Series Streaming Business

SERIES MANIA FORUM

ANNOUNCES WINNER OF THE CO-PRO PITCHING SESSIONS

AND RECIPIENT OF THE €50,000 PRIZE

LILLE, FRANCE – March 21, 2023 – Ms. Laurence Herszberg, founder and general director of Series Mania, and professional jury president Caroline Hollick (United Kingdom), Head of Drama, Channel 4, announced this evening the winning project of Series Mania Forum’s annual Co-Pro Pitching Sessions. Of the 15 projects selected and pitched on the first day of Series Mania Forum, the industry arm of the Series Mania Festival, the jury team selected the Ukraine/Poland war thriller drama Unspoken (6 X 30’) as winner of the Series Mania Forum Best Project Award. 

Along with Hollick, the jury included Michele Zatta (Italy), Commissioning Editor, RAI, Françoise Guyonnet (France), Executive Managing Director TV Series, StudioCanal, Jarmo Lampela (Finland), Head of Drama, YLE - Finnish Broadcasting Company, Lindsey Martin (United Kingdom), VP, Development & Co-Productions, CBS Studios International. Together they had the honor of presenting a check to Dmytro Sukhanov, Natalia Libet and Anna Rożalska for €50,000.

Unspoken is produced by Dmytro Sukhanov, Toy Cinema (Ukraine), Natalia Libet, 2Brave Productions (Ukraine) and Anna Rożalska, Match&Spark (Poland).

Written by Zhanna Ozirna and Filip Syczyński.

“The winning project united the judges unanimously with the raw, emotional intensity of the storytelling. The powerful, relatable tale of a father prepared to go to any lengths to save his family was a bold and original take on the most urgent subject matter of our time,” commented Hollick.

“The Co-Pro Pitching Sessions are one of the most anticipated part of the Series Mania Forum and we are delighted to be giving the €50,000 prize to Unspoken.  We are extremely pleased that our illustrious jury chose to give the award to a Ukrainian project which is very much connected with what is going on in Ukraine today. And despite this war, Ukraine, its creators, and its culture, is still very much alive and another reason to admire the courage of the Ukrainian people,” commented Herszberg.

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TAGLINE: Unspoken is a war thriller series based on current events in Ukraine. It tells the heart-rending story of a man who is trying to save his family from the grave danger of the Russian invasion.

SYNOPSIS: On his way from Poland to the heart of darkness in Ukraine, Evgenyi, 42, has only one thing in mind: to pull his wife and three kids out from the grave danger of the Russian invasion. His time and tools are limited: the Kyiv siege is getting tighter every hour, and the only connection he has with his family is the phone. Inspired by a true story, the 6 x 30’ series takes place over the course of first 6 days of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

ABOUT SERIES MANIA

Based in Lille since 2018, Series Mania - Lille / Hauts-de-France has become the biggest event dedicated uniquely to television series in Europe. Its festival offers exclusive world premieres of the greatest international series on the big screen, giving its audience - up to 70,000 spectators - 8 days of discoveries, parties, and masterclasses with some of the most renowned personalities in the series world. At the same time, Series Mania welcomes 3,300 international professionals from the television industry at Series Mania Forum including the anticipated Lille Dialogues summit. Two key events for networking and business are now extended online with the creation in 2020 of Series Mania Digital. 
 

In 2021, Series Mania launched Series Mania Institute, a training program for students and industry professionals. The association is thus extending its action to support the creation of series in Europe.

https://seriesmania.com/en/