SERIESMAKERS unveils the 10 projects selected for its 3rd edition
For its third edition, the creative initiative SERIESMAKERS, led by the prestigious TV festival Series Mania Forum and supported by the European content powerhouse Beta Group, has announced the ten selected projects that emerged to participate in the tailor-made program for feature film directors who venture into the world of series. The eligible director-producer or director-writer teams from all over the world have been closely mentored and guided by experienced and awarded creatives while working on their series and developing a full pitch deck.
On March 26, the winning team will be announced during Series Mania Forum (March 25–27) and awarded with the Beta & Kirch Foundation Award in collaboration with HFF Munich, endowed with €50,000. The winning team will be working closely with Beta’s Content and Co-Production Division to develop a pilot script and a full package.
SELECTED pROJECTS
A Person of Interest by director/writer Michael KINIRONS and writer Fergal ROCK
(Ireland, 8×50’, crime/thriller)
When the boyfriend of a murdered woman vanishes, Detective Laura Aspel assumes it’s an open and shut case. But when retired detective Martin McDaid links the case to an unsolved triple homicide, their search for the truth turns into a dangerous game — chasing a fugitive who may be a murderer or the only one who can expose the real killer.
Cow’s Tongue by director Aly MURITIBA and by creator/writer Marc BECHAR
(Brazil, 8×60’, crime/thriller)
Maíra returns to her lawless Amazonian hometown seeking the truth about her brother’s murder — only to uncover a ruthless, politically entrenched crime syndicate that is behind the disappearance of hundreds of truckers, along with shocking secrets about her own identity. Inspired by true events, Cow’s Tongue explores the cost of silence and complicity — and the blood-soaked path to revenge in a cycle of violence that refuses to die.
Death Becomes Him by director Joseph a. ADESUNLOYE and writer Gabriel WINTER
(Nigeria, 8×30’, dark comedy/fantasy)
When haphazard Jaye is killed by a car and resurrected with the powers of Jesus Christ, he must put aside the immature and ‘get-rich-quick’ exploitation of his powers and learn to do good. Helped by his best friends Madonna and Petey, Jaye must stop the devilish Lekan from his diabolical take-over of the tight-knit Lagos Neighborhood — Isale Eko. But can he? Or will the materialist temptation from Lekan prove too strong…? What if, after a fatal accident, you not only came back from the dead, but with the same powers
as Jesus Christ?!
Falke Motors by director/writer Jens DAHL and producer Anders N.U. BERG
(Denmark, 6×45’, crime/drama)
In the windswept landscapes of Western Jutland in rural Denmark, 22-year-old YouTuber Camilla Falke is desperate to outrun her family’s tarnished reputation. To everyone’s surprise, her father Kenneth’s startup used-car dealership, Falke Motors, becomes a roaring success — until the dark reality emerges: Stolen vehicles, drugs, and ruthless gangsters lurk beneath the shiny exterior. As Camilla’s online fame grows, she’s forced to choose between loyalty to her family and her own future. Falke Motors blends grit and dark humor to explore what happens when your biggest dreams lead you to your darkest choices.
Le Bouton D’Or by director Mika KAURISMÄKI and co-writers Anastasia PASHKEVICH and Anna ANDERSSON
(Finland, 6×45’, drama/comedy)
When an unsuccessful food influencer from the Finnish countryside leaves everything behind to enroll in a posh culinary school in France, not only does she find herself thrown into the blistering furnace of haute cuisine rivalries but also meets the woman she always thought was dead – her mother.
Pigs’ Disco by writer/director duo Joseph BULL and Luke SEOMORE
(United Kingdom, 4×60’, drama/biopic)
Inspired by real events and set in Belfast during the early 90’s, Pigs’ Disco follows Griff, a young British paratrooper armed with a rifle and an Instamatic camera. Torn between the ferocity of military life and the euphoria of the burgeoning rave scene, Griff is forced to choose between loyalty or the truth when he is involved in a fatal shooting that amplifies tensions within the local community. A coming-of-age story that reveals a new generation determined to escape the divisions and emotional scars of their communities, as Catholic and Protestant teenagers come together in the embrace of the rave scene, Pigs’ Disco is a thrilling exploration of love, war, identity and the messy lines between fact and fiction.
Stick’em Up by writer/director duo Gísli Örn GARÐARSSON and Björn Hlynur HARALDSSON,
(Iceland, 8×40’, dramedy/biopic)
Inspired by true events Stick’em Up follows Harpa Sigurðardottir, a fiercely independent 48-year-old fishing company owner in Reykjavík. As the government seeks to reclaim recently privatized fishing quotas for the coastal towns of Iceland, Harpa finds her livelihood hanging by a thread. Amid the chaos of the 1990’s neoliberal wave, where Iceland’s state banks are ripe for plucking, Harpa realizes that owning a bank is not just a chance for profit – it’s her only lifeline. By seizing control of the bank, she can wield the power of the loans and secure her fish quotas. Supported by her former lover and now congressman, Jón Hjaltalín, Harpa plunges into an unforgiving battle for dominance. Yet, her path is obstructed by her childhood friends turned adversaries, Freydís and Einar, who will stop at nothing to seize her quotas and the bank essential to her survival.
The Interregnum by creator/director/writer Simón CASAL and producer Mariela BESUIEVSKY
(Spain, 6×50’, political thriller)
In 2031, the EU faces a decisive referendum to approve an A.I. system that would replace human judges. As Inma and Lyda, the Yes and No campaign managers, battle for victory, a dark secret surrounding the death of the A.I. system’s creator, Alicia, threatens to revolutionize not only the campaign, but everything they believed themselves to be.
The Wonderful Golem by director/writer Ofir Raul GRAIZER and producer David C. BARROT
(United Kingdom, 8×60’, drama/fantasy)
Simon Low, a 26-year-old British runaway in Prague, awakens an ancient creature of immense power. Amid the rise of a new tyranny, Simon uses his monster to protect the city — and finds himself at the center of a conflict far larger than he can grasp.
Unequal by director/producer Carolina JABOR and writer Claudia JOUVIN
(Brazil, 6×45’, thriller/heist/drama)
When a young girl from a humble background, skilled in small cons against the wealthy,
encounters the millionaire who ruined her life, she decides to use her talents to seek revenge.
THE MENTORS
The prolific four mentors of the third edition are award-winning German producer Janine Jackowski (TONI ERDMANN, SKYLINES), Israeli writer and script doctor Ronit Weiss-Berkowitz (THE GIRL FROM OSLO, A TOUCH AWAY), the international development producer from France/Denmark, Isabelle Lindberg Pechou (TROM, LAST LIGHT), and Brazilian producer, director, and showrunner Felipe Braga (SINTONIA, LOV3). The speakers included showrunners, writers, and producers, such as creator Christian Schwochow (THE CROWN, BAD BANKS), Quoc Dang Tran (DROPS OF GOD, CALL MY AGENT!), multiple award winner Frank Doelger (GAME OF THRONES, THE SWARM), showrunner Bryan Elsley (SKINS), Frank Spotnitz (THE X-FILES, MEDICI), and Lila Byock (WATCHMEN, CASTLE ROCK).
The creative initiative SERIESMAKERS is headed by Laurence Herszberg, General Director of Series Mania, and Ferdinand Dohna, Head of Content & Co-Production of Beta. SERIESMAKERS was initiated by Laurence Herszberg and Koby Gal Raday, CEO Janeiro Studios, and was first launched in 2022.
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