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On the last day of Series Mania (Lille, 24-28 March, 2025), the international jury, chaired by Award-winning Director, Writer and Actor Pamela Adlon ( along with French musician and composer Victor Le Masne, Argentinian-American actor Ignacio Serricchio, British director Minkie Spiro and French actress Karin Viard, awarded 4 prizes and a mention among the 9 series presented in world or international premiere. Among the awards, Italian actor Luca Marinelli won the award for Best Actor in M-The Son of the Century. The Sky Original series, directed by Joe Wright, that explores the rise of fascism in Italy, with Marinelli portraying Benito Mussolini.

The jury recognized him for “his ability to transform, to become someone completely different from himself.”

The series made its world premiere out of competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, where it received a warm reception. Since its debut, the show has drawn significant attention, with strong critical reviews and high viewership figures on Sky and NOW. It has become one of the top three most-watched Sky Original titles since 2021.
Based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Antonio Scurati (published by Bompiani), the series adapts the story of Mussolini’s rise to power. It was written by Stefano Bises and Davide Serino, with story credits shared by Bises, Serino, and Scurati.
M – The Son of the Century is produced by Sky Studios and Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment, part of the Fremantle group, in co-production with Pathé, in association with Small Forward Productions, and in collaboration with Fremantle and CINECITTÀ S.p.A. Fremantle handles international distribution.

Like the novel, the series tells the story of a nation that gave in to dictatorship and of a man who repeatedly reinvented himself. It spans from the founding of the Fasci Italiani in 1919 to Mussolini’s infamous speech in Parliament in 1925 following the assassination of socialist MP Giacomo Matteotti.