This year, the Drama Co-production Market & Pitching Forum will present to the international audiovisual industry a selection of 15 series projects from 12 countries: Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Palestine, Switzerland, United Kingdom.
The projects were evaluated by the Selection Committee whose members are leaders of the global audiovisual industry. From the USA, Lauren Stein, Executive Vice President & Head of Creative Affairs at Sony Pictures Television, and Larry Grimaldi, Senior Vice President of Creative Affairs and Original Movies at FOX Entertainment Studios. From France Leo Becker, Head of International Originals and Co-Productions at Federation Studios and Manuel Alduy, Head of Cinema and Young Adult & International Fiction at France Télévisions. From Germany, Jasmin Maeda, SVP International Fiction Coproduction & Acquisition at ZDF. From the UK Steve Matthews, Head of Scripted, Creative at Banijay, Claire O’Brien, Development Director of Global Scripted Series at Universal International Studios, and the executive producer and former commissioner Caroline Hollick. From Norway Marianne Furevold-Boland, Head of Drama at NRK. From Sweden Josefine Tengblad, Co-Founder and Producer at Nordic Drama Queens, and Marike Muselaers, VP International Financing & Coproductions at Nordisk Film Group. From Finland Andrea Scarso, Partner and Investment Director of IPR.VC. From Switzerland Claudia Bluemhuber, CEO and Managing Partner of Silver Reel. From Spain Béatrice Nouh, Head of Distribution and Coproductions at The Mediapro Studio. And, finally, from Italy, Maria Pia Ammirati, Head of Drama at RAI, and Elettra Canovi, newly appointed Director of Scripted Content at HBO Max.
Spanning across 12 different countries, the forum’s projects will feature: from France the show RAGE, produced by Manon Robillot and Laetitia Quentin de Gromard (Madelon Production), with, attached as director, the award-winning filmmaker Xavier Dolan, and as writers Anais Topla, Mathieu Gouny and Marc Herpoux. Set in early 1980s Paris, the rise of the skinheads movement sparks the creation of militant groups known as Skinhunters, unleashing a brutal war in the city’s underground.
From the Netherlands come two high-profile crime series: HITLER’S HORSES: AN ARTHUR BRAND STORY, produced by Femke Wolting (Submarine) and written by Ed McCardie, based on the true investigations of the celebrated Dutch art detective; and RED LIGHT EMPIRE/KONING VAN DE WALLEN, produced by Leontine Petit and Tom van Blommestein (Lemming Film), written by Tim Oliehoek, Michael Leendertse and Sarah Offringa, which tells the story of a Holocaust orphan who built his empire intertwining his destiny with the rise of Amsterdam’s Red Light District.
From Palestine DYOUF (GUESTS), a dramedy series coming from DFI series lab (partner of MIA Drama), produced by May Jabareen (Philistine Films) and written by Saleh Saadi. The series follows Shadi, who must move back to his Bedouin village in Palestine and help his mother run a guesthouse in their family home.
From the UK two innovative dramas: PLUNDER, produced by JT Wong (Three Tables Productions) and written by Chris Cornwell, a gripping art-heist thriller following a skilled thief on a mission to recover stolen Chinese treasures; and WRITERS RETREAT, produced by Chiara Cardoso (Blackbox Multimedia) and written by Lindsay Shapero, set in a luxury retreat in Spain where the disappearance of a guest forces the owner to investigate, uncovering conflicting stories from a group of eccentric writers.
The Czech Republic presents THE LAST GODDESS/ŽÍTKOVSKÉ BOHYNĚ, produced by Kateřina Černá, Pavel Strnad and Petr Oukropec (Negativ Film Production), written by Sára Zeithammerová and Hana Neničková. The series follows Dora, the last woman in a long line of female healers who must return to her village to uncover dark family secrets and protect her unborn daughter from a lingering curse.
