Greek Island Murder Mystery ‘The Beach’ Puts Dark Spin on Summer of Love, Proves to Be Primetime Hit
Even before it became a primetime sensation last fall, Greek drama “The Beach” had all the elements of a smash hit. Set during the summer of free love in a hippie commune on the island of Crete, the sun-splashed series takes a dark turn with a mysterious murder, setting into motion events that have captivated Greek audiences across more than one hundred episodes to date.
For the creative team at Foss Productions, which co-produced the show with public broadcaster Ert, “The Beach” was an opportunity to push the envelope in a way that hadn’t been done before on Greek television.
“We thought, ‘Let’s try to approach a long-running show in the same way that we approach a mini-series,’” says Orestis Plakias, of the Athens-based outfit behind shows like the Netflix original series “Maestro in Blue” and 2023 Series Mania competition selection “Milky Way.”
“We wanted to introduce something different to the long-running shows,...
For the creative team at Foss Productions, which co-produced the show with public broadcaster Ert, “The Beach” was an opportunity to push the envelope in a way that hadn’t been done before on Greek television.
“We thought, ‘Let’s try to approach a long-running show in the same way that we approach a mini-series,’” says Orestis Plakias, of the Athens-based outfit behind shows like the Netflix original series “Maestro in Blue” and 2023 Series Mania competition selection “Milky Way.”
“We wanted to introduce something different to the long-running shows,...
- 4/5/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Ali Wong and Steven Yeun both won awards for Beef at the SAG Awards!
Before the show, Ali gave us a major fashion moment while on the red carpet at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday (February 24) at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
Ali wowed in an Iris Van Herpen Couture dress and Brandon Blackwood shoes. She removed the wings while seated inside the event!
Steven won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series and Ali won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series.
Head inside to watch their acceptance speeches…
Ali had a message for her mom during her speech.
“I want to thank my 83-year-old mother who’s here tonight who’s here in her pearls and her Tevas because she doesn’t give a f—,” she said.
Before the show, Ali gave us a major fashion moment while on the red carpet at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday (February 24) at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
Ali wowed in an Iris Van Herpen Couture dress and Brandon Blackwood shoes. She removed the wings while seated inside the event!
Steven won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series and Ali won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series.
Head inside to watch their acceptance speeches…
Ali had a message for her mom during her speech.
“I want to thank my 83-year-old mother who’s here tonight who’s here in her pearls and her Tevas because she doesn’t give a f—,” she said.
- 2/25/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Beta Cinema has acquired all rights except Greece to Yorgos Zois’s Arcadia which world premieres in the Berlinale’s Encounters section.
Greek director Zois’s second feature is a drama fantasy starring Vangelis Mourikis, who was at the Berlinale in 2014 with Yannis Economides’ Stratos and in 2020 with Georgis Grigorakis‘ Digger, and Angeliki Papoulia, best known for her performances in Yorgos Lanthimos‘ Dogtooth and The Lobster.
Arcadia follows neurologist Katerina and Yannis, a former well-respected doctor, heading off to a deserted seaside resort where Yannis has been called to identify the victim of a tragic accident. Together with Yannis, but...
Greek director Zois’s second feature is a drama fantasy starring Vangelis Mourikis, who was at the Berlinale in 2014 with Yannis Economides’ Stratos and in 2020 with Georgis Grigorakis‘ Digger, and Angeliki Papoulia, best known for her performances in Yorgos Lanthimos‘ Dogtooth and The Lobster.
Arcadia follows neurologist Katerina and Yannis, a former well-respected doctor, heading off to a deserted seaside resort where Yannis has been called to identify the victim of a tragic accident. Together with Yannis, but...
- 1/23/2024
- ScreenDaily
Following the canon of “All About Ah-Long”, Johnnie To directed another family drama that is filled with violence and pessimism, although this time, in tamer fashion, particularly due to the extensive (for a Milky Way film) dialogues and some notions of black humor.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Triad boss Michael has just been released from prison and checks into a rundown motel, grandiose-named International Hotel, run by widow June, who also takes care of her young son Tony. Michael shows his colors quite early on, with him fighting with three taxi drivers in an event that bring in the police, until June tells the story as it is and has him released. Michael, who is in search of his ex-wife and the money she owes him, soon starts taking a liking to June, and gradually, the three end up resembling a family. Neither the cabbies,...
