An unmissable event for international professionals and decision-makers working within the audiovisual world, the Series Mania Forum (directed by Francesco Capurro) is set to unspool between 22 and 24 March within the 5th Lille-based edition of the Series Mania Festival (read our article). The hotly anticipated Co-Pro Pitching Sessions steal focus on the agenda, for which 15 projects in development have been selected on this occasion (out of 330 applicants from 56 countries), as does an out-of-competition screening of The Report which recently bagged an award at the Berlinale thanks to a partnership between Series Mania and the German festival’s Co-Pro Series programme (read news). These pitching sessions have proved to be real springboards for quality and efficacy, notably for Blackport [+leggi anche:
intervista: Olivier Wotling
scheda series], The Last Socialist Artefact, Des gens bien and Hors Saison, to name a few recent titles, which are now set for this year’s Series Mania Festival showcase.

The Co-Pro Pitching Sessions jury will be led by Britain’s Antony Root (WarnerMedia EMEA), alongside Italy’s Daniele Cesarano (RTI Mediaset Group), French producer Yaël Fogiel (Les Films du Poisson), England’s Noel Hedges (eOne) and Germany’s Yi Qiao (ZDF).

Also a space for reflection on the major issues faced by the industry, various conferences and panel discussions will likewise grace the agenda, notably exploring subjects such as the circulation of series in their original languages, what the future holds for remakes, marketing and the transition from feature film production to series production. Likewise worth a mention are several new initiatives, such as Book To Screen (a literary adaption market) and Innovation Talks (examining the expected impact of technology on the world of series), alongside the showcasing of various writing residencies organised by Series Mania.

Last but not least, the Lille Dialogues will take place on 24 March, based around the topic of "Creation: The driving force behind the audiovisual industry", and opened by way of a speech delivered by Denmark’s Margrethe Vestager (Executive Vice-President for Digital Europe and Competition Commissioner for the European Commission). The various round tables set to follow this event will tackle matters relating to investment in talent and the creation of new stories, soft audiovisual power and the way in which series are shaping tomorrow’s world, the critical stage of writing a series, European film studios’ potential, the growing trend towards European production alliances, and securing finance from investment funds.

The full list of projects is as follows:

Co-Pro Pitching Sessions

A Boy Disappears - 6x50 mins (Denmark)
Produced by Nimbus Film
Written by Julie Budtz Sørensen

Dead End - 6x50 mins (Belgium)
Produced by Caviar Antwerp
Written by Malin-Sarah Gozin

Detective Touré – 8 x 50 mins (Spain)
Produced by Tornasol and DeAPlaneta
Written by David Pérez Sañudo and Carlos Vila

Hormones - 6x52 mins (France)
Produced by TOP-The Oligarchs Productions and Moonshaker
Created by Noé Debré and Joachim Schnerf

Island of Youth - 8 x 50 mins (Germany)
Produced by Turbine Studios
Written by Jon Atli Jonasson

Little Hand - 6 x 52 mins (France)
Produced by Delante Productions
Written by Lou Zidi and Alexandra Bialy

Paradise - 8x48 mins (South Africa)
Produced by Quizzical Pictures and Keshet International
Created by Darrel Bristow-Bovey and Anton Visser
Written by Darrel Bristow-Bovey

Rank - 10 x 30 mins (Ireland/France/Australia)
Produced by Wheelhouse Productions and Deadpan Pictures
Written by Brendan Berne, Dillon Mapletoft and Oliver Taylor

Salvation – 7 x 50 mins (Hungary)
Produced by Proton Cinema
Written by Aniko Mangold

The Accident - 8x30 mins (Israel)
Produced by Green Productions
Written by Matan Yair

The Cuckoo Treatment - 8 x 60 mins (Canada)
Produced by Sienna Films (Sphere Media)
Created and written by Kris Bertin and Naben Ruthnum

The Impossible She - 8x50 mins (Italy)
Produced by Fandango
Created by Simone Manetti, Federica Pontremoli and Lorenzo Sportiello

The Liberties – 6 x 55 mins (Ireland/Belgium)
Produced by 925 Productions, Vico Films, Potemkino and Greenhorn Films
Written by Gary Duggan, Brian Durnin and Pierce Ryan

The Mars Project - 8x52 mins (Germany/France)
Produced by Wild Bunch and youngfilms GmbH & Co.KG
Written by Maxime Crupaux
Directed by Patrick Tatopoulos

The Winter Pack - 6 x 45 mins (Sweden)
Produced by Nevis Productions
Written by Christoffer Örnfelt
Directed by Charlotte Brändström

The Report - 6 x 60 mins (Germany)
Produced by Match Factory Productions (project screened out of competition)