Ten projects have been selected for the second edition of Seriesmakers, Series Mania’s development lab for feature film directors sidestepping into series production.
The lab is run in collaboration with Beta, and this year features projects helmed by directors including Kaouther Ben Hania, who directed the Oscar-nominated doc Four Daughters, and Kevin Macdonald, best known for The Mauritanian.
Ben Hania’s project is titled Freedom Academy and is produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha. The synopsis reads: In the competitive world of television, a cunning producer and his optimistic wife battle for control of a daring reality TV show set in a high-security prison, hoping to capture the intense competition among incarcerated radicals all while the jury grapples with their divergent opinions on prisoners’ rehabilitation.
Macdonald’s series is titled George Blake and is produced by Femke Wolting. Synopsis reads: What makes a person turn against everything they ever stood for?...
The lab is run in collaboration with Beta, and this year features projects helmed by directors including Kaouther Ben Hania, who directed the Oscar-nominated doc Four Daughters, and Kevin Macdonald, best known for The Mauritanian.
Ben Hania’s project is titled Freedom Academy and is produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha. The synopsis reads: In the competitive world of television, a cunning producer and his optimistic wife battle for control of a daring reality TV show set in a high-security prison, hoping to capture the intense competition among incarcerated radicals all while the jury grapples with their divergent opinions on prisoners’ rehabilitation.
Macdonald’s series is titled George Blake and is produced by Femke Wolting. Synopsis reads: What makes a person turn against everything they ever stood for?...
- 3/4/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Seriesmakers, a joint initiative of Series Mania, Europe’s biggest TV festival, and European film-tv powerhouse Beta Group, has revealed the 10 top-notch project lineup of the second edition of its novel and high-powered mentoring program for filmmakers making their TV creator debut.
This year’s Seriesmakers features in development drama series from Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (“George Blake”), behind “The Last King Of Scotland,” and from Finnish director Mikko Myllylahti, who burst onto the scene co-writing with Juho Kuosmanen the latter’s “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Makki,” a 2016 Cannes Un Certain Regard winner.
Also in the mix is the highly courted Kaouther Ben Hania, a double Oscar nominee for the “compelling, ambitious hybrid” “Four Daughters,” said Variety, in the doc category and the “The Man Who Sold His Skin” (2020), Tunisia’s entry in international feature.
In all, however, nine of the ten directors winning berths this...
This year’s Seriesmakers features in development drama series from Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (“George Blake”), behind “The Last King Of Scotland,” and from Finnish director Mikko Myllylahti, who burst onto the scene co-writing with Juho Kuosmanen the latter’s “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Makki,” a 2016 Cannes Un Certain Regard winner.
Also in the mix is the highly courted Kaouther Ben Hania, a double Oscar nominee for the “compelling, ambitious hybrid” “Four Daughters,” said Variety, in the doc category and the “The Man Who Sold His Skin” (2020), Tunisia’s entry in international feature.
In all, however, nine of the ten directors winning berths this...
- 3/4/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Slowly but surely, the global TV market is shifting.
Whether it’s mainly due to the rise of streaming platforms, the rush for international imports brought on by a worldwide production shortage, or an audience finally taking advantage of a wealth of options, series in languages other than English are in the middle of a boom.
While some shows have certainly helped spur that influx of new fans (including ones that can be found below), the nature of the modern TV world is that there are precious few shows anymore that become can’t-miss phenomena. Netflix recently amended its weekly Top 10 report to include viewing totals in English and non-English categories, where (to the extent that those numbers are accurate and transparent) the top slots in the latter frequently outpace the former.
Many of these shows are unofficial litmus tests for the TV world at large. Premises that seemed inherently...
Whether it’s mainly due to the rise of streaming platforms, the rush for international imports brought on by a worldwide production shortage, or an audience finally taking advantage of a wealth of options, series in languages other than English are in the middle of a boom.
While some shows have certainly helped spur that influx of new fans (including ones that can be found below), the nature of the modern TV world is that there are precious few shows anymore that become can’t-miss phenomena. Netflix recently amended its weekly Top 10 report to include viewing totals in English and non-English categories, where (to the extent that those numbers are accurate and transparent) the top slots in the latter frequently outpace the former.
Many of these shows are unofficial litmus tests for the TV world at large. Premises that seemed inherently...
- 3/14/2023
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
It’s long been likely — and in the past year closer to an almost certainty — that Netflix’s true TV strength lies in its international series. Aside from the rare organic word-of-mouth runaway sensation, these shows rarely get the publicity or attention that their star-studded, algorithm-optimized counterparts enjoy. For other streaming services with a similar wealth in their libraries, those international series also tend to be afterthoughts.
