON
Marianne Furevold-Boland (Norway), Head of Drama, NKR
Karin Marelle (United Kingdom), VP Program Acquisitions & Co-Productions, Starz
The following list of selected projects (in alphabetical order) will be pitched by their producers to a panel of potential financiers and are eligible for the Best Project Award of €50,000:
Antilia (France, Ego Productions), A True Novel (Japan, USA, Upgrade), Eurovision Murder Mystery (France, Germany, Friday Film), Food, Love, Faith (Israel, United Studios), Issak (Japan, Germany, Studio Zentral), Judgement of Solomon (Bulgaria, Contrast Films), Kiss My Feet (Finland, Netherlands), Nanga Parbat (France, Kazak Productions), The Art of Magdalene (Poland, Ireland), The Left Hand of Venus (Greece, Arcadia Media), The Odesa Wrestlers (Norway), Thirst (Canada, Trio Orange), Our People (Slovakia), Vatican (Italy, Fabula Pictures), White Ties (Germany).
The 16th project, announced on February 20 during the Berlinale’s Co-Pro Series, is Witness 36 from Argentina, produced by Oficina Burman (The Mediapro Studio).
