Ten projects have been selected for the second edition of Seriesmakers, Series Mania’s development lab for feature film directors sidestepping into series production.
The lab is run in collaboration with Beta, and this year features projects helmed by directors including Kaouther Ben Hania, who directed the Oscar-nominated doc Four Daughters, and Kevin Macdonald, best known for The Mauritanian.
Ben Hania’s project is titled Freedom Academy and is produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha. The synopsis reads: In the competitive world of television, a cunning producer and his optimistic wife battle for control of a daring reality TV show set in a high-security prison, hoping to capture the intense competition among incarcerated radicals all while the jury grapples with their divergent opinions on prisoners’ rehabilitation.
Macdonald’s series is titled George Blake and is produced by Femke Wolting. Synopsis reads: What makes a person turn against everything they ever stood for?...
The lab is run in collaboration with Beta, and this year features projects helmed by directors including Kaouther Ben Hania, who directed the Oscar-nominated doc Four Daughters, and Kevin Macdonald, best known for The Mauritanian.
Ben Hania’s project is titled Freedom Academy and is produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha. The synopsis reads: In the competitive world of television, a cunning producer and his optimistic wife battle for control of a daring reality TV show set in a high-security prison, hoping to capture the intense competition among incarcerated radicals all while the jury grapples with their divergent opinions on prisoners’ rehabilitation.
Macdonald’s series is titled George Blake and is produced by Femke Wolting. Synopsis reads: What makes a person turn against everything they ever stood for?...
- 3/4/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Seriesmakers, a joint initiative of Series Mania, Europe’s biggest TV festival, and European film-tv powerhouse Beta Group, has revealed the 10 top-notch project lineup of the second edition of its novel and high-powered mentoring program for filmmakers making their TV creator debut.
This year’s Seriesmakers features in development drama series from Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (“George Blake”), behind “The Last King Of Scotland,” and from Finnish director Mikko Myllylahti, who burst onto the scene co-writing with Juho Kuosmanen the latter’s “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Makki,” a 2016 Cannes Un Certain Regard winner.
Also in the mix is the highly courted Kaouther Ben Hania, a double Oscar nominee for the “compelling, ambitious hybrid” “Four Daughters,” said Variety, in the doc category and the “The Man Who Sold His Skin” (2020), Tunisia’s entry in international feature.
In all, however, nine of the ten directors winning berths this...
This year’s Seriesmakers features in development drama series from Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (“George Blake”), behind “The Last King Of Scotland,” and from Finnish director Mikko Myllylahti, who burst onto the scene co-writing with Juho Kuosmanen the latter’s “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Makki,” a 2016 Cannes Un Certain Regard winner.
Also in the mix is the highly courted Kaouther Ben Hania, a double Oscar nominee for the “compelling, ambitious hybrid” “Four Daughters,” said Variety, in the doc category and the “The Man Who Sold His Skin” (2020), Tunisia’s entry in international feature.
In all, however, nine of the ten directors winning berths this...
- 3/4/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
M-Appeal has acquired sales rights to uplifting family film “Jippie No More!,” which will world premiere as the opening film at Cinekid Festival in Amsterdam in October. The film will be distributed in Benelux by Cinéart.
The film, from Dutch director Margien Rogaar and writer Fiona van Heemstra, follows the story of Jaap Peter, also known as “Jippie” (played by Wesley van Klink), a lively 16-year-old boy, as he eagerly prepares for his older sister’s wedding at their beloved grandfather’s country house. As the whole family rallies together to create the perfect celebration, Jaap Peter falls in love for the first time. But when the girl of his dreams is smitten with his younger sister Joe instead, Jaap Peter is disheartened and loses interest in the wedding, until he realizes that his presence and the unbreakable bond of his family are vital in making the party a success.
