SeriesMania

SeriesMania
Name	SeriesMania
Location	Lille, France
Founded	2010
Founders	Florent Bodin
Language	French, English

SeriesMania

SeriesMania is an international festival and market dedicated to serialized television and streaming drama held annually in Lille, France. The festival functions as a showcase, industry marketplace, and critical platform where creators, producers, broadcasters, distributors, and critics converge to present, sell, and assess episodic fiction. SeriesMania combines public screenings, industry sessions, pitching forums, and a competitive strand to promote projects from Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

History

SeriesMania was founded in 2010 by Florent Bodin as a response to the rising cultural prominence of serialized audiovisual works and the success of festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival in elevating film auteurs. Early editions positioned Lille alongside media hubs like Paris, Berlin, and Canneseries by attracting delegations from BBC, HBO, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu. Over the 2010s the festival expanded programming to mirror global shifts exemplified by series such as Breaking Bad, The Wire, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, and The Crown. SeriesMania instituted a competitive jury and industry market modeled on events like the MIPCOM and the Series Mania Writers' Room concept, integrating masterclasses influenced by figures associated with Steven Spielberg, David Simon, Vince Gilligan, and Shonda Rhimes. The festival's growth paralleled the internationalization of television observed at institutions such as Toronto International Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and SXSW.

Festival Format and Organization

SeriesMania’s week-long program comprises public screenings, industry summits, pitching sessions, and trade networking similar to SeriesFest and Banff World Media Festival. Venues in Lille include civic spaces and theaters akin to Le Grand Palais-style auditoria, while concurrent markets mirror formats of MIPTV and Sunny Side of the Doc. The festival is organized by a steering committee that liaises with broadcasters like Canal+, France Télévisions, RTBF, and pan-European commissioners such as Eurimages representatives. Programming strands often feature world premieres, retrospective seasons highlighting auteurs such as Alfred Hitchcock-linked television projects, and thematic focuses drawing on series associated with creators like Pedro Almodóvar-adjacent producers or Noah Hawley collaborators. Parallel industry events include script labs, development incubators patterned after Sundance Institute labs, and co-production forums inspired by Eurimages Co-Production Development initiatives.

Jury and Awards

The competitive jury at SeriesMania is typically composed of showrunners, directors, critics, and executives from organizations such as BBC Studios, Canal+, StudioCanal, and Gaumont. Past jurors have included professionals who worked on international hits produced by HBO Europe, Sky Atlantic, or Netflix International. Awards presented include a Grand Prize, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Audience Award, reflecting prize structures similar to those at Canneseries, Emmy Awards, and BAFTA Television Awards. Special juries occasionally partner with institutions like SACD or FIPRESCI to grant critics’ prizes and writing grants. Winners have gone on to secure distribution deals involving platforms such as Amazon Studios, HBO Max, Paramount+, and public broadcasters like Arte.

Notable Premieres and Participants

SeriesMania has premiered and showcased series involving internationally recognized talents and companies including Jasper Pääkkönen-linked Nordic dramas, projects with creative teams from Lars von Trier circles, and co-productions featuring actors such as Natalie Portman and Benedict Cumberbatch in anthology contexts. The festival has hosted creators and showrunners associated with David Fincher, Denis Villeneuve, Guillermo del Toro, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Darren Aronofsky, Noah Baumbach, Alex Garland, Armando Iannucci, and Stephen King adaptations. Industry attendees have represented commissioning editors from Netflix, Amazon, HBO, cultural attachés from British Council, delegation leads from Sundance Institute, and distributors such as BBC Worldwide and StudioCanal. SeriesMania’s development labs have incubated projects that later found homes on Channel 4, RTÉ, ZDF, SVT, and TV2.

Impact and Reception

SeriesMania has been credited with bolstering Lille as a European audiovisual hub and amplifying the international circulation of serialized content, echoing the influence of institutions like Cannes Film Festival on film markets. Critics from outlets such as Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Le Monde, Libération, and The Guardian have covered the festival’s premieres, noting its role in facilitating co-productions between entities such as ARTE France, Canal+, ZDF, and independent producers including Gaumont Television and Babelsberg Studio. Academic conferences and trade analyses drawing on research from Université Lille and media studies scholars have cited SeriesMania in studies of transnational television flows akin to research appearing in journals tied to Columbia University and Goldsmiths. Audience reception metrics reported by partners like TNS Sofres indicate growing ticket sales and international delegations.

Funding and Partnerships

SeriesMania’s funding model combines municipal support from Lille Metropole, regional cultural funds such as Hauts-de-France, national partners including CNC, and European cultural programs aligned with Creative Europe. Strategic partnerships involve broadcasters and streamers like Canal+, France Télévisions, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video as well as industry bodies including SACD, SIPA, and the European Audiovisual Observatory. Commercial sponsors have included production companies such as StudioCanal and post-production firms linked to Technicolor, while educational partnerships engage institutions like La Fémis and Sciences Po Lille for masterclasses and internships. Co-production market activities coordinate with trade fairs like MIPCOM to facilitate financing and distribution agreements between producers, commissioners, and sales agents.

Category:Television festivals