Series Mania is underway in Lille, with Laurence Herszberg, managing director, noting an abundance of ambitious series productions being showcased throughout the week, many taking on global themes.
The buzzy atmosphere in Lille is a testament to the event’s success, as the city is decked out with banners welcoming its return. The same team has been with Series Mania since its inception, with Herszberg alongside Frédéric Lavigne, artistic director, and Francesco Capurro, director of Series Mania Forum. While originally hosted in Paris, the move to Lille is when “the festival really grew up,” Herszberg says. “The first thing that allowed this growth was the fact that the city and the region were totally with us. We made Lille known on the map” for the international series industry.
She also attributes the event’s growth and success to the strength of the professional sector, the Series Mania Forum. “We based our strategy on the needs of the industry, which is also why we add new layers every year.”
Herszberg notes a return in the series business to “big and ambitious series” from all over the world, including those with geopolitical themes. “At a time when the world is so much in chaos, you need to understand from the point of view of scriptwriters, of artists, what the lessons of the past are that can apply to the present time.” This year’s festival, for example, features The Deal, set in 2015 as Switzerland hosts last-chance nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran, with Europe, Russia and China; The German, an espionage thriller set between Munich and the kibbutz of the 1970s; and Kaboul, recounting the seizure of Kabul by the Taliban. The latter is a co-production involving 11 European countries.
Herszberg is enthused about the variety of countries with series being showcased throughout the festival. “We still have new countries that come in,” she says, highlighting Iran, Brazil and Tasmania this year.
She also highlights the presence of independent American fare, such as Hal & Harper, alongside the typical mega-productions. Ruth’s Ghost, for example, is an American project taking part in the Co-Pro Pitching Sessions as it looks for European financing and independent financing. “It’s a mini-trend at the moment of independent American projects, which will be very interesting to observe in the coming years. They are opening to Europe; so, for them, Series Mania Festival and Forum are a key place.”
When Series Mania comes to a close later this week, Herszberg says she will have measured its success not just by numbers but by the actual business that was done, relationships established and warm feelings of time well-spent by its attendees. “We’re very happy because now, with the Forum, we have never reached so many people attending, but it’s not only about numbers. It’s about people saying, I did business in such a nice atmosphere and I had a great time. Being outside your home and away from your family for three to eight days without enjoying yourself, it’s boring. You have to do business and say, Wow, I had a great time in Lille. That makes something very important.”
