On the Spectrum Wins Jury’s Grand Prize at Series Mania

The winners from the Series Mania Festival have been unveiled, with On the Spectrum (Israel) scoring the jury’s grand prize.

The jury’s special prize went to Niccolò Ammaniti’s Il Miracolo (Italy). Anna Mikhalkova won best actress for An Ordinary Woman (Russia), while best actor went to Tommaso Ragno for Il Miracolo.

The audience award was presented to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (U.S.). The international panorama winner was Kiri (U.K.).

In the French competition, the best series was Ad Vitam. Best actress was Anne Charrier for Maman a tort, and there was a tie for best actor between Bryan Marciano for Vingt-cinq and Roschdy Zem for Aux Animaux la guerre.

The short-forms competition winners were First Love (France, U.S.) for best short-form series and Kiki and Kitty (Australia) for the high schoolers’ prize. Kiki and Kitty also won the students’ prize for comedy marathon.

Over the span of nine days, Series Mania drew some 55,639 visitors to screenings at Nouveau Siècle, UGC and Majestic of 83 series from 19 countries, 31 of which were world premieres, along with a range of events across the city and in surrounding areas.

“Our objective of hosting an international festival for TV series in France has been fulfilled. I’m very proud of this first edition of the Series Mania Lille/Hauts-de-France, which has united all generations and all social classes who share the same passion. Bring on season two,” said Xavier Bertrand, the president of the Hauts-de-France Region.

“We congratulate the amazing success of the Series Mania festival. Lille has once again demonstrated its capacity to host major events. Bravo to the team and thank you to the actors and industry professionals who took part,” added Martine Aubry, the mayor of Lille.

In addition to the competition, the festival hosted a world premiere screening at the opening ceremony of Succession, a new series from HBO that will be broadcast in France by OCS in June.

The edition also welcomed several guests of honor. They included American actor Patrick Duffy (Dallas, The Man from Atlantis), American showrunner Carlton Cuse (Lost, Bates Motel), Canadian director Jeremy Podeswa (Game of Thrones, The Handmaid’s Tale), Swedish actress Sofia Helin (Bron) and British showrunner Charlie Covell (The End of the F***ing World).

The festival was brought to an end with a ceremony hosted by Jonathan Lambert, in the presence of many of the award winners. The attendees had a premiere screening of German series Babylon Berlin (Canal+), presented by its producers.

From May 2 to 4, the European Project and Talent Forum, the professional arm of Series Mania, hosted industry executives and talent from over 40 countries totaling 2,010 accreditations. The Forum included 70-plus panels and sessions in three days. Included on the floor of the Lille Grand Palais was the European Commission Media booth, a VR experience theatre, a video library with over 76 series for viewing, as well as a Production and Talent Pavilion. Of the 2,010 accreditations, including top-level executives and financiers, 459 were content creators including European directors, writers and composers.