Some 112,000 attendees were present for Series Mania this year, including 5,200 at Series Mania Forum, with a record 97 exhibitors at the Lille Grand Palais.
According to early figures, the Lille event ended with approximately 112,000 attendees, up 4,000 from last year, with 9,000 students welcomed through educational initiatives. The dedicated segment for media executives, Series Mania Forum, welcomed 5,200 professionals from 75 countries with a record 97 exhibitors. The event also featured the signing of the Council of Europe Convention on the co-production of audiovisual works, the first international legal framework dedicated to the independent co-production of television and streaming series.
The event wrapped with an awards ceremony honoring works from across the globe.
“We are delighted that the awards list confirms the trends we observed: the strong presence of the United Kingdom and the quality of Polish series, both awarded three times, as well as the notable presence of Quebec,” said Laurence Herszberg, founder and managing director of Series Mania. “We are also particularly pleased that such a unique series as The Flaws has earned its place among the winners. Finally, we commend the presence of two fully female teams in their creation, production, and direction, My Brother and Dustfall. We warmly thank all of our partners, without whom this event could not take place, including the Hauts-de-France Region, the CNC, the MEL, the City of Lille, and Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe.”
In 2027, the Series Mania Festival is set for March 19 to 26, with Series Mania Forum returning March 23 to 25.
In the International Competition, with a jury chaired by Icelandic showrunner, director, and actor Benedikt Erlingsson, alongside Brazilian actress and producer Alice Braga, Belgian actress Cécile de France, French actor and rapper Hatik, Iranian director Ida Panahandeh, and British screenwriter and director Luke Watson, four prizes were awarded among the nine series presented. The Grand Prize went to HBO Max’s Proud; Dennis Kelly won the screenplay prize for BBC’s Waiting for the Out and the performance categories were won by My Brother‘s Amanda Jansson (Sweden) and Proud‘s Ignacy Liss.
The audience award went to Australia’s Dustfall (ABC TV, BBC, ZDF).
The International Panorama awarded four prizes, with ten series presented, as selected by a jury chaired by French author and illustrator Pénélope Bagieu, alongside Italian director and screenwriter Enrico Maria Artale, Norwegian producer Synnøve Hørsdal, French comedian, actor, director, and screenwriter Thomas Ngijol, and Czech producer and creator Kamila Zlatusková. BBC’s Small Prophets triumphed as best series, with Lauren Patel winning for best actress. ZDF’s The Flaws won the best director prize for Arne Feldhussen. Canada’s Welcome to Kingston Falls was awarded best actor for Maxime Le Flaguais.
In the short-form competition, chaired by German showrunner, screenwriter, and producer Ceylan Yildirim, alongside Lebanese actress, screenwriter, and director Mounia Akl, actor, rapper, and director Younès Boucif, and Swedish actor Simon Lööf, Canada’s Ayer’s Cliff was named best series, with a special mention for NHK’s Hirayasumi.