The film, from Dutch director Margien Rogaar and writer Fiona van Heemstra, follows the story of Jaap Peter, also known as “Jippie” (played by Wesley van Klink), a lively 16-year-old boy, as he eagerly prepares for his older sister’s wedding at their beloved grandfather’s country house. As the whole family rallies together to create the perfect celebration, Jaap Peter falls in love for the first time. But when the girl of his dreams is smitten with his younger sister Joe instead, Jaap Peter is disheartened and loses interest in the wedding, until he realizes that his presence and the unbreakable bond of his family are vital in making the party a success.
- 7/18/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Twenty emerging producers from across Europe have been selected to take part in European Film Promotion’s promotion and networking platform Producers on the Move before and during the Cannes Film Festival.
The producers who were selected for the program from nominations submitted by Efp’s member organizations are Gentian Koçi (Albania), David Bohun (Austria), Julie Esparbes (Belgium), Vanya Rainova (Bulgaria), Miljenka Čogelja (Croatia), Stelana Kliris (Cyprus), Alice Tabery (Czech Republic), Emile Hertling Péronard (Denmark), Emilia Haukka (Finland), Silvana Santamaria (Germany), Vicky Miha (Greece), Júlia Berkes (Hungary), Kathryn Kennedy (Ireland), Valon Bajgora (Kosovo), Dominiks Jarmakovičs (Latvia), Erik Glijnis (The Netherlands), Elisa Fernanda Pirir (Norway), Radu Stancu (Romania), Juraj Krasnohorský (Slovak Republic), and Julia Gebauer (Sweden).
They will take part in a tailor-made program to foster international co-productions, increase the exchange of experiences, and help create new professional networks. The pre-festival online program, which started yesterday and runs until May 4, includes 1:1 speed meetings,...
The producers who were selected for the program from nominations submitted by Efp’s member organizations are Gentian Koçi (Albania), David Bohun (Austria), Julie Esparbes (Belgium), Vanya Rainova (Bulgaria), Miljenka Čogelja (Croatia), Stelana Kliris (Cyprus), Alice Tabery (Czech Republic), Emile Hertling Péronard (Denmark), Emilia Haukka (Finland), Silvana Santamaria (Germany), Vicky Miha (Greece), Júlia Berkes (Hungary), Kathryn Kennedy (Ireland), Valon Bajgora (Kosovo), Dominiks Jarmakovičs (Latvia), Erik Glijnis (The Netherlands), Elisa Fernanda Pirir (Norway), Radu Stancu (Romania), Juraj Krasnohorský (Slovak Republic), and Julia Gebauer (Sweden).
They will take part in a tailor-made program to foster international co-productions, increase the exchange of experiences, and help create new professional networks. The pre-festival online program, which started yesterday and runs until May 4, includes 1:1 speed meetings,...
- 5/3/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
On the outskirts of Budapest, a big-budget period drama is recreating the fateful day that sparked the Hungarian war of independence in 1848. Construction is underway at the state-owned Mafilm studio complex on a massive set that will stand in for the Hungarian capital in the 19th century. With 100-plus shooting days planned through September, director Balázs Lóth describes “Now or Never!” as “the most ambitious Hungarian film ever made.”
That ambition is being matched by Hungary’s National Film Institute, which awarded “Now or Never!” a 12.5 million production grant — the largest amount given to a feature film since the fall of communism in 1989.
It’s the second big swing on a splashy historical drama taken by the Nfi in the past year, after it awarded 29 million to “Rise of the Raven,” an epic drama series produced by Robert Lantos’ Serendipity Point Films (“Crimes of the Future”) and Beta Film (“Gomorrah...
That ambition is being matched by Hungary’s National Film Institute, which awarded “Now or Never!” a 12.5 million production grant — the largest amount given to a feature film since the fall of communism in 1989.
It’s the second big swing on a splashy historical drama taken by the Nfi in the past year, after it awarded 29 million to “Rise of the Raven,” an epic drama series produced by Robert Lantos’ Serendipity Point Films (“Crimes of the Future”) and Beta Film (“Gomorrah...