Yet, with fall upon us and the annual search for stories that pair well with chillier nights and decor the color of dying leaves, it’s also a perfect time to sample the global TV just right for the season. Particularly when it comes to horror series, these shows have a knack for combining the universal and the specific. They tap into what unsettles us, digging into our subconscious from painfully particular perspectives.
Some are designed to weigh heavy on your soul, while...
Yet, with fall upon us and the annual search for stories that pair well with chillier nights and decor the color of dying leaves, it’s also a perfect time to sample the global TV just right for the season. Particularly when it comes to horror series, these shows have a knack for combining the universal and the specific. They tap into what unsettles us, digging into our subconscious from painfully particular perspectives.
Some are designed to weigh heavy on your soul, while...
- 10/5/2022
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
The big winners during the body’s latest round of funding were the drama series The Life and Laura H., as well as Saskia Diesing and Ben Verbong’s new fiction features. During the first round of the 2021 Netherlands Film Production Incentive, contributions were made to 21 new productions, for a total of €5.9 million. The new supported projects include 12 fiction features, five documentary features, two drama series and two documentary series, including nine international co-productions. These contributions are set to generate over €24 million in production expenditure in the Netherlands. The grant of the biggest magnitude was bestowed upon Giancarlo Sanchez’s 8x50 drama series The Life, staged by Topkapi TV, and penned by Chris Westendorp, Ashar Medina and Wander Theunis. The other drama series awarded funding was Mustafa Duygulu’s 6x45-50 Laura H., produced by De Familie and Belgium’s Mockingbird Productions. Meanwhile, the two non-fiction series in receipt...
The Ace Series Special is running Nov 4-9 in Brussels.
European producers organisation Ace Producers has unveiled the selection of sixteen producers who will participate in its inaugural TV drama-focused initiative, the Ace Series Special, running Nov 4-9 in Brussels.
The programme is aimed at experienced producers who want to create a series division within their film companies and, or deepen their knowledge of developing and producing TV drama series for an international audience. Each participant will attend with a series project in the early stages of development
They include Belgium’s Bart Van Langendonck at Savage Film, who will...
European producers organisation Ace Producers has unveiled the selection of sixteen producers who will participate in its inaugural TV drama-focused initiative, the Ace Series Special, running Nov 4-9 in Brussels.
The programme is aimed at experienced producers who want to create a series division within their film companies and, or deepen their knowledge of developing and producing TV drama series for an international audience. Each participant will attend with a series project in the early stages of development
They include Belgium’s Bart Van Langendonck at Savage Film, who will...
- 9/10/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Japan’s fastest-growing streaming platform U-next has acquired exclusive rights to popular Dutch series “Mocro Maffia” and mini-series “The Swell” from the Netherlands-based sales agent Dutch Features Global Entertainment.
Directed by Bobby Boermans (“App”) and Giancarlo Sanchez (“Horizon”), “Mocro Maffia” is a fiction series based on the popular book of the same name by journalists Wouter Laumans and Marijn Schrijver. The plot is inspired by the recent gang war between rival organized crime gangs operating in the Amsterdam underworld.
The show follows a young generation of gangsters who rule the streets in major European cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp. “Mocro Maffia” stars Moroccan-Dutch actors Achmed Akkabi and Walid Benmbarek (“Brothers”) and Dutch actor Daan Schuurmans (“Neighbors”).
“Mocro Maffia” bowed last year in the Netherlands on Rtl’s VOD platform Videoland by where 60% of all subscribers binge-watched the entire series on its debut weekend, making it Videoland’s number...
Directed by Bobby Boermans (“App”) and Giancarlo Sanchez (“Horizon”), “Mocro Maffia” is a fiction series based on the popular book of the same name by journalists Wouter Laumans and Marijn Schrijver. The plot is inspired by the recent gang war between rival organized crime gangs operating in the Amsterdam underworld.
The show follows a young generation of gangsters who rule the streets in major European cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp. “Mocro Maffia” stars Moroccan-Dutch actors Achmed Akkabi and Walid Benmbarek (“Brothers”) and Dutch actor Daan Schuurmans (“Neighbors”).
“Mocro Maffia” bowed last year in the Netherlands on Rtl’s VOD platform Videoland by where 60% of all subscribers binge-watched the entire series on its debut weekend, making it Videoland’s number...
- 5/30/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Netherlands-based sales agent Dutch Features has sold Rtl’s upcoming crime series “Mocro Maffia” to Maxdome, the streaming service of the 7Tv joint venture GmbH which boasts Germany’s largest online video library.
Maxdome has acquired the series for Germany and Austria. Several deals are currently in negotiations on the series which Dutch Features launched at Mipcom.
“Mocro Maffia” is a fiction series based on the popular book of the same name by journalists Wouter Laumans and Marijn Schrijver. The plot is inspired by the recent gang war between rival organized crime gangs operating in the Amsterdam underworld. The show follows a young generation of gangsters who rule the streets in major European cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp.
