SERIAL BRIDGES TOKYO

Serial Bridges Tokyo is a five-day workshop jointly organised by VIPO and Series Mania Institute for 10 Japanese series projects. The programme focuses on international co-production and on preparing projects for the international market. At the end of the workshop, five projects will be selected to continue the programme and pitch at Series Mania Forum in Lille in March 2027.

Objectives :

• To give participants a better understanding of the international series market and international co-production.
• To help participants strengthen the development and international positioning of their projects, as well as their pitching skills in English.

Methods :

• Participants will work for five days with two international mentors through group and individual sessions.
• Three online masterclasses with European series industry professionals will complement the mentoring programme.

Team eligibility

Drama producers and directors (including junior staff such as assistant producers and assistant directors), who are employed at Japanese production companies, broadcasters, or related media organizations.

Team participation guidelines

Team size: Teams of up to 2 members (the main representative plus 1 additional participant) may join special workshops, pitching workshops, and pitching seminars.

Requirement for 2nd Member: the second team member must be a producer, director, or screenwriter.

Applicants should have English communication ability. The working language of the workshop will be English throughout, with no translation provided.

Project eligibility

Projects submitted must be live-action series drama projects in development. Animation and unscripted projects are not eligible.

Application process

Applications must be submitted through VIPO’s dedicated application page.

Applicants will be asked to submit:

• Basic Project Information, in Japanese and English, including the project title, tagline, logline, synopsis, genre, statement, production status and schedule, budget and financing, target audience, format and international strategy;
• Information about the project’s creative team, including their role in the project, professional biography, relevant credits and English-language proficiency;
• An English-language treatment of up to 6 pages, including the main characters, episodes 1 to 3, the world and tone of the series, its overall structure and ending, and the project’s originality;
• A self-interview video in English;
• Optional links to relevant video materials and previous works.

10 projects will be selected to take part in Serial Bridges Tokyo.