18/09/2025 - Paris Lees' British production wins Best Fiction in competition, Best Cast and the City of Cádiz trophy, awarded by a citizens’ jury

The third edition of the South International Series Festival, held in Cádiz from 12 to 17 September, has announced its winners. Carmen Serrano, head of Creative Europe MEDIA Desk Andalusia and chair of the fiction jury, revealed the winners alongside her fellow jury members: actress Patricia Vico, producers Myar Craig-Brown and Michael Murphy, and screenwriter Mariano Baselga.

The trophy for Best Fiction Series went to the British series What It Feels Like for a Girl for its “courageous portrayal of a difficult and dark reality with an energy and authenticity that transcends the screen, shaking the viewer with a story full of pain, tenderness and youthful joy”. The award for Best Cast also went to this production created by Paris Lees, in recognition of “the outstanding performances of a handful of young actors, who stand out both for their individual work and for the chemistry between them”. Meanwhile, the award for Best Screenplay for a Fiction Series went to the Spanish series Sense FilTRES [+see also:
series review
series profile], for “tackling a difficult and universal story with enormous freshness and luminosity, relying on characters full of life with whom it is impossible not to empathise”;

In the Non-Fiction category, the jury consisting of Clara Ruipérez de Azcárate (Director of Legal Strategy for Content and Intellectual Property Management at Telefónica/Movistar Plus+), producer Claire Willats, and Javier Miranda, director of the Alcances Documentary Film Festival in Cadiz, awarded a Special Mention to the Norwegian film The Agent. The Life and Lies of My Father, for “its bold narrative structure and the way it engages the viewer”. The Special Jury Prize for Non-Fiction Series went to the Spanish series La Húngara. Toma que toma, for “capturing the artist's personality and her consistency in blending elements of humour and drama in an organic way”. The award for Best Non-Fiction Series went to the Spanish series Una historia muy heavy, “for its pace, narrative structure, intelligent historical contextualisation and the research that underpins the series”.

The new City of Cadiz Award, decided by a citizens’ jury, also went to What It Feels Like for a Girl, “for the power of its message, which highlights the regression of such a topical issue, and for the emotion of its narrative, which manages to connect with viewers in this city so closely linked to social issues, freedoms and rights”.

Meanwhile, 2,281 people voted in the Audience Awards, with Ella, maldita alma and La Húngara. Toma que toma winning for Best Fiction and Non-Fiction Series, respectively.

Finally, at the closing ceremony, it was announced that the South Boost Award (read more), would go to the project Correos y telégrafos, by Jacobo Palomo, David G. Marcelo and Rocío Martín, with a special mention for El cantante, by Jorge Naranjo. The prize was awarded by a jury composed of Isa Cabrera (Deputy Director of Canal Sur), Manuela Ocón (Production Director of Movistar Plus+), Alberto Fernández (Director of Platforms and Digital Services at RTVE) and Carlos Rosado (President of the Andalucía Film Commission)

The list of awards:

Best Fiction Series
What It Feels Like for a Girl – Paris Lees (United Kingdom)

Best Fiction Series Screenplay
Sense FilTRES [+see also:
series review
series profile] - Amaya Izquierdo, Aleix Mestre, Ainhoa Bolaños (Spain)

Best Fiction Cast Award
Ellis Howard, Laquarn Lewis, Hannah Jones, Michael Socha, Laura Haddock, Hannah Walters - What It Feels Like for a Girl

Best Non-Fiction Series
Una historia muy heavy - Alejandro Torres, María José Camacho (Spain)

Special Jury Award for Non-Fiction Series
La Húngara. Toma que toma - Víctor Corrales (Spain)

Special Jury Mention for Non-Fiction Series
The Agent. The Life and Lies of My Father - Magnus Skatvold (Norway)

Other Awards

City of Cádiz Award
What It Feels Like for a Girl - Paris Lees

Audience Award for Fiction Series
Ella, maldita alma - Aurora Guerra (Spain)

Audience Award for Non-Fiction Series
La Húngara. Toma que toma - Víctor Corrales

South Boost Award
Correos y telégrafos - Jacobo Palomo, David G. Marcelo, Rocío Martín (Spain)

South Boost Special Mention
El Cantante – Jorge Naranjo

(Translated from Spanish)