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Triad boss Michael has just been released from prison and checks into a rundown motel, grandiose-named International Hotel, run by widow June, who also takes care of her young son Tony. Michael shows his colors quite early on, with him fighting with three taxi drivers in an event that bring in the police, until June tells the story as it is and has him released. Michael, who is in search of his ex-wife and the money she owes him, soon starts taking a liking to June, and gradually, the three end up resembling a family. Neither the cabbies,...
- 1/13/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
There were sunny skies over the Thessaloniki Film Festival this week, with unseasonably high temperatures leading many visitors to reach for the sunscreen while dashing between movie premieres and industry events at Greece’s longest-running film fest.
The local industry, too, is enjoying a moment in the sun, as the Mediterranean nation has seen production surge post-pandemic, buoyed by foreign titles like Rian Johnson’s Netflix blockbuster “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” action thriller “Tin Soldier,” starring Jamie Foxx and Robert De Niro, and the Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone starring “Expend4bles,” the latest installment of the action franchise, which filmed in Thessaloniki.
Last year, production in Greece reached record heights, with 132 projects supported by the country’s cashback scheme, which covers up to 40% of qualifying expenditures and can be combined with a separate 30% tax relief scheme. This year, Pablo Larrain’s Maria Callas biopic “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie,...
The local industry, too, is enjoying a moment in the sun, as the Mediterranean nation has seen production surge post-pandemic, buoyed by foreign titles like Rian Johnson’s Netflix blockbuster “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” action thriller “Tin Soldier,” starring Jamie Foxx and Robert De Niro, and the Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone starring “Expend4bles,” the latest installment of the action franchise, which filmed in Thessaloniki.
Last year, production in Greece reached record heights, with 132 projects supported by the country’s cashback scheme, which covers up to 40% of qualifying expenditures and can be combined with a separate 30% tax relief scheme. This year, Pablo Larrain’s Maria Callas biopic “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie,...
- 11/11/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
We’re not even ten minutes into the interview, and my eyes start welling up with tears. “The fact that you’re here right now, you’re blinking, and I’m breathing, there’s blood pulsing through our body, that is enough,” he tells me over video. As he sits in his hotel room, escaping the sweltering heat of Las Vegas, and I hide away in a cold New York City office, it’s like space collapses. Suddenly, we’re sitting side-by-side as equals, though miles apart. “I don’t need to prove anything.
- 11/7/2023
- by Kyle Lamar Rice
- Rollingstone.com
When the Thessaloniki International Film Festival’s industry arm, Agora, kicks off this week in Greece’s second city, organizers will be looking to expand upon recent additions to a time-tested formula that’s served the event across nearly two decades as a launching pad and incubator for Greek and regional talent.
“We’ve been doing the Agora since 2005, and we have slowly but steadily established it as one of the markets where you can find new talents and emerging directors from this region,” says industry head Angeliki Vergou, who took over from longtime Agora topper Yianna Sarri last year. “I think we are maintaining the essence of Agora that we have developed all these years, but just tweaking it a little bit to make it more available and more open to bring in new opportunities.”
In her second year in charge of the Agora, Vergou is looking to build...
“We’ve been doing the Agora since 2005, and we have slowly but steadily established it as one of the markets where you can find new talents and emerging directors from this region,” says industry head Angeliki Vergou, who took over from longtime Agora topper Yianna Sarri last year. “I think we are maintaining the essence of Agora that we have developed all these years, but just tweaking it a little bit to make it more available and more open to bring in new opportunities.”
In her second year in charge of the Agora, Vergou is looking to build...
- 11/1/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Fifth Season has nabbed global distribution rights to the Greek teen drama series “Milky Way,” an eight-part coming-of-age story centered on an unwanted pregnancy that’s written and directed by Vasilis Kekatos, who won the Palme d’Or and the Queer Palm at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival for his short film “The Distance Between Us and the Sky.”
Produced by Foss Productions in association with Play2Place and in co-production with Greek broadcaster Mega TV, “Milky Way” was the first Greek series ever to compete at Series Mania, where the edgy drama invited comparisons to HBO’s “Euphoria.”
The show, which is set to launch in Greece Nov. 2 on Mega and Vodafone TV On Demand, will premiere its third episode Nov. 10 at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. It marks the first acquisition of a Greek series by Fifth Season, the production and distribution company formerly known as Endeavor Content.
