Series Mania Forum 2025: FULL PROGRAMME

Bringing together the world’s leading series professionals, Series Mania Forum 2025 returns to Lille from March 25 to 27, 2025, offering a premier platform for industry professionals; producers, distributors, directors, and content creators.

Learn more about the festival from our previous story: Series Mania Festival Reveals Lineup

Series Mania Forum 2025: Full Programme

Tuesday:

• Grand Theatre
• 10.00-11.30 Co Pro Pitching Sessions ½ and 2/2
• 14.45-15.15 Talent Masterclass: The New Creative Journey of Sally Wainwright&Roanna Benn
• 15.30-16.00 Talent Masterclass: James Norton

• Theatre Louis Pasteur
• 10.00-10.45 Key Trends in TV Speakers: Manuel Alduy, Carolina Lorenzon, Gilles Fontaine, Susanne Nikoltchev
• 11.00-11.30 A Year in Series Speakers: Guy Bisson, Cyrine Amor
• 11.45-12.15 A Glance at Local Hits with International Potential, Speaker: Xavier Rambert
• 12.30-13.15 The Producer-Creator Relationship: An Undervalued Contribution?, Speakers: Frederic Balmary, Ioanina Pavel, Alon Aranya, Sheila Nortley, Alexandra Lebret
• 14.30-15.30 Coming Next from France by Unifrance
• 16.00-17.00 Coming Next from Spain by Audiovisual from Spain

• Theatre Marie Curie
• 16.00-17.15 Writers Campus Pitch

• Room 3.2
• 11.00-12.00 Coming Next from Sweden and Finland by Apfi and Swedish Institute in Collab with Göteborg Film Festival and The Swedish Film&TV Producers Association
• 12.15-13.15 Taiwan Spotlight Pitching Session
• 15.00-15.30 Authentica African Series Pitch
• 16.00-17.00 Canada-France Series Lab Pitch

• Room 3.1
• 11.00-12.00 Coming Next from Korea by Kocca
• 12.15-13.00 Let’s Talk About Sex! (And Consent) Speakers: Virginija Vareikyte, Liz Kilgarriff, Caroline Hollick, Manuel Alduy, Sarah Hemar
• 15.00-15.45 France/Israel Drama Series Co-Writing Residency Pitch
• 16.00-17.00 Creating An Original IP: A Sustainable Model for Producers, Speakers: Emmanuelle Bouilhaguet, Emilie Blezat, Nick Lee, Ronal Muehfellner, Brendan Fitzgerald, Stephanie Bro

• Room 2.3+2.4
• 12.15-13.00 Top End Bub Sponsored by ZDF Studios
• 14.30-15.30 Canada’s Producers to Watch Sponsored by Telefilm Canada
• 15.45-16.45 Coming Next from Flanders by Flanders Image
• 17.00-18.00 Coming Next from Wallonia-Brussels by Wallonie Bruxelles Images

Wednesday:

• Grand Theatre
• 10.00-10.45 Prime Video Showcase, Speakers: Nicole Morganti, Thomas Dubois, Kristin Brzoznowski
• 13.00-14.00 Celebrating Local Stories Speakers: Nico Moolenaar, Elettra Canovi, François Uzan, Emma Lustres
• 14.30-15.00 Talent Masterclass: Patrick Walters
• 15.30-16.00 Sky: From Creative Partnerships to Unmissable TV, Speakers: Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Megan Lyvers, Nils Hartmann, Michael Pickard
• 16.15-16.45 Paramount CBS Studios: From CoPro to Distribution, Your Partners in Crime, Speakers: Lisa Kramer, Lindsey Martin, John Elmes

• Theatre Louis Pasteur
• 11.00-11.45 Best Marketing Initiatives for Series, Speakers: Manori Ravindran, Valentin Richardot
• 12.00-12.45 Studio TF1: Behind The Powerful Brand, An Agile International Strategy, Speakers: Pierre Branco, Leonor Grandsire, Pieter Van Huyck, Karine Atlan, Mike Benson
• 15.30-16.00 The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Speakers: Augustin Chastel De Belloy, Justine Paynat-Sautivet, Juliette Menager, Rebecca Leffler
• 16.30-17.30 Coming Next from Quebec by Sodec

