12/03/2025 - Mika Kaurismäki, Michael Kinirons, Simón Casal, Jens Dahl and filmmaking duo Joseph Bull and Luke Seomore are amongst the directors behind the selected projects

Director Mika Kaurismäki, whose series project Le Bouton d'Or has been selected

The third edition of SERIESMAKERS, an initiative of Series Mania with backing from German outfit Beta Group aiming to support filmmakers venturing into the world of series, has unveiled its selection. Directors standing out amongst the 10 projects selected this year, whose teams benefitted from a custom made training programme led by renowned consultants who helped them to refine a complete pitch deck, are established Finnish filmmaker Mika Kaurismäki (Helsinki-Napoli, The Girl King [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Irish filmmaker Michael Kinirons (The Sparrow), British duo Joseph Bull - Luke Seomore (Blood Cells [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), Icelandic filmmakers Gísli Örn Gardarsson (already very famous for the series Blackport [+see also:
interview: Olivier Wotling
series profile]) and Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Danish filmmaker Jens Dahl (known in particular for writing the Pusher films directed by Nicolas Winding Refn) and Spanish filmmaker Simón Casal (Justicia artificial). Also worth noting is a British project with Israeli filmmaker Ofir Raul Graizer (The Cakemaker [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ofir Raul Graizer
film profile]) directing, two Brazilian projects, and one Nigerian.

The four mentors of this edition are German producer Janine Jackowski, Israel screenwriter Ronit Weiss-Berkowitz, French-Danish international development specialist Isabelle Lindberg Pechou, and Brazilian producer, screenwriter and showrunner Felipe Braga (Sintonia), who will be joined by speakers such as Christian Schwochow, Quoc Dang Tran, Bryan Elsley, as well as Frank Doelger, Frank Spotnitz and Lila Byock.

The winning team will be awarded on 26 March (with a €50,000 development aid grant given by Beta and the Kirch Foundation in collaboration with the HFF - the Munich Television and Film University) during the Series Mania Forum (25 to 27 March - read the news), the industry section of the festival which will begin on 21 March in Lille (article).

As a reminder, the first edition had awarded Juho Kuosmanen, César Díaz and Beatriz Seigner (read the news) and the second had recognised Kevin Macdonald, Erik Matti and Barbara Albert (news).

The 2025 selection:

A Person of Interest (Ireland, 8x50', crime/thriller)
Director/screenwriter: Michael Kinirons
Screenwriter: Fergal Rock

Cow's Tongue (Brazil, 8x60', crime/thriller)
Director: Aly Muritiba
Creator/screenwriter: Marc Bechar

Death Becomes Him (Nigeria, 8x30', dark comedy/fantasy)
Director: Joseph A. Adesunloye
Screenwriter: Gabriel Winter

Falke Motors (Denmark, 6x45', crime/drama)
Director/screenwriter: Jens Dahl
Producer: Anders N.U. Berg

Le Bouton d'Or (Finland, 6x45', drama/comedy)
Director: Mika Kaurismäki
Co-screenwriters: Anastasia Pashkevich and Anna Andersson

Pigs' Disco (UK, 4x60', drama/biopic)
Directors/screenwriters : Joseph Bull and Luke Seomore

Stick'em Up (Iceland, 8x40', comedy-drama/biopic)
Directors/screenwriters : Gísli Örn Gardarsson and Björn Hlynur Haraldsson

The Interregnum (Spain, 6x50', political thriller)
Creator/director/screenwriter: Simón Casal
Producer: Mariela Besuievsky

The Wonderful Golem (UK, 8x60', drama/fantasy)
Director/screenwriter: Ofir Raul Graizer
Producer: David C. Barrot

Unequal (Brazil, 6x45', thriller/hold-up/drama)
Director/producer: Carolina Jabor
Screenwriter : Claudia Jouvin

(Translated from French)