SERIES MANIA 2025 Series Mania Forum / Awards
SERIESMAKERS singles out The Interregnum
- Simón Casal’s Spanish series project steered by producer Mariela Besuievsky has scooped the Development Grant
The third edition of SERIESMAKERS - a Series Mania initiative backed by Germany’s Beta Group with the aim of supporting filmmakers venturing into the world of series - has unveiled its winning project from among ten selected projects (read our news) whose teams were treated to a tailored training course led by highly reputed consultants.
The 50,000-euro Development Grant (funded by Beta and the Kirch Foundation in collaboration with HFF – the University of Television and Film in Munich) was awarded to The Interregnum, which is a project put forward by Spain’s Simón Casal (as its creator, director and screenwriter) and Spanish producer Mariela Besuievsky. This 6 x 50-minute political thriller takes us forwards in time to 2031 when the European Union faces a decisive referendum to approve an artificial intelligence system which would replace human judges. At the head of the Yes and No campaigns, Inma and Lyda are battling it out for victory, but a dark secret surrounding the death of Alicia, who created the AI system, threatens to revolutionise not only the campaign but also everything these two women believe themselves to be…
The jury’s reasoning was revealed by Ferdinand Dohna (Beta): "the creators behind The Interregnum impressed us with this political thriller which reflects the complexity of two of the most pressing subjects of our time: artificial intelligence and justice. The multilayered nature of these matters is explored in a captivating thriller which advances with the ticking of a clock."
The team behind the winning project will work in close association with Beta’s Content and Co-Production division to develop a pilot screenplay and a full accompanying dossier.
For the record, the first edition of SERIESMAKERS crowned Juho Kuosmanen, César Díaz and Beatriz Seigner (news) its winners, while the second singled out Kevin Macdonald, Erik Matti and Barbara Albert (news).
(Translated from French)
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