France tv distribution will attend Series Mania with new dramas and series

France tv distribution announces the selection of 4 drama series from its line-up in the official competition at Series Mania Festival and 2 series in Coming Next from France. The 2022 edition of the international festival entirely dedicated to drama will take place from March 18th to 25th in Lille.

"We are extremely happy about the selection of the four series in the competition as each of them proves the great talent of the authors, directors and actors from France and Belgium. Each of the series takes a particular risk through ambitious story-telling and outstanding subjects," says Julia Schulte (SVP International Sales at France tv distribution. "This is what has convinced us as distributors, and I hope that this will also convince the audience at Lille. We are very glad as well that we will have the opportunity to pitch two high-end productions from France to international partners who might come on board!"

SERIES MANIA FESTIVAL
"Two summers" (6x52') produced by Panenka will compete in the International panorama and is set in the 90s, where a group of twenty-something friends is spending one last fun holiday before breaking into adulthood. But things turn terribly wrong when one of them dies in an accident. Thirty years later, Peter and Romée invite that same group of friends to their private island on the French Riviera. But the day of the departure, Peter receives footage showing the rape of one of their friends, taken during that tragic summer. Peter is convinced that the blackmailer is here on the island, among his guests.

The drama "About Sasha" (10x20') will be part of the French competition. After moving out, Sasha just arrived in a new high school. Mysterious and charismatic, she leaves a strong impression on anyone she meets. And, like any self-respecting teenager, making new friendships, flirting with boys and fighting with her parents are part and parcel of her everyday life. Except, until two weeks ago, Sasha was still considered a boy. Born with an intersex condition, she has now decided to embrace her female side.

"Sisters" ( 10x20') and “The Aerobics Project” (10x26') will be also part of the French competition. The first one tell the story of Hanane, Maïssa and Ambre – three besties who grew up in the same projects. This summer is all about first loves, plans for the future and breaking into adulthood. But when Hanane’s brother Djamel is attacked and found unconscious, the three friends have no choice but to investigate.

“The Aerobics Project” is set in the early Eighties near Toulouse, the birthplace of France’s aeronautic industry. The daily routine of Karine, a housewife in her forties, is upended by the arrival of a new neighbor – Jane, freshly arrived from the US. She brings a breath of modernity into the small residential suburb… and the gym too, introducing Karine and her friends to aerobics! But behind her smiles and shiny leotards, Jane seems very interested in Project 37, a top-secret endeavor run by Karine’s husband Didier.

COMING NEXT FROM FRANCE
In the Coming Next From France section, France tv distribution will feature "Vortex" (6x52') a series produced by Quad Drama. It’s the year 2025. Ludovic is the police captain for the French city of Brest. Twenty-seven years prior, he lost the love of his life, Mélanie, in what looked like a tragic mundane accident. But while studying a reconstructed VR crime scene, he stumbles upon a time warp that turns his life upside down: thanks to a glitch, he’s able to communicate with Mélanie, just a few days before her death, in 1998. Moving heaven and earth to try and save her from her tragic fate by stopping her murderer, Ludovic is in danger of losing his own life in the present along with his wife Parvana and their son Sam.

"The King's Favorite" (2x100'/4x52') produced by Passion Films tell about Diane de Poitiers, King Henri II’s favorite. Despite her strong character and her legendary beauty, Diane is just another courtesan and her position remains fragile. And Henri’s upcoming marriage to Catherine de Medici may jeopardize her dreams of domination.