GREENLit, MIA’s showcase for upcoming international series and a longstanding centerpiece of the Drama Division, offers an exclusive platform to unveil the most anticipated Italian and international titles for TV and streaming platforms. This year, GREENLit turns into a real celebration: four of the six selected series come from MIA’s Drama Co-Production and Pitching Forum in recent years and are now ready to reach global audiences. Thanks to the visibility and opportunities offered by the Pitching Forum, these projects found partners and financing to go into production and are now returning to MIA for their first look, rounding off their creative and production journey. It’s a slate of innovative series, presented by their producers, cast, and creative teams, together with the platforms and broadcasters that commissioned them.
From Belgium comes THE BEST IMMIGRANT, produced by Caviar for Streamz, financed by Caviar Film Financing, VAF, Telenet, Voo/BeTv, France TV, Sony, and distributed internationally by Sony. Presented just a year ago at MIA’s 2024 Pitching Forum as a project in development, the series created by Raoul Groothuizen and Cristina Poppe, written by Adil El Arbi, Raoul Groothuizen, Cristina Poppe, Michel Sabbe, Michael De Cock, and Hasse Steenssens, and directed by Michael Abay follows a migrant couple in Flanders, now ruled by a totalitarian regime, who take part in a cruel game show where the prize is a residence permit. Thanks to MIA, the project secured international distribution and the final financing it needed, went into production in the spring, wrapped in early summer, and will return to GREENLit this year, just weeks before its broadcast, completing the journey from pitch to screen in under a year.
From New Zealand in co-production with Scotland comes another project selected at the 2023 Drama Pitching Forum and soon to be released: THE RIDGE, produced by Great Southern Studios and Sinner Films for SKY NZ and BBC Scotland; created by Nora Chassler and David Murdoch, written by Nora Chassler, David Murdoch, Douglas Mackinnon, Kate McDermott, Jess Sayer, and Alan Campbell, and directed by Douglas Mackinnon (Sherlock, Line of Duty, Doctor Who, Good Omens) and Robyn Grace. The series follows Mia, a Scottish anesthetist who travels to New Zealand for her sister Cassy’s wedding. When Cassy is found dead, Mia suspects murder. Amid environmental conflicts, family secrets, and a dependency that haunts her, Mia sets out to uncover the truth, willing to risk everything to find out what really happened.
From Finland, co-produced with Estonia, SECONDS 2: first presented at the Drama Pitching Forum in 2021, the project moved from its initial greenlight to a strong audience response that secured a second-season pickup, with a third season now in development. Produced by Fire Monkey for YLE and NDR, created by Laura Suhonen, Roope Lehtinen, and Mikko Pöllä, written by Laura Suhonen, Helena Sorva, and Solina Riekkola, and directed by Mikko Kuparinen, the series depicts the collapse of a skyscraper under construction and the rescuers’ race against time, forced into an impossible choice between two groups of survivors trapped in the rubble.
From Spain in co-production with Portugal comes MILLENNIAL MAL, a comedy series produced by Tornasol Media for Filmin and RTP, created, written, and directed by Lorena Iglesias and co-directed by Andrea Jaurrieta. It tells the story of Judith, a forty-year-old assistant librarian in the midst of a personal and financial crisis, who mistakenly ends up the recipient of a university scholarship reserved for under-30s.
From Poland in co-production with the United Kingdom, GLINA. A NEW CHAPTER, the new show of one of the most acclaimed Polish crime series, which aired in 2004 and 2007 on public broadcaster TVP. Seventeen years later, the homicide detectives known as the “Murder Squad” return to the streets of Warsaw, where violence, death, and dark secrets await. Each case exposes human passions, tragedy, and corruption, as the past resurfaces with a menacing force. The new six-episode season is produced by Apple Film Production, in co-production with SkyShowtime and TVP, created by Maciej Maciejewski and directed by Władysław Pasikowski and Dariusz Jabłoński.
Finally, from Italy, a much-anticipated series also presented at MIA’s Pitching Forum in 2021: 177 DAYS. THE KIDNAPPING OF FAROUK KASSAM, which recounts the 1992 kidnapping of young Farouk Kassam in Costa Smeralda, a 177-day ordeal that shook all of Italy, marked by the pain, courage, and resilience of his family and of an entire community. The series is a Rai Fiction–BIM Produzione co-production for RAI, distributed by Mediawan Rights; written by Lea Tafuri, Antonio Manca, and Vincenzo Marra, directed by Carlo Carlei, and starring Marco Bocci and Antonia Desplat.
Selected Films for GREENLit 2025
177 Days: The Kidnapping of Farouk Kassam
Original title: 177 Giorni: Il rapimento di Farouk Kassam
Drama Series
Italy
Crime, Drama
Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, 1992. A peaceful familys life shatters when 7-year-old Farouk Kassam is kidnapped, sparking a 177-day ordeal that captivates all of Italy. His father, Fateh, fights tirelessly against the kidnappers and bureaucracy, while his mother, Marion, struggles to protect their younger daughter. 177 giorni Il rapimento di Farouk... more
Production Company/ies: A Rai Fiction-BIM Produzione co-production
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALGLINA. A NEW CHAPTER
Original title: GLINA. NOWY ROZDZIAL
Drama Series
Poland, UK
Crime
The homicide detectives known as "the Murder Squad", after 17 years, return to the streets of Warsaw, where violence, death, and dark secrets await. Each case reveals human passions, tragedy, and corruption, as the past haunts the present. In their fight against evil, they risk their lives and face their... more
Production Company/ies: Apple Film Production
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALMillennial Mal
Drama Series
Spain, Portugal
Comedy, Other
Judith is an assistant librarian. She’s forty-something and her strongest emotional link is with Zóser, her cat. She’s going through hard times: she has lost her job and is facing unexpected debt. Amidst the chaos, she’s awarded a university scholarship due to a bureaucratic error. Problem is, it’s for people... more
Production Company/ies: Tornasol Media, Millennial Mal AIE, Alcaraván Films AIE, Ukbar Filmes
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALSeconds 2
Original title: Sekunnit 2
Drama Series
Finland, Estonia
Other
A high-rise collapses during construction, instantly killing dozens and trapping others in terrifying conditions. Marita and her accident investigation team face a wholly new challenge: a disaster that’s stillnongoing. Two groups remain trapped alive in the rubble and both cannot be rescued. One group happens to include Linnea, the daughter... more
Production Company/ies: Fire Monkey Productions
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALThe Best Immigrant
Mini-Series
Belgium
Global Issues, Other
When a totalitarian government comes to power in Flanders and every single person with an immigrant background is being sent back to their country of origin, a couple who have exhausted all attempts at obtaining asylum decides to give it their best shot by participating in ‘The Best Immigrant’, a... more
Production Company/ies: Caviar
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALThe Ridge
Drama Series
New Zealand, Scotland
Detective, Drama, Other
Anaesthetist Mia Bell travels from Scotland to New Zealand for the wedding of her estranged sister, Cassy - only to learn Cassy vanished while hiking. When her body is recovered, Mia suspects foul play. Cassy, an outspoken environmentalist, had clashed with local farmers, and her relationship with fiancé Ewan wasn't... more
Production Company/ies: Great Southern Studios, Sinner Films
Read the full project description on MIADIGITAL
