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The innovative initiative SERIESMAKERS, spearheaded by the prestigious TV festival Series Mania and backed by the European content giant Beta Group, has concluded its second edition with resounding success.

Top-tier filmmakers from across the globe applied to participate in the second installment of this bespoke program tailored for feature film directors venturing into the realm of series production. The following ten projects have been selected for the second edition of SERIESMAKERS (listed in alphabetical order):

BREACH by director Mijke de Jong, writers Giancarlo Sanchez, and Jan Eilander (4x50’, The Netherlands)
DOCTOR’S OATH by director Mikko Myllylahti and producers Aleksi Hyvärinen and Taneli Mustonen (4x52’, Finland)
ELEPHANT with director-writer Hajni Kis and creator-writer Dávid Csicskár (7x40’, Hungary)
FREEDOM ACADEMY by director Kaouther Ben Hania and producer Nadim Cheikhrouha (8x45’, France)
GEORGE BLAKE by director Kevin Macdonald and producer Femke Wolting (6x52’, United Kingdom/The Netherlands)
PLAY by director Yorgos Zois and producer Stelios Cotionis (8x52’, Greece)
SLEEPING SWANS by director Barbara Albert, writer Ulrike Tony Vahl, and producer Martina Haubrich (8x52’, Germany)
THE SQUATTER by director Erik Matti and producer Ronald Monteverde (8x52’, The Philippines)
THE WILLOW SONG by writer-director Guy Myhill and writers Tony Phillips and Sophie Vaughan (8x50’, United Kingdom)
WILLZ by director-writer Amir Manor and director-writer Guy Raz (10x40’, Israel)
Teams of directors/producers or director/writers from diverse backgrounds worldwide were closely mentored and guided by seasoned and decorated creatives while developing their series and crafting a full pitch deck.

The second edition was graced by four prolific mentors: award-winning German producer Janine Jackowski (TONI ERDMANN, SKYLINES), Israeli writer and script doctor Ronit Weiss-Berkowitz (THE GIRL FROM OSLO, A TOUCH AWAY), international development producer Isabelle Lindberg Pechou from France/Denmark (TROM, LAST LIGHT), and Brazilian producer, director, and showrunner Felipe Braga (SINTONIA, LOV3).

The program featured esteemed speakers including NARCOS creator Chris Brancato, multiple award winner Frank Doelger, showrunner Bryan Elsley, Hagai Levi, Ron Leshem, and Stefan Arndt.

The winners of the program will be announced on March 20 in Lille during the Series Mania Forum (March 19 – 21). Two teams will each receive a €50,000 Beta Development Award and collaborate closely with Beta’s Content and Co-Production Division to develop a pilot script and a comprehensive package. Additionally, an award of €20,000, courtesy of the Kirch Foundation in collaboration with HFF (University of Television and Film Munich), will be granted to a third project.

Laurence Herszberg, General Director of Series Mania, and Koby Gal Raday, Chief Content Officer of Beta Group, lead the creative initiative SERIESMAKERS.