Celebrating over a decade of unparalleled contributions to the global content development landscape, Laurence Herszberg, Founder and General Director of Series Mania (Festival: March 21-28, 2025), announced that the Series Mania Forum (Forum: March 25-27, 2025) is launching a brand-new initiative, the Series Mania Buyers Upfront, a prelude to the Forum designed to provide buyers with exclusive access to highly-anticipated series and facilitate networking opportunities with the leading distributors behind these series. This exclusive event will debut on March 24, 2025, at the Chamber of Commerce (CCI), the Festival headquarters, in Lille’s historic city center, marking a new chapter in the Forum’s evolution.
The Series Mania Buyers Upfront is an invitation-only event for buyers, showcasing exclusive excerpts from 12 eagerly awaited series that have strong global appeal. Curated by the Festival’s artistic team, the selection will include high-potential series about to be released or still in post-production. The selection will be based on both artistic merit and broad audience appeal.
The event will kick-off with an exclusive invitation-only brunch followed by the series presentation. Adding to the excitement, a distinguished jury of top buyers will present the Buyers Choice Award for the most promising series. The jury, featuring Ghislain Barrois (Director Cinema, Fiction, Sales, Rights’ Acquisition and Distribution – Mediaset Spain Communication Audiovisual Group), Katie Keenan (Group Director of Acquisitions, UK/ROI & Europe, Sky), Rubén Fernández Loa (Head of Series Acquisitions, Movistar Plus+, Spain), Johanna Gardare (Head of Drama, SVT, Sweden) and Virginie Padilla, (Commissioning Editor & Series Acquisitions, Arte, France / Germany) will evaluate the selected series and announce the winner at the Series Mania Forum Welcome Drinks that evening, followed by a vibrant red carpet screening.
“Series Mania Buyers Upfront will serve as a bridge between industry professionals and the Series Mania Festival, offering a top lineup of series selected by our Festival team. This new initiative offers buyers a unique opportunity for exclusive screenings, dedicated meetings and networking opportunities, and a full festival experience. We are designing a tailor-made experience just for the buyers,” commented Herszberg.
“Given the recent changes in the international marketplace, Series Mania is now perfectly positioned as the leading European event for scripted content development, as well as a key hub for distributors and buyers looking for content. With our new initiative, we will be better able to connect these distributors and buyers while further strengthening the Series Mania Forum as the must-attend event of the spring for the scripted community” added Francesco Capurro, Director of Series Mania Forum.
Originally established around its renowned international co-production pitch, Series Mania Forum has evolved into a premier destination for the entertainment industry, expanding its scope to include an IP market, a showcase venue, comprehensive conferences, and dynamic exhibitions. The Forum has become a must-visit destination each spring for leading broadcasters, streamers, and major scripted studios worldwide.