Set in a remote mountain town,...
Produced by Foss Productions in association with Play2Place and in co-production with Greek broadcaster Mega TV, “Milky Way” was the first Greek series ever to compete at Series Mania, where the edgy drama invited comparisons to HBO’s “Euphoria.”
The show, which is set to launch in Greece Nov. 2 on Mega and Vodafone TV On Demand, will premiere its third episode Nov. 10 at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. It marks the first acquisition of a Greek series by Fifth Season, the production and distribution company formerly known as Endeavor Content.
Set in a remote mountain town,...
- 11/1/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The Thessaloniki Film Festival’s Agora Series, a hybrid film-series industry strand, returns this year for its sophomore outing with Paper Entertainment CEO and Tehran executive producer Julien Leroux serving as program consultant.
This year’s Agora series program will run for two extended days, starting November 4, with a focus on the creative process of series screenwriting. The schedule will feature a range of masterclass sessions from local and international series professionals. Canadian filmmaker Jeremy Podeswa will host a masterclass on the future of storytelling titled From Six Feet Under to the Top: The Evolution of Contemporary Television at the Pavlos Zannas Theatre on November 4. Podeswa — who was recently announced as the lead director of the Blade Runner 2099 mini-series at Amazon — will discuss the evolution of series content throughout the years and his personal journey in the business. Podeswa’s credits include Six Feet Under, Game of Thrones,...
This year’s Agora series program will run for two extended days, starting November 4, with a focus on the creative process of series screenwriting. The schedule will feature a range of masterclass sessions from local and international series professionals. Canadian filmmaker Jeremy Podeswa will host a masterclass on the future of storytelling titled From Six Feet Under to the Top: The Evolution of Contemporary Television at the Pavlos Zannas Theatre on November 4. Podeswa — who was recently announced as the lead director of the Blade Runner 2099 mini-series at Amazon — will discuss the evolution of series content throughout the years and his personal journey in the business. Podeswa’s credits include Six Feet Under, Game of Thrones,...
- 10/12/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
’Three Bullets’ by Génesis Valenzuela wins three prizes, with Gloria Carrión’s ’Pantasma’ also honoured.
The Dominican Republic director Génesis Valenzuela was the big winner at today’s (August 8) awards ceremony for Locarno’s talent development programme Open Doors.
The artist-filmmaker received three awards for her debut feature project Three Bullets (Tres Balas) described as “a visually enthralling journey intertwining colonial history, displacement and criminal investigation.”
The hybrid project employing narrative strategies from fiction, documentary and essay cinema investigates the murder of Dominican immigrant Lucrecia Pérez in Spain by four neo-Nazis in 1992. It is produced by Wendy B. Espinal.
Three...
The Dominican Republic director Génesis Valenzuela was the big winner at today’s (August 8) awards ceremony for Locarno’s talent development programme Open Doors.
The artist-filmmaker received three awards for her debut feature project Three Bullets (Tres Balas) described as “a visually enthralling journey intertwining colonial history, displacement and criminal investigation.”
The hybrid project employing narrative strategies from fiction, documentary and essay cinema investigates the murder of Dominican immigrant Lucrecia Pérez in Spain by four neo-Nazis in 1992. It is produced by Wendy B. Espinal.
Three...
- 8/8/2023
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Locarno — Two movie projects which capture best the brewing revolution in Latin American filmmaking walked off with the biggest plaudits at this year’s Locarno Open Doors prize ceremony on Tuesday.
Both underscore the mindset reset among cineasts – their questioning of received wisdom accompanied by the explosion in invention being brought to low-budget filmmaking in the region.
Directed by Nicaragua’s Gloria Carrión and produced by Leonor Zuñiga, “Pantasma” took the biggest cash prize on offer, CHF25,000 from Visions Sud Est, for a project which begs to differ from Nicaragua’s Contras were U.S.-backed mercenaries.
“Pantasma” presents a more nuanced vision, based on the memoirs of former Sandinista Felix Vigil and his dawning realization, during the Sandinista-Contra War that the revolution was “fighting Nicaraguan peasants and not paid mercenaries [whch] will make him question everything he believes in,” Carrión has noted.
Fleeing Nicaragua as Daniel Ortega has increasingly suppressed...
Both underscore the mindset reset among cineasts – their questioning of received wisdom accompanied by the explosion in invention being brought to low-budget filmmaking in the region.
