The Council of Europe, home of Eurimages, announces the four series co-production markets which have been selected to host the 2024 Series Co-Production Development Awards.

Conecta Fiction & Entertainment (Spain), Cinekid (Netherlands), TV Beats Co-Financing Market – Industry@Tallinn (Estonia), and NEM Zagreb (Croatia) have been chosen by a panel of independent experts to present the awards valued at €50,000 each.

This initiative is part of a new three-year Pilot Programmme for Series Co-Productions launched by the Council of Europe, aimed at empowering independent producers and fostering new relationships in the creation and production of high-quality series made as international co-productions. Markets taking place in countries participating in the Pilot Programme are eligible to present the new awards. Projects in development, which can be drama, documentary or animation series, must be presented within the framework of the selected co-production market by independent producers based in an Eurimages member state. A key criterion is the intention of involving at least one other independent production company from a different Eurimages member state in the future development and production of the series.

The Series Co-Production Development Award represents a significant advance in supporting independent production and enhancing linguistically and culturally diverse TV series. It aims to foster international collaboration by offering financial support for co-productions, facilitating independent producers' access to development funding, and laying the groundwork for future creative collaborations.

“We are confident that this award will allow us to showcase the creative brilliance of European storytelling and recognize the visionary creators shaping the future of collaborative storytelling endeavors,” says Géraldine Gonard, general director and founder of Conecta Fiction & Entertainment.

“We are thrilled to be part of this pilot scheme and that we can offer makers tangible support for the childrens serial format,” says Sara Juricic, head of Cinekid for Professionals.

“We are sincerely grateful for the prestigious Council of Europe Series Co-Production Development Award, as it will greatly assist us in standing out, achieving our goals of increasing series co-productions, and welcoming new talents and diverse voices from the region,” explains Marge Liiske, managing director at Industry@Tallinn.

“We are honored to be hosting Series Co-Production Development Awards and further promote the goals of this program seeing how NEM Zagreb’s primary focus is on creative development in the CEE region, where international co-production is the most important tool to compete on the global level,” says Sanja Božić-Ljubičić, founder of NEM Zagreb.