- 5/21/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
M-Appeal, the Berlin-based sales outfit, has acquired world rights to Dutch title “Bigman,” which follows best friends Dylan and Youssef, as they dream of becoming professional soccer players. When Dylan is paralyzed following an accident, he has to come to terms with his new life. His dad – and former coach – wants him to accept his disability, but Dylan is determined to play soccer again.
The film will be directed by Camiel Schouwenaar. Job Tichelman co-wrote the script with Schouwenaar, drawing on his own childhood experiences, having been a wheelchair user all his life.
Schouwenaar has several award-winning shorts to his name, most notably “Polska Warrior,” an animated adventure about identity, fear, and the love of a father and his son, which took home the award for Best Dutch Short Animation at the 2018 Cinekid Festival, as well as the 2017 Golden Calf for best short film at the Netherlands Film Festival.
Maren Kroymann,...
The film will be directed by Camiel Schouwenaar. Job Tichelman co-wrote the script with Schouwenaar, drawing on his own childhood experiences, having been a wheelchair user all his life.
Schouwenaar has several award-winning shorts to his name, most notably “Polska Warrior,” an animated adventure about identity, fear, and the love of a father and his son, which took home the award for Best Dutch Short Animation at the 2018 Cinekid Festival, as well as the 2017 Golden Calf for best short film at the Netherlands Film Festival.
Maren Kroymann,...
- 10/28/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Berlin-based sales outfit M-Appeal has acquired “No Looking Back,” a dark action film with a dysfunctional family at its core in which three generations of warring women face-off. The film world premiered at Kinotavr – Open Russian Film Festival in September and makes its international premiere at Tallinn Black Nights Intl. Film Festival in November in the main competition section.
The film is director Kirill Sokolov’s follow-up to black comedy “Why Don’t You Just Die!,” which competed at Sitges and closed multiple deals worldwide, marking out Sokolov as an up-and-coming auteur.
The film centers on Olga, a troubled woman who has just been released from prison and been reunited with her 10-year-old daughter, Masha. Masha has been in the care of Olga’s overbearing mother, Vera. The tempestuous relationship between Olga and Vera is instantaneously reignited, resulting in a violent altercation. This prompts Olga to take off with Masha in...
The film is director Kirill Sokolov’s follow-up to black comedy “Why Don’t You Just Die!,” which competed at Sitges and closed multiple deals worldwide, marking out Sokolov as an up-and-coming auteur.
The film centers on Olga, a troubled woman who has just been released from prison and been reunited with her 10-year-old daughter, Masha. Masha has been in the care of Olga’s overbearing mother, Vera. The tempestuous relationship between Olga and Vera is instantaneously reignited, resulting in a violent altercation. This prompts Olga to take off with Masha in...
- 10/21/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
When producer Robert Lantos began developing the big-budget historical drama series “Rise of the Raven,” adapting Hungarian author Bán Mór’s series of bestselling novels presented obvious challenges. “It’s an 11-volume novel, each volume being 500-600 pages long,” says Lantos. It took several writers and the better part of a decade to find a way forward, something the producer describes as “finding a creative solution to a jigsaw puzzle.”
With a budget that Lantos describes as “competitive with English-language productions of that scope and that size,” financing the series was the second challenge, with the producer determined to secure the majority of the show’s financing from the host country. “It’s ambitious. It’s certainly by far the biggest thing done in that part of the world, not just in Hungary,” he says. The last puzzle piece finally fell into place when Hungary’s National Film Institute (Nfi...
With a budget that Lantos describes as “competitive with English-language productions of that scope and that size,” financing the series was the second challenge, with the producer determined to secure the majority of the show’s financing from the host country. “It’s ambitious. It’s certainly by far the biggest thing done in that part of the world, not just in Hungary,” he says. The last puzzle piece finally fell into place when Hungary’s National Film Institute (Nfi...
- 9/7/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
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