20/04/2023 - The Norwegian series dominated the festival’s sixth edition, scooping the main prize and the musical trophy, while the Belgian production Draw For Change! won Best Documentary Series

Power Play, created by Silje Storstein, Kristin Grue and Johan Fasting

The 6th edition of Canneseries, Cannes International Series Festival, which took over the Croisette from 1 - 6 April, has revealed its victors. The jury presided over by Israel’s Lior Raz and further bolstered by Shrine Boutella, Zabou Breitman, Stewart Copeland and Daryl McCormack crowned the political Norwegian comedy Power Play [+see also:
series review
series profile], which is scripted by Silje Storstein, Kristin Grue and Johan Fasting (the latter also acting as showrunner) and directed by Yngvild Sve Flikke, as Best Series. This 12 x 55-minute work tells the incredible story of Gro Harlem Brundtland who is working as a young doctor fighting for self-determined abortion in the late 70s, when she stumbles, almost by accident, into politics.  As the government implodes around her, Gro learns to play her own power games, climbing up through the ranks until she’s the last woman standing amidst the ruins of Labour’s celebrated social democracy, until she finally ends up as Norway’s first female Prime Minister in 1981…

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This Norwegian series, which also scooped the award for Best Music (composed by Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim, Andrea Louise Horstad, Kristoffer Lo and Eivind Helgerød), is produced by Vilje Kathrine Hagen and Camilla Brusdal of Motlys and Novemberfilm (of the Freemantle Group) on behalf of NRK/NDR. International sales are steered by REinvent International Sales.

For its part, the 6 x 52-minute series Draw For Change!, created by Vincent Coen and Guillaume Vandenberghe, triumphed in the category of Best Documentary Series. Alternating live action and animated sequences, each episode follows a female cartoonist from a different country (Mexico, USA, Russia, India, Syria and Egypt) and explores various themes, such as feminicide, freedom of the press and the representation of women. In the face of censorship and death threats, these rebellious artists strive to change their societies and refuse to give in. Production of this series was entrusted to Belgian firm Clin d’Oeil Films, alongside Luxembourg’s a_BAHN, France’s Point du Jour-Les Films du Balibari and Germany’s Ma.ja.de Filmproduktion. Sales are steered by Autlook Filmsales.

The full list of award-winners is as follows:

Best Series
Power Play [+see also:
series review
series profile] – created by Silje Storstein, Kristin Grue, Johan Fasting (Norway)

Best Screenplay
Woo-Sung Jeon, Byeong-Yun Choi and Jae-Min Kwak - Bargain (created by Seung-Min Byun) (South Korea)

Best Performance
Dar Zuzovsky - Corduroy (created by Hadas Ben Aroya) (Israel)

Special Performance Award
The entire cast of Carthago (created by Reshef Levi, Tomer Shani, Yannets Levi) (Israel)

Best Music
Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim, Andrea Louise Horstad, Kristoffer Lo and Eivind Helgerød - Power Play

Best Documentary Series
Draw For Change! – created by Vincent Coen and Guillaume Vandenberghe (Belgium)

Best Short Form Series
The Left-Handed Son (El Hijo Zurdo) – created by Rafael Cobos (Spain)

Other awards

High School Award for Best Long Series
Carthago

Student Award for Best Short Form Series
L’air d’aller – created by Jean-Christophe Réhel (Canada)

Audience Award
Les combattantes – created by Camille Treiner and Cécile Lorn (France)

(Translated from French)