Directed by Nicaragua’s Gloria Carrión and produced by Leonor Zuñiga, “Pantasma” took the biggest cash prize on offer, CHF25,000 from Visions Sud Est, for a project which begs to differ from Nicaragua’s Contras were U.S.-backed mercenaries.
“Pantasma” presents a more nuanced vision, based on the memoirs of former Sandinista Felix Vigil and his dawning realization, during the Sandinista-Contra War that the revolution was “fighting Nicaraguan peasants and not paid mercenaries [whch] will make him question everything he believes in,” Carrión has noted.
Fleeing Nicaragua as Daniel Ortega has increasingly suppressed...
- 8/8/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
A revolution is working through Latin American filmmaking. It’s powered by new gen cineastes, educated at top film schools, very often women, who are questioning pretty much everything everywhere all at once, re-representing themselves and questioning what can make up a movie these days.
Locarno’s Open Doors is a case in point. Five takeaways on this year’s lineup:
Recalibration of a Sense of Self
“Three Bullets,” at Open Doors Projects Hub, is made by Dominican Génesis Valenzuela, an alum of San Sebastian’s prestigious Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola, which plumbs the murder of Dominican immigrant Lucrecia Pérez, shot and killed by four neo-Nazis, the same year that Spain celebrated its conquest of Latin America. Valenzuela will come in at the film as she reconstructs her own identity as a “human being/woman/Afro-Caribbean/filmmaker.” “The driving force of this film is the desire for emancipation, both from...
Locarno’s Open Doors is a case in point. Five takeaways on this year’s lineup:
Recalibration of a Sense of Self
“Three Bullets,” at Open Doors Projects Hub, is made by Dominican Génesis Valenzuela, an alum of San Sebastian’s prestigious Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola, which plumbs the murder of Dominican immigrant Lucrecia Pérez, shot and killed by four neo-Nazis, the same year that Spain celebrated its conquest of Latin America. Valenzuela will come in at the film as she reconstructs her own identity as a “human being/woman/Afro-Caribbean/filmmaker.” “The driving force of this film is the desire for emancipation, both from...
- 8/1/2023
- by John Hopewell and Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
The Locarno Film Festival has announced the line-up for the 21st edition of its Open Doors program, which will focus on filmmakers from underrepresented countries in Latin America and the Caribbean for the second year running.
The program runs online in July and onsite during the festival’s Locarno Pro Days industry sidebar, running from August 3 to 9.
The eight films in development selected for its Project Hub coproduction platform include Milky Way (Vía láctea) from Costa Rican director Paz Fábrega, whose Cold Water of the Sea won the Tiger Award in Rotterdam in 2010.
Further projects include exiled Nicaraguan director Gloria Carrión’s animated hybrid work Pantasma; Jamaican director Gibrey Allen’s Raised by Goats; first-time Venezuelan filmmaker Carlos Zerpa’s Loa. Kill Your Masters (Loa. Mata a tus amos) as well as vampire western Last of the Kings by Peruvian director Victor Checa. His first feature The Shape of Things to Come...
The program runs online in July and onsite during the festival’s Locarno Pro Days industry sidebar, running from August 3 to 9.
The eight films in development selected for its Project Hub coproduction platform include Milky Way (Vía láctea) from Costa Rican director Paz Fábrega, whose Cold Water of the Sea won the Tiger Award in Rotterdam in 2010.
Further projects include exiled Nicaraguan director Gloria Carrión’s animated hybrid work Pantasma; Jamaican director Gibrey Allen’s Raised by Goats; first-time Venezuelan filmmaker Carlos Zerpa’s Loa. Kill Your Masters (Loa. Mata a tus amos) as well as vampire western Last of the Kings by Peruvian director Victor Checa. His first feature The Shape of Things to Come...
- 6/7/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
If you wanted to gauge how far the growing Greek TV industry has come in just a few short years, you’d have to look no further than last month in Lille, France, where Series Mania offered a splashy showcase for the Mediterranean nation’s sudden rise.
The prestigious French fest opened with Amazon Prime Video’s “Greek Salad,” director Cédric Klapisch’s follow-up to his beloved “Spanish Apartment” trilogy that chose Athens as the setting for its portrait of contemporary Europe at a crossroads. Meanwhile, a Greek series bowed in the festival’s international competition for the first time: Vasilis Kekatos’ “Milky Way.”
