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Ms. Laurence Herszberg, founder and general director of Series Mania, and professional jury president Polly Williams, managing director, Federation UK, announced this evening the winning project of Series Mania Forum’s annual Co-Pro Pitching Sessions. Of the 15 projects selected and pitched on the first day of Series Mania Forum, the industry arm of the Series Mania Festival, the jury team selected the Russian period drama series Red Rainbow (8 x 50’) as winner of the Series Mania Forum Best Project Award.

Along with Williams, the jury included Daniel Campos Pavoncelli, (Italy), Head of Film and TV, Partner, Indiana Production PSA SPA, Sened Dhab (France), VP Digital Scripted, France Télévisions, Mar Diaz, (Spain), Fiction Executive Producer, RTV, and Maria Feldman (USA/Israel), Producer and Creator, Masha. Together they had the honor of presenting a check for €50,000 to producer Alexander Rodnyansky of AR Content/Non-Stop Production and writer Matt Jones. Based on a true story set in 1979 and as a result of a series of mistakes and misunderstandings, Red Rainbow follows three young gay activists from West Berlin who are invited to Moscow with an official visit. They are thrilled to see the country of their socialist dreams, not realizing that being gay is a crime there.

“We were incredibly impressed with all of the pitches, yet it was the strong story and LGBTQIA+ elements of Red Rainbow that helped us to reach a unanimous decision. The pitch was very original and at the heart of the story was a warmth. This is a narrative that is still very relevant today and a story that definitely needs to be told,” commented Williams.

“The Co-Pro Pitching Sessions are one of the most anticipated part of the Series Mania Forum. We are delighted to be giving the €50,000 prize to Alexander and Matt for their wonderful period drama Red Rainbow. With its LGBTQIA+ theme, it is stories like this that will help build awareness. I have no doubt this series will soon find the perfect partners, and this once again confirms that Series Mania is the place where series begin,” commented Herszberg.

More than a hundred projects have been presented as part of the Co-Pro Pitching Sessions since its creation in 2013, including “The Head” (Mediapro/Hulu), “No Man’s Land” (Arte/Hulu) and “Devils” (Sky). This year, three series that previously participated in the Co-Pro Pitching Sessions are part of the Official Selection of the Series Mania Festival including: “Blackport”, “Jerusalem” and “The Last Socialist Artefact”.