From Tomohisa Yamashita Starrer ‘Drops of God’ to Titles from Benin and Iran, Series Mania Opens Up to the World
variety.comBen Croll 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.
Meanwhile, new series from Greece (“Milky Way”) and Iran (“The Actor”) will world-premiere in an international competition judged by “Westworld” showrunner Lisa Joy, “Broadchurch” creator Chris Chibnall and “Gangs of Wasseypur” director Anurag Kashyap, among others.
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