Directed by the short film Palme d’Or winner and inviting comparisons to “Euphoria” from festivalgoers, the envelope-pushing teen drama (pictured) is part of a bold new wave of Greek storytelling that reflects an industry striving to reach new heights. “We have amazing talents in Greece.
The prestigious French fest opened with Amazon Prime Video’s “Greek Salad,” director Cédric Klapisch’s follow-up to his beloved “Spanish Apartment” trilogy that chose Athens as the setting for its portrait of contemporary Europe at a crossroads. Meanwhile, a Greek series bowed in the festival’s international competition for the first time: Vasilis Kekatos’ “Milky Way.”
Directed by the short film Palme d’Or winner and inviting comparisons to “Euphoria” from festivalgoers, the envelope-pushing teen drama (pictured) is part of a bold new wave of Greek storytelling that reflects an industry striving to reach new heights. “We have amazing talents in Greece.
- 4/14/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
by Cláudio Alves
Today marks a century since Harold Lloyd delivered his most legendary work to movie theaters. Safety Last! is a silent comedy classic, featuring such riveting stunts as the famous climax that finds our hero hanging from a clock. Though no other Lloyd picture has a comparable legacy, the man's filmography is a treasure trove for slapstick lovers with an inclination for bespectacled hunks. If you have any doubts, jump over to the Criterion Channel, where a new 42-title collection showcases the man's work from the late 1910s to the advent of sound and 1936's Milky Way. If you're not entertained, see a doctor, stat.
But of course, maybe Lloyd's not your preferred flavor of silent comedy. Amid the classic loving community, it seems everyone has a favorite from the three big names that defined Hollywood slapstick and continue to live in the public imagination. So, because this is a day for foolishness,...
Today marks a century since Harold Lloyd delivered his most legendary work to movie theaters. Safety Last! is a silent comedy classic, featuring such riveting stunts as the famous climax that finds our hero hanging from a clock. Though no other Lloyd picture has a comparable legacy, the man's filmography is a treasure trove for slapstick lovers with an inclination for bespectacled hunks. If you have any doubts, jump over to the Criterion Channel, where a new 42-title collection showcases the man's work from the late 1910s to the advent of sound and 1936's Milky Way. If you're not entertained, see a doctor, stat.
But of course, maybe Lloyd's not your preferred flavor of silent comedy. Amid the classic loving community, it seems everyone has a favorite from the three big names that defined Hollywood slapstick and continue to live in the public imagination. So, because this is a day for foolishness,...
- 4/1/2023
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Lille’s Series Mania Forum is kicking off today with a packed schedule of talks, screenings and competitions.
Fighting it out in International Competition are the likes of Prime Video’s Toni Collette starrer The Power, Haven of Grace from Magnetic Beats director Vincent Maël Cardona, and Quoc Dang Tran’s Apple TV+ series Drops of God.
They compete against Greek series Milky Way, which opened the festival, Viaplay’s futuristic Russell Tovey drama The Fortress, Red Skies from Israel, The Actor from Iran and Fleeting Lies from Spain. Each will have its world premiere at the event.
The Power is a fantasy series set in a world where the physical balance of power between men and women switches when electric arcs emerge from the fingers of teenage girls all around the world. Debuting later this month, it comes from Sister, the UK producer behind Chernobyl and is based on Naomi Alderman’s sci-fi novel.
Fighting it out in International Competition are the likes of Prime Video’s Toni Collette starrer The Power, Haven of Grace from Magnetic Beats director Vincent Maël Cardona, and Quoc Dang Tran’s Apple TV+ series Drops of God.
They compete against Greek series Milky Way, which opened the festival, Viaplay’s futuristic Russell Tovey drama The Fortress, Red Skies from Israel, The Actor from Iran and Fleeting Lies from Spain. Each will have its world premiere at the event.
The Power is a fantasy series set in a world where the physical balance of power between men and women switches when electric arcs emerge from the fingers of teenage girls all around the world. Debuting later this month, it comes from Sister, the UK producer behind Chernobyl and is based on Naomi Alderman’s sci-fi novel.
- 3/21/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
French TV festival Series Mania started out playfully with a slew of humorous digs directed at its starry guests during the opening ceremony, including Brian Cox, back in town to hold a masterclass and introduce the latest episode of his smash hit “Succession.”
