Series Mania Unveils Festival Winners

Series Mania, which came to a close last week, has revealed the winners of this year’s festival, as well as the final number of participants.

“As we close the doors to an incredibly successful edition, we would first like to thank the public and the professionals who attended in record numbers, but also want to thank the city of Lille and the Hauts-de-France Region for their unwavering support of Series Mania,” said Laurence Herszberg, founder and general director of Series Mania. “We are delighted to be announcing our new dates for 2023, and in terms of final numbers, our numbers far exceeded our expectations for the Forum, and we could not be prouder.

“While the highlights are numerous from this year for the Festival, Forum and Lille Dialogues, I certainly want to acknowledge our Jury President and my dear friend, Ukrainian producer film producer Julia Sinkevych, who was truly an inspiration to everyone who met her,” Herszberg added. “I’d also like to congratulate all the Festival winners, as well as the team from Paradys, winner of the Forum’s Co-Pro Pitching Sessions. We look forward to welcoming everyone to Series Mania 2023.”

The 2022 edition of Series Mania brought together more than 70,000 participants for the Festival, and 3,300 accredited persons on-site from 64 countries for the Forum. The visits to the Series Mania Website and Series Mania Digital Platform totaled 260,000 views. Dates for 2023 will be announced shortly.

The international jury, chaired by Sinkevych, awarded three prizes among the nine series presented in world or international premieres. The grand prize went to the French series Le Monde de Demain, produced by Les films du Bélier and Arte France for Arte and Netflix. Michelle de Swarte in The Baby, a U.K. series made by Sister and Proverbial Picture for HBO and Sky; and Yehuda Levi in Fire Dance, an Israeli series produced by Kuma Studios for Yes TV, won in the acting categories.

The International Panorama, presided over by the French screenwriter and writer Anne Berest, awarded three prizes among the 13 series presented in French, European and world previews. The Swedish show The Dark Heart, produced by FLX for discovery+ in Sweden, received the best series award. The special jury prize went to Germany’s Sunshine Eyes, produced by Maze Pictures, Red Balloon Film and Tindra Film. The best series awarded by the student jury was Funeral for a Dog, made by Flare Entertainment and Sky Germany for Sky.

The international press jury awarded four prizes among the six French series presented in World Premiere. Chair Tendre, made by Jerico TV in co-production with Big Band Story and Famela for France.tv Slash, won best series.

Best actress went to the trio in Reusss—Inès Ouchaaou, Charlie Loiselier and Assa Sylla. The series is made by Lizland Films for France.tv Slash. Best actor, meanwhile, went to Axel Granberger in Les Papillons Noirs, made for Arte and Netflix by GMT Production, Jack N’a Qu’Un Oeil, Arte France and Pictanovo, with the support of the Hauts-de-France region.

The prize for best original music was awarded to Clément Doumic, Antoine Wilson and Sébastien Wolf from the group Feu! Chatterton for Toutouyoutou, produced by Ex Nihilo.

For the Night of Comedies competition, the best series, high school jury, was Israel’s Bloody Murray, made by Kastina Communications for Yes TV.

The short formats competition, which was awarded by an international jury, saw the best series prize go to the U.K.’s Float, from Black Camel Pictures for BBC Scotland.

This year’s audience’s prize for best series went to the U.K. series The Birth of Daniel F. Harris, produced by Clerkenwell Films for Channel 4.