Among the 15 projects selected and presented yesterday in the Co-Pro Pitching Sessions - organised within the festival’s industry arm, the Series Mania Forum (read our article) - the jury chaired by Spaniard Jorge Pezzi (Movistar Plus+) and further composed of France’s Alexandre Piel (Arte France), Germany’s Laura Mae Harding (ZDF), Israeli-US talent Alon Aranya (Paper Plane Productions) and Sweden’s Johanna Gårdare (SVT), singled out the Kyrgyz project, Red Pants, which walked away with the €50,000 prize.

Written by Tilek Cherikov, this series blending drama and action takes us to Soviet Kyrgyzstan in the late 1970s, where Aïsha, the daughter of a military officer, forms the first ever female criminal gang - the notorious "Red Pants" - to avenge her father’s death and defy the oppressive regime...

On the Buyers Upfront side, victory went to the French series R91, which triumphed over the other nine production or post-production titles in contention (news), courtesy of a jury comprising Oliver Jones (Apple TV+), Nick Lee (BBC), Morad Koufane (France Télévisions), Fredrik Luihn (NRK), Margarida Pereira (TVI – Televisao Independente) and Hakura Jorgensen (Wowow Inc.).

An action thriller, R91 (6 x 52 minutes) is set on the Mediterranean Sea where France’s nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91) has just set sail on a strategic mission. When a crew member is found dead and another goes missing, military investigator Paul Fischer is rushed aboard. With help from the ship’s second-in-command, Helena Duval, he must uncover the truth before the killer strikes again. With 2,000 men and women trapped on board, suspicion spreads and the case risks escalating into a global security crisis…

Last but not least, the SERIESMAKERS programme (in partnership with the Series Mania Institute) awarded victory to the Canadian project Chachachá ! (8 x 30 minutes) by Alison Fairweather Murray.

The winning series are as follows:

Co-Pro Pitching Sessions

Red Pants (Kyrgyzstan) – 10 x 60’
Genre: drama, action
Producer: Erke Dzhumakmatova (Studio Oymo)
Co-producers: Pavel Feldman & Alexander Seliverstov (Human Films)
Written by Tilek Cherikov

Buyers Upfront

R91 (France) – 6 x 52’
Genre: thriller, action
Producer: Next Episode
International sales agent: SND

SERIESMAKERS

Chachachá ! (Canada) – 8 x 30’
Writer/director: Alison Fairweather Murray
Producer: Jennifer Weiss (Nice Picture!)