“I didn’t have time to watch Season 3. I have to see my children grow up, Brian!,” exclaimed host Daphné Bürki, before introducing this year’s opening show “Greek Salad” by Cédric Klapisch: “A prequel to ‘Norwegian Omelette,’ always starring Romain Duris,” Bürki joked.
Series Mania general director Laurence Herszberg joined in on the fun, giving a shoutout to “Emily in Paris’s” Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, attending with co-star Arnaud Binard: “She became a symbol of a Parisian woman. I hope there isn’t too much weight on your shoulders, Philippine!”
Jumping from stage onto the screen, Herszberg also starred alongside artistic director Frédéric Lavigne in...
“I didn’t have time to watch Season 3. I have to see my children grow up, Brian!,” exclaimed host Daphné Bürki, before introducing this year’s opening show “Greek Salad” by Cédric Klapisch: “A prequel to ‘Norwegian Omelette,’ always starring Romain Duris,” Bürki joked.
Series Mania general director Laurence Herszberg joined in on the fun, giving a shoutout to “Emily in Paris’s” Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, attending with co-star Arnaud Binard: “She became a symbol of a Parisian woman. I hope there isn’t too much weight on your shoulders, Philippine!”
Jumping from stage onto the screen, Herszberg also starred alongside artistic director Frédéric Lavigne in...
- 3/18/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
With an International Panorama spangled by gems – think Spain’s “Apagón,” Sweden’s “Blackwater,” and Canada’s “Disobey” and “Little Bird” – Series Mania also weighs in this year with one, if not the, strongest and most mouthwatering of international competitions in its history.
Including the opening and closing series, Amazon’s “Greek Salad” and Netflix’s “Transatlantic,” nearly all the global streamers have titles in the lineup, from Apple TV+’s “Drops of God” and Paramount+’s “Fleeting Lies.” The lineup also features some A-List international writing talents, such as the U.K.’s Jack Thorne and Israel’s Ron Leshem and Amit Cohen, whose “The Virtues” and “No Man’s Land” rank among the most memorable of recent Series Mania competition titles, and closing the festival, out of competition, “Unorthodox’s” Anna Wenger.”Fleeting Lies” also represents one of the first series from Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar’s El Deseo label in Madrid,...
Including the opening and closing series, Amazon’s “Greek Salad” and Netflix’s “Transatlantic,” nearly all the global streamers have titles in the lineup, from Apple TV+’s “Drops of God” and Paramount+’s “Fleeting Lies.” The lineup also features some A-List international writing talents, such as the U.K.’s Jack Thorne and Israel’s Ron Leshem and Amit Cohen, whose “The Virtues” and “No Man’s Land” rank among the most memorable of recent Series Mania competition titles, and closing the festival, out of competition, “Unorthodox’s” Anna Wenger.”Fleeting Lies” also represents one of the first series from Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar’s El Deseo label in Madrid,...
- 3/17/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Based in the northern French town of Lille since 2018, Series Mania has emerged as a key showcase for premium series and a spotlight for international creators — though, given the wider forces shaping the TV business, that spotlight has often shone on talent from the same three or four territories. And so, when programming the latest edition, the Series Mania brass looked to widen the field.
“This year, we will introduce our attendees to new narrative modes and visual possibilities,” says general director Laurence Herszberg. “Because we’ve discovered so many series from countries that haven’t often attended the major festivals, with creative outputs that are much lesser-known. We want to celebrate them as well.”
Running March 17–24, this edition boasts 55 series culled from 396 submissions encompassing more than 60 countries, with titles from Uruguay (“The Universe Conspires”), Benin (“Black Santiago Club”) and an Indo-Pakistani production (“Limboland”) all appearing at Series Mania for the very first time.
“This year, we will introduce our attendees to new narrative modes and visual possibilities,” says general director Laurence Herszberg. “Because we’ve discovered so many series from countries that haven’t often attended the major festivals, with creative outputs that are much lesser-known. We want to celebrate them as well.”
Running March 17–24, this edition boasts 55 series culled from 396 submissions encompassing more than 60 countries, with titles from Uruguay (“The Universe Conspires”), Benin (“Black Santiago Club”) and an Indo-Pakistani production (“Limboland”) all appearing at Series Mania for the very first time.