From Finland, two powerful stories: HUNTING FOR GHOSTS/POLKU PIMEYTEEN, produced by Roope Lehtinen (Fire Monkey) and written by Mikko Pöllä, where an introverted young man joins a far-right self-defence club becoming unexpectedly part of a terrorist plot; and DIRTY PLAY, a finland-norwegian project produced by Olli Haikka (Yellow Film & TV, Finland) and Gudny Hummelvoll (Hummelfilm, Norway), written by Josefiina Rautiainen and Paul Howard, which tells the rise of a young African soccer player forced to confront exploitation and the dark side of the world of sports.
From Greece comes AÏNTA!, produced by Andreas Zoupanos Kritikos (Faliro House Productions), written by Kevin Zans Ansong and Stavros Pamballis. The series follows a Greek rapper originally from Ghana who’s seeking success in the Athens music scene; after meeting a blues music producer, he embarks on a journey to discover his identity.
Ireland brings THE ROARING BANSHEES, produced by Paul Donovan (Deadpan Pictures), written by John Morton and Peter McGann. A female-led gangster story set in Prohibition-era Chicago, combining action, dark humor, and a strong Irish identity. From Switzerland comes P26, produced by Azra Djurdjevic (Filmgerberei), written by Pascal Glatz, Noëmi Steffen and Nicole Tobler. A story about a suburban housewife recruited by a secret Swiss army unit in the 1980s.
From Germany, a project in co-production with Italy, CONNECTION LOST – THE STORY OF LIA OLIVETTI, co-produced by Melina Voss (Unframed Productions, Germany), Tobias Timme (UFA Fiction, Germany) and Maria Grazia Saccà (Titanus Production, Italy), written by Melina Voss and Maja Costa, tells the story of a young math prodigy who, after his biological father’s death, inherits his secret computer and also his enemies.
And finally, from Italy, two great shows: CASANOVA INVESTIGATES/LE INDAGINI DI GIACOMO CASANOVA, produced by Massimo Del Frate (Banijay Studios Italy) and written by Peter Exacoustos, Magda Mangano and Laura Nuti, a thriller series inspired by the life of Giacomo Casanova in the 18th-century Venice; and CATERINA, produced by Gloria Giorgianni (Anele) and written by Mariolina Venezia, Dario Sardelli and Debora Alessi, which follows a juvenile prosecutor returning to her hometown to confront past traumas while fighting for justice.
AÏNTA!, produced by Andreas Zoupanos Kritikos for Faliro House Productions, Greece
CASANOVA INVESTIGATES, produced by Massimo Del Frate for Banijay Studios Italy, Italy
CATERINA, produced by Gloria Giorgianni for Anele, Italy
CONNECTION LOST – THE STORY OF LIA OLIVETTI, produced by Melina Voss for Unframed Productions (Germany), Tobias Timme for UFA FICTION (Germany) and Maria Grazia Saccà for Titanus Production (Italy)
DIRTY PLAY, produced by Olli Haikka for Yellow Film & TV (Finland) and Gudny Hummelvoll for Hummelfilm (Norway)
DYOUF (GUESTS), produced by May Jabareen for Philistine Films, Palestine
HITLER’S HORSES: AN ARTHUR BRAND STORY, produced by Femke Wolting for Submarine, Netherlands
HUNTING FOR GHOSTS, produced by Roope Lehtinen for Fire Monkey, Finland P26, produced by Azra Djurdjevic for Filmgerberei, Switzerland
PLUNDER, produced by JT Wong for Three Tables Productions, UK RAGE, produced by Manon Robillot and Laetitia Quentin de Gromard for Madelon Production, France
RED LIGHT EMPIRE, produced by Leontine Petit and Tom van Blommestein for Lemming Film, Netherlands
THE LAST GODDESS, produced by Kateřina Černá, Pavel Strnad and Petr Oukropec for Negativ Film Production, Czech Republic
THE ROARING BANSHEES, produced by Paul Donovan for Deadpan Pictures, Ireland
WRITERS RETREAT, produced by Chiara Cardoso for Blackbox Multimedia, UK
