Fiction events and many stars its pink carpet! Season 4 of Canneséries, which will be held from October 8 to 13 online and on the Côte d’Azur, unveiled this Tuesday at a press conference a very promising program. “At Canneséries, we decided that our intention would be to put joy at the center of this new edition, the one that we will feel when discovering this daring and visionary selection, that of participating in a demanding and accessible festival, without gauge”, a declared Fleur Pellerin, president of the Cannes International Series Festival.
Out of competition, the Riviera festival will screen several fictional events: Around the world in 80 days, the adaptation of the classic by Jules Verne, co-produced by France Télévisions, the BBC and the ZDF and worn by David Tennant or even Yes Yes, German biopic on Empress Elizabeth of Austria much less watered down than the saga led by Romy Schneider. Canal +, historic partner of the event, will present at the opening “the most anticipated series of the year”, according to Jean-Marc Juramie, deputy director general of antenna and programs of the encrypted channel, season 2 of Valid by Franck Gastambide and in closing, the last season of the Italian series Gomorra. The encrypted channel also presents two episodes of HBO Max’s LBGT series, Generat + ion and in preview, two episodes of season 2 of Narvalo.
On the occasion of Valid, the festival will offer a selection dedicated to rap with Diana Boss, new France.tv Slash series, BXXL, a documentary series, and Orelsan – Never show that to anyone, the eagerly awaited documentary by Prime Video, in the presence of the Nantes artist.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau will chair the jury
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, best known for his role as Jaime Lannister in the award-winning HBO series Game Of Thrones, chairs the jury of the long format competition. In the running, 10 fictions selected among 194 series sent to the selection committee, from 9 countries.
Among them, the French series Totems, created and written by Juliette Soubrier (Blank Zone) and Olivier Dujols (The Legends Office, Falco) for Amazon Prime Video, worn by Niels Schneider, José Garcia, Ana Girardot and Lambert Wilson, tells the romance between a French secret agent and a KGB recruit during the Cold War in the France of General De Gaulle.
Two Scandinavian series are in competition. Countrymen, a creaking comedy co-produced by Arte and the Norwegians of NRK, which follows the installation of three radical Islamists on a farm in Norway to prepare a terrorist attack … A plan thwarted thanks to the interference and “the open and warm welcome of the residents “. A series in 8×45 minutes “transgressive, crazy and quite pleasing”, according to Olivier Wotling, the director of the fiction of the Franco-German channel. The Finnish series Mister 8 follows the adventures of Maria, CEO who juggles between seven lovers, and falls in love with an eighth man.
Israel also has two series in contention: Unknowns by Israeli-Palestinian director Tawfik Abu-Wael (Our Boys) on a group of marginalized young boys who are first suspects in a rape case, and Sad City Girls, dramatic comedy about a close friendship in the early twenties.
Canneséries welcomes two new countries to its selection: Serbia with Awake, a supernatural thriller about a detective charged with investigating a series of suspicious suicides and Argentina, with the Disney + series, Limbo… Hasta que Lo Decida, who follows a young heiress facing a complicated succession that will reveal her father’s dark past.
The Italian series Christian features a mafia henchman who sees stigmata appear on his hands. German production The Allegation revisits the Worms affair, a legal scandal across the Rhine. Finally, the Russian thriller Dreams of Alice follows a high school student, haunted by weird and bloody premonitory dreams, a creation produced by Valeriy Fedorovich and Evgeniy Nikishov of 1-2-3 Production, the team behind the hit Netflix original series To the Lake.
Actress and author Aisling Bea, recently seen in Living with Yourself on Netflix alongside Paul Rudd, chairs the jury of the short format competition. At his side in this jury, Marie Papillon and Assaad Bouab, alias Hicham Janowski in Ten percent. The latter will find the actress, director and screenwriter Fanny Sidney alias Camille Valentini in the ASK agency, who will come to present his hilarious and tender series for Arte, Mobile Brigade. The selection of short formats will be unveiled this Wednesday at the Cannes press conference.
A host of stars on the pink carpet
The guest of honor of this edition will be Raoul Peck, who came to present his latest creation Exterminate All the Brutes. After Judith Light, another small screen legend will receive the Variety Icon Award: Connie Britton, seen in Spin City, 24, The West Wing, Friday Night Lights, Nashville and most recently in HBO’s latest nugget, The White Lotus.
Its creator Mike White will be the subject of an online masterclass, as will Lynda Carter, the unforgettable WonderWoman of the two series of the 1970s. Marc Levy will speak about the adaptation of his novel All those things we didn’t say to each other in series for Canal + and Starzplay, with the director and screenwriter Miguel Courtois. Another masterclass will be devoted to the pioneers of French animation series, Jean Chalopin and Bernard Deyriès, the creators ofUlysses 31.
Also present will be Phoebe Dynevor who plays Daphné in The Bridgertons Chronicle and Laurie Nunn, the creator of Sex Education, they will be crowned respectively with the Figaro Madame statuette of the Rising star and the Kombini prize for engagement.