- 3/17/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
When Laurence Herszberg first launched Series Mania back in 2010 in Paris, the former Forum des Images director was keen to apply her deep knowledge of film and the film festival model to the television sector. At the time, says the French exec, no one was doing any kind of TV festival “solely dedicated to series.”
“No one was really talking about TV series,” the festival general director tells Deadline. “So, I decided to do something for the public just to try and see and imagine how it would work in the television sector.”
Little did she know how much the industry would shift, with much of the balance (and money) now lying in the scripted television sphere rather than the independent film space. As a result, across the last 13 years Herszberg and her team have been able to nurture and grow Series Mania into one of the most attractive events in the global TV calendar.
“No one was really talking about TV series,” the festival general director tells Deadline. “So, I decided to do something for the public just to try and see and imagine how it would work in the television sector.”
Little did she know how much the industry would shift, with much of the balance (and money) now lying in the scripted television sphere rather than the independent film space. As a result, across the last 13 years Herszberg and her team have been able to nurture and grow Series Mania into one of the most attractive events in the global TV calendar.
- 2/23/2023
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Event closes with Anna Winger’s Netflix series Transatlantic.
Series Mania will kick off its 2023 event with Cédric Klapisch’s Amazon French Original series Greek Salad before serving up 32 world premieres, an industry Forum, and closing with Anna Winger’s Netflix series Transatlantic.
The International Competition of the annual television festival and industry event includes Franco-Belgian Arte series Grace of Heaven, Apple TV+, France Televisions and Hulu Japan’s Drops of God, Paramount+’s Spanish Fleeting Lies, Reshet 13’s Israeli series Red Skies, Viaplay’s Norwegian The Fortress and Prime Video’s US series The Power. Among the titles from...
Series Mania will kick off its 2023 event with Cédric Klapisch’s Amazon French Original series Greek Salad before serving up 32 world premieres, an industry Forum, and closing with Anna Winger’s Netflix series Transatlantic.
The International Competition of the annual television festival and industry event includes Franco-Belgian Arte series Grace of Heaven, Apple TV+, France Televisions and Hulu Japan’s Drops of God, Paramount+’s Spanish Fleeting Lies, Reshet 13’s Israeli series Red Skies, Viaplay’s Norwegian The Fortress and Prime Video’s US series The Power. Among the titles from...
- 2/8/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
The world premieres of Cédric Klapisch’s Amazon Prime Video show “Greek Salad” and Anna Winger’s Netflix series “Transatlantic” will open and close the 2023 edition of Series Mania.
The event will feature masterclasses with “Succession” star Brian Cox, “Westworld” producer Lisa Joy, who also will preside over the international competition jury, Klapisch and renowned French actors Cécile de France (“Lost Illusions”) and Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (“Emily in Paris”).
Series in the international competition this year include Arte’s “Grace of Heaven” (France/Belgium); Apple TV+, France Télévisions, Hulu Japan’s “Drops of God” (France/U.S./Japan); Paramount+’s “Fleeting Lies” (Spain); Mega TV’s “Milky Way” (Greece); Reshet 13’s “Red Skies” (Israel); Filimo, Namava’s “The Actor” (Iran); Viaplay’s “The Fortress” (Norway); and Prime Video’s “The Power” (U.S.)
The international jury, which also includes French actor Emmanuelle Béart, British showrunner-screenwriter Chris Chibnall (“Broadchurch”), French-British singer-songwriter and actor Lou Doillon,...
The event will feature masterclasses with “Succession” star Brian Cox, “Westworld” producer Lisa Joy, who also will preside over the international competition jury, Klapisch and renowned French actors Cécile de France (“Lost Illusions”) and Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (“Emily in Paris”).
Series in the international competition this year include Arte’s “Grace of Heaven” (France/Belgium); Apple TV+, France Télévisions, Hulu Japan’s “Drops of God” (France/U.S./Japan); Paramount+’s “Fleeting Lies” (Spain); Mega TV’s “Milky Way” (Greece); Reshet 13’s “Red Skies” (Israel); Filimo, Namava’s “The Actor” (Iran); Viaplay’s “The Fortress” (Norway); and Prime Video’s “The Power” (U.S.)
The international jury, which also includes French actor Emmanuelle Béart, British showrunner-screenwriter Chris Chibnall (“Broadchurch”), French-British singer-songwriter and actor Lou Doillon,...
- 2/8/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
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