FormatBiz | Québec enjoys record participation at Series Mania

Under the SODEC (Société de développement des entreprises culturelles) Québec creates banner, nearly sixty Québec-based television industry professionals will be take part of the Series Mania Forum in Lille, France, between March 22 and 24. This represents Québec’s highest attendance at the forum since SODEC made its appearance, bearing witness to the growing interest in Québec-based series overseas. Local series will be front and centre at Series Mania, competing officially, at Coming Next from Québec, in the Forum Exclusives section and in the video library.

In addition, producer Sophie Deraspe will sit on the International Panorama jury.
Two local series to compete officially at the Series Mania Festival (March 18–25, 2022)

Screenwritten by Sandrine Viger-Beaulieu and Charles-Alex Durand, directed by Mélanie Charbonneau,
and produced by Écho Média, the series Welcome to Soulshine (Je ne suis pas un robot) will have its
world premiere in the Short Forms Competition category. Last Summers of the Rasberries (Le temps des
framboises), screenwritten by Suzie Bouchard and Florence Longpré, directed by Philippe Falardeau,
and produced by Trio Orange, will have its premiere in France and will compete in the International
Panorama category.

Six new series at Coming Next from Québec
SODEC will once again pair up with CBC & Radio-Canada Distribution and Québecor Contenu, and will pair up with Bell Media for the first time, to present Coming Next from Québec. This highly attended event by international broadcasters and buyers allows each broadcaster to present and pitch two promising series that are ready to be shown internationally.

The series are presented are:

Presentations by Bell Media
• A Criminal Affair (Une affaire criminelle) (Productions Sovimage)
• No Return (Aller simple) (Sphere Media)
Presentations by Québecor Contenu
• Dark Lake (Lac-Noir) (Pixcom)
• Motel Paradis (Zone3)
Presentations by CBC & Radio-Canada Distribution
• Larry (Avenue Productions)
• Dear Flora (Pour toi Flora) (Nish Media)

Two local series in the Forum Exclusives section Series Mania has selected Sans rendez-vous (Aetios Productions inc.) and L’homme qui aimait trop (Duo Productions) for the Forum Exclusives section. Four additional local series will be accessible in the festival’s video library: The World of Gabrielle Roy (Le monde de Gabrielle Roy) (Zone 3 and Les Productions Rivard), Lou & Sophie (Lou et Sophie) (Passez Go), The Mousetrap (Piégés) (Duo Productions) and VEER (Virage) (KOTV). Two episodes per series may be viewed by registered participants. SODEC_Lab and business network development in Europe In collaboration with the Québec government office in Paris (Délégation générale du Québec à Paris), SODEC will take advantage of Series Mania to put together SODEC_Lab to support Québec-based producers in developing their business network in Europe, especially in France. Selected producers will receive customized coaching that will conclude with a Series Mania Forum, where business meetings will take place. The producers below will take part in this activity: Richard Jean-Baptiste (ArtJB), Benoit Lach (Blachfilms), Viviane Rheault (ComediHa!), Hugo d’Astous (Duo Productions), Camille Mongeau (Martine aimait les films), Vicky Bounadère (Passez Go), Mélissa Tétu (Trio Orange), Patrick Bilodeau (UGO Média) and Mélanie Ratté (Zone3). SODEC is supporting Québec-based professionals in Lille by providing them with a reduced licensing fee and a shared meeting space. SODEC will support the series selected to compete and their teams’ travel expenses, as well as the expenses of producers and creative teams involved in Coming Next from Québec and SODEC_Lab. The Québec creates pavilion is a SODEC initiative in partnership with AQPM. The pavilion benefits from support by the Québec government office in Paris (Délégation générale du Québec à Paris), LOJIQ, Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada (APFC) and Telefilm Canada.