Directed by Bobby Boermans (“App”) and Giancarlo Sanchez (“Horizon”), the series boasts an ensemble cast headlined by renowned Moroccan-Dutch actors Achmed Akkabi and Walid Benmbarek (“Brothers”) and Dutch actor Daan Schuurmans (“Neighbors”).
Pim van Collem,...
Maxdome has acquired the series for Germany and Austria. Several deals are currently in negotiations on the series which Dutch Features launched at Mipcom.
“Mocro Maffia” is a fiction series based on the popular book of the same name by journalists Wouter Laumans and Marijn Schrijver. The plot is inspired by the recent gang war between rival organized crime gangs operating in the Amsterdam underworld. The show follows a young generation of gangsters who rule the streets in major European cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp.
Directed by Bobby Boermans (“App”) and Giancarlo Sanchez (“Horizon”), the series boasts an ensemble cast headlined by renowned Moroccan-Dutch actors Achmed Akkabi and Walid Benmbarek (“Brothers”) and Dutch actor Daan Schuurmans (“Neighbors”).
Pim van Collem,...
- 2/12/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has started production on “Ares,” its first Dutch original series, the streaming giant announced Tuesday. Filming is taking place in Amsterdam, where Netflix’s European headquarters have been based since 2015. “Ares” will launch on the platform later this year.
An eight-part psychological horror, “Ares” stars Jade Olieberg, Tobias Kersloot, Lisa Smit, Robin Boissevain, and Frieda Barnhard. It is directed by Giancarlo Sanchez and Michiel ten Horn with script development run by Michael Leendertse for production company Pupkin.
Plans for a then-untitled first Dutch production from Pupkin were first announced in April 2018. Erik Barmack, Netflix’s vice president of international original series, said at the time that a Dutch original had been on Netflix’s “wish list” for some time.
Created by Pieter Kuijpers, the series enters the world of a secret student society in the heart of Amsterdam where best friends Rosa (Olieberg) and Jacob (Kersloot) surrender to a world of wealth and power.
An eight-part psychological horror, “Ares” stars Jade Olieberg, Tobias Kersloot, Lisa Smit, Robin Boissevain, and Frieda Barnhard. It is directed by Giancarlo Sanchez and Michiel ten Horn with script development run by Michael Leendertse for production company Pupkin.
Plans for a then-untitled first Dutch production from Pupkin were first announced in April 2018. Erik Barmack, Netflix’s vice president of international original series, said at the time that a Dutch original had been on Netflix’s “wish list” for some time.
Created by Pieter Kuijpers, the series enters the world of a secret student society in the heart of Amsterdam where best friends Rosa (Olieberg) and Jacob (Kersloot) surrender to a world of wealth and power.
- 2/12/2019
- by Robert Mitchell
- Variety Film + TV
Netherlands-based sales agent Dutch Features has acquired worldwide rights to Rtl’s upcoming crime series “Mocro Maffia” in the run-up to Mipcom.
“Mocro Maffia” is a fiction series based on the popular book of the same name by journalists Wouter Laumans and Marijn Schrijver. The plot is inspired by the recent gang war between rival organized crime gangs operating in the Amsterdam underworld.
Directed by Bobby Boermans (“App”) and Giancarlo Sanchez (“Horizon”), the series boasts an ensemble cast headlined by renowned Moroccan-Dutch actors Achmed Akkabi and Walid Benmbarek (“Brothers”) and Dutch actor Daan Schuurmans (“Neighbors”).
“After the breakthrough success of the Scandinavian thriller series in recent years, we are currently witnessing a growing international demand for the so-called ‘Dutch Noir’ drama series,” said Pim van Collem, CEO of Dutch Features. “We are thrilled to introduce the gripping and uncompromising story of the ‘Mocro Maffia’ – a young generation of hard-nosed gangsters...
“Mocro Maffia” is a fiction series based on the popular book of the same name by journalists Wouter Laumans and Marijn Schrijver. The plot is inspired by the recent gang war between rival organized crime gangs operating in the Amsterdam underworld.
Directed by Bobby Boermans (“App”) and Giancarlo Sanchez (“Horizon”), the series boasts an ensemble cast headlined by renowned Moroccan-Dutch actors Achmed Akkabi and Walid Benmbarek (“Brothers”) and Dutch actor Daan Schuurmans (“Neighbors”).
“After the breakthrough success of the Scandinavian thriller series in recent years, we are currently witnessing a growing international demand for the so-called ‘Dutch Noir’ drama series,” said Pim van Collem, CEO of Dutch Features. “We are thrilled to introduce the gripping and uncompromising story of the ‘Mocro Maffia’ – a young generation of hard-nosed gangsters...
- 9/27/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
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