• Theatre Marie Curie
• 11.00-11.30 Olympic in Storytelling
• 12.00-12.45 Docu Series: True Crime, Cult, Sports&Celebritites, The New Unifying Genre?
• 14.30-15.30 New8, Why It Works? A New Slate of European CoPro Unveiled
• 16.00-17.00 Scripted Formats: The Golden Age of European Series IP? Speakers: Hannah Vidal, Helene Auro, Mirela Nastase, Rodolphe Buet

• Room 3.2
• 10.15-10.30 Introduction & Market Data Brief on IP Adaptations by EAO
• 10.45-11.45 IP Pitch: Shoot The Book! by The Scelf
• 12.00-13.00 IP Pitch: Short Series, New Talent to Watch
• 14.30-15.00 In Conversation with Isabelle Degeorges, President of Gaumont Television France
• 15.15-16.15 Initiate Projects in Africa: Opportunities and Success Stories

• Room 3.1
• 10.00-11.00 Coming Next from The Balkans By Sarajevo Film Festival – Cinelink Industry Days
• 11.15-11.45 Stream- Why Building a Strong European Network to Train Series Professionals in A Fast-Changing Industry?, Speakers: Katrin Merkel, Alexandra Gabrizova, Maria Garcia-Castrillon
• 12.00-12.45 Weiss & Morales Showcase  by ZDF Studios and Canary Islands
• 14.30-15.15 Unveiling The Seriesmakers Winning Project
• 15.45-16.30 The Creatives: Next Ambition, Next Series, Speakers: Romain Bessi, David Keitsch, Leontine Petit, Synnove Horsdal, Jesse Whittock

• Room 2.3 + 2.4
• 09.45-10.45 Face to Face with German Talents: Serious About Series by German Films
• 12.00-13.00 Nhk Taiga Drama: Enciting Japan and Beyond by NHK
• 14.00-15.30 Sourcing Stories & Talents by Pictanovo
• 15.45-16.30 Discover Vivid by UWA

Thursday:

• Grand Theatre
• 10.00-10.30 Keynote: David Larramendy, CEO, M6 Group
• 10.45-11.15 Keynote: Bruno Patino, President, Arte France
• 11.45-12.15 Keynote: Ruth Berry, President, Global Partnerships & ZOO 55, ITV Studios
• 12.30-13.00 Keynote: Gerhard Zeiler, President of International, Warner Bros. Discovery

• Theatre Louis Pasteur
• 10.30-11.15 Fast Forward: The AI Revolution, What Will Our Industry Look Like in 5 Years? Speakers: Marianne Carpentier, Erik Barmack, Guillemette Picard, Johann Choron, Elizabeth Le Hot
• 11.30-12.30 Preserving A Virtuous European Model: The Challenges of The 2026 Avms Revision, Speakers: Susana Gato, Yohann Benard, Cecile Lacoue, Laurence Farreng, Olivier Henrard, Marjorie Paillon
• 13.30-14.15 Deepfake & Algorithms: How Should We Develop Critical Thinking in Viewers? Speakers: Antoine Bayet, Amelie Lacourt, Sally Reynolds, Femke Wolting, Marjorie Paillon
• 14.30-15.15 Eyes on Advertising Budget: What Are The Impacts on Content Creation? Speakers: Mathilde Fiquet, Gregoire Polad, Jean-Paul Philippot, Marjorie Paillon

• Room 3.2
• 09.30-10.30 Media Briefing – France Televisions
• 10.45-11.45 Coming Next from Switzerland by Swiss Films

• Room 3.1
• 11.30-12.30 Media Briefing – Arte
• 14.00-15.00 Media Briefing – TF1

• Room 2.3 + 2.4
• 09.30-10.30 Dating in Barcelona – Market Screening by Filmax

Source: Series Mania