Series Mania Forum is hosting the second edition of its Buyers Upfront, inviting top-tier programmers to screen a curated slate of ten projects, with selections hailing from across Europe, the U.K., and AsiaPac, with an Australian entry and a Japanese/Singaporean one.
The invitation-only event takes place on March 23 at Lille’s Chamber of Commerce (CCI), kicking off with the BETA Brunch and wrapping with the Buyers Upfront Official Dinner in partnership with Pernel Media. On March 24, at an awards ceremony, a Buyers Choice Award will be presented to the most promising series, as selected by a six-person jury, chaired by Apple TV’s and consisting of NRK’s Fredrik Luihn, WOWOW’s Haruka Jorgensen, France Télévision’s Morad Koufane, TVI’s Margarida Pereira, and the BBC’s Nick Lee,
“We’re thrilled to bring back the Buyers Upfront following last year’s successful launch,” commented Francesco Capurro, director of Series Mania Forum. “More than 100 top buyers from around the world have already signed up to discover a highly curated slate of premium series. We’re confident the initiative will help distributors accelerate international sales. With the Buyers Upfront, we continue to strengthen our position as the must-attend spring event for the scripted community, from creation to global distribution.”
The selections are: Alice, from Wild Bunch and Ligne de Front (France), Panache Productions and La Compagnie Cinématographique (Belgium), and Sphere Media (Canada), sold by Wild Bunch TV. Blind, a Swill thriller produced and sold by OneGate Media. All3Media International’s Counsels, produced by Balloon Entertainment, ZDFNeo, BBC, and BBC Scotland. From Screen Invaders and Total Fiction comes the Australian series Gnomes, sold by Happy Accidents. Beta Film is selling the Spanish dramedy In Vitro from Moiré Films, Rodar y Rodar, and Bullfrog Pictures, in co-production with 3Cat, with the participation of HBO Max. Empire of Arkadia is handling distribution on a Japan/Singapore collaboration, Lost and Found, with Mocha Chai Laboratories and TV MAN UNION. Number 10 is a new series from Steven Moffat and Hartswood Films, being rolled out by ITV Studios. R91 is a thriller/action series from Next Episode, with SND Groupe M6 handling global sales. The Dark Book: The Secret of the Egerias is a Spanish thriller from Studio TF1. Miso Film Norge’s historical thriller The Traitor Within is among the selections, with Fremantle taking care of distribution.
