‘Fifty Shades of Co Pro’: A Series Mania Panel Debates the Best Way Forward for Many in Europe: Co-Production

The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival is coming off a successful — and at times turbulent — 26th edition, wrapping “amidst an explosive ambiance with episodes of violence and intolerance.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Dahomey,” the Berlinale Golden Bear-winning film helmed by French-Senegalese director Mati Diop, has been sold to a raft of international territories by Les Films du Losange. Along with being acquired by Mubi in key markets, “Dahomey” has been acquired in Australia & New Zealand (Rialto), China (Hugoeast), Spain (Filmin), Portugal (Nitrato Filmes), Greece (One From the Heart), Scandinavia (NonStop Entertainement), Benelux (Cinéart), Bulgaria (Beta Films), Ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery), Hungary (Mozinet), Czech Republic (Film Europe), Romania (Voodoo), Baltic Countries (Taip Toliau), Poland (New Horizons), Ukraine (Kyivmusicfilm), Taiwan (Joint Entertainment), Indonesia (PT Falcon) and Sudu Connexion in Africa.

Annette Bening‘s first major TV series role has won the five-time Oscar nominee the Best Actress prize at this year’s Series Mania.

Series Mania was Warner Bros. Discovery’s European roll-out timeline for Max, announced Thursday at the climax of the Series Mania’s Lille Dialogues. The most keenly anticipated session was nearly Series Mania’ Forum first: a Netflix showcase hosted by a confident Larry Tanz who significantly proved the only goal streamer exec to drill down on volume commitment.

The wait for Max‘s European launch is nearly over.

Ben Croll Of the many politically-tinged projects premiering at this year’s Series Mania, French thriller “In the Shadows” could very well claim the best pedigree. While showrunner Pierre Schoeller has spent a career tracing his country’s corridors of power through films like “Versailles” and “The Minister,” he found a most opportune creative partner working with politician Edouard Philippe to adapt the latter’s 2011 novel. Perhaps the name rings a bell.

Holly Jones Premiering in January to a Sundance Dramatic World Cinema Grand Jury Prize, “Sujo” from “Identifying Features” filmmakers Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez has expanded its global reach, closing multiple distribution deals forged by Paris-based Alpha Violet, who heads international distribution. Paris-based Damned Films has picked up the title for France while Twelve Oaks Pictures, Trigon Films, Cinobo and MCF Megacom have swooped on the film for Spain, Switzerland, Greece and Cyprus and Ex-Yugoslavia territories respectively, with Auckland’s Vendetta Films securing rights to the title for the Australia and New Zealand markets.

Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald has won the €50,000 ($54,000) Series Mania Seriesmakers award.

Christian Schwochow has signed up to direct , the upcoming Constantin Film and Big Light Productions scripted series based on events surrounding the Nuremberg trials that took place in the wake of World War Two.

Sony Pictures Television‘s President of International Production, Wayne Garvie, has said the scripted TV landscape in the post-peak TV era is like “going back to the future” — especially with his Netflix hits The Crown and Sex Education coming to an end.

Scripted formats were placed front and center of BBC Studios’ panel at Series Mania, as the Doctor Who seller confirmed it is making up to three more versions of Ghosts and has bought Spain’s Brutal Media.

Disney+ unveiled new originals out of France, Germany and Spain at Series Mania, with period drama and a pair of true crime projects added to a 70-part Spanish novella that will be stripped through the week.

Slovakian drama series Our People has won the Series Mania Co-Pro Pitch and taken home a €50,000 ($55,000) development prize.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor A panel moderated by the European Audiovisual Observatory at Series Mania Tuesday looked at four key trends in series production in Europe. Warning Signs?Gilles Fontaine, EAO’s head of department for market information, said there were warning signs of a downward trend in the number of seasons being produced, first in the U.S.

Netflix EMEA boss Larry Tanz has criticized local quotas for “stifling creativity” and said the streamer remains “all in” while competitors “dial back.”

Isabelle Adjani and Famke Janssen are to star in thriller series for Netflix coming from France and the Netherlands.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Spinning audiences back to the mid-1970s, UFA Fiction‘s latest period series “Disko 76” is set in a pivotal time in the industrial heartland of West Germany as a new American pop music craze takes over the airwaves and dance floors. The six-part series, which premiered at the recent Berlinale Series Market, continues its international rollout at Series Mania in Lille before bowing on the RTL+ streaming platform on March 28 and on RTL Group channel Nitro on April 1. UFA Fiction quickly won over RTL+ with the idea from former UFA Fiction producer Benjamin Benedict of a family story set in the disco era, says fellow producer Sinah Swyter.

Aramide Tinubu Long before Instagram stories and TikTok videos were a thing, gossip magazines and television allowed everyday people to feel a connection to the wealthy and beautiful. In real life, few are brave enough to elbow their way onto the A-list, but others are bold enough to demand a seat at the table — which brings us to “Palm Royale.” Based on Juliet McDaniel’s novel, “Mr. & Mrs.

Iranian filmmaker Farahnaz Sharifi’s My Stolen Planet won the Golden Alexander at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival today, automatically qualifying the film for Oscar consideration.

Marta Balaga Netflix’s big gamble, “3 Body Problem” – created by “Game of Thrones” masterminds David Benioff and D.B.Weiss with Alexander Woo – opened Lille’s Series Mania on Friday, immediately dividing the viewers on a series well reviewed by Variety. “It’s a very ambitious show and it has a great scale, but I wonder when all the hooks they got into me will reward me with knowledge. I see a lot of potential, but I don’t see a clear path,” actor Malick Bauer told Variety after the screening.