Laurence Herszberg, Founder and General Director of Series Mania, and Caroline Hollick, professional jury president and Head of Drama at Channel 4, announced the winning project of Series Mania Forum’s annual Co-Pro Pitching Sessions. Of the 15 projects selected and pitched on the first day of Series Mania Forum, the industry arm of the Series Mania Festival, the jury team selected the Ukraine/Poland war thriller drama “Unspoken” (6x30’) as winner of the Series Mania Forum Best Project Award.
Along with Hollick, the jury included Michele Zatta, Commissioning Editor at RAI; Françoise Guyonnet, Executive Managing Director TV Series at StudioCanal, Jarmo Lampela, Head of Drama at YLE - Finnish Broadcasting Company; and Lindsey Martin, VP of Development & Co-Productions at CBS Studios International. Together they presented a check to Dmytro Sukhanov, Natalia Libet and Anna Rożalska for €50.000.
Dmytro Sukhanov from Toy Cinema (Ukraine), Natalia Libet from 2Brave Productions (Ukraine) and Anna Rożalska from Match&Spark (Poland) are the producers of the show, which is written by Zhanna Ozirna and Filip Syczyński. “Unspoken” is a war thriller series based on current events in Ukraine. It tells the heart-rending story of a man who is trying to save his family from the grave danger of the Russian invasion.
“The winning project united the judges unanimously with the raw, emotional intensity of the storytelling. The powerful, relatable tale of a father prepared to go to any lengths to save his family was a bold and original take on the most urgent subject matter of our time,” Hollick commented.
“The Co-Pro Pitching Sessions are one of the most anticipated part of the Series Mania Forum, and we are delighted to be giving the €50.000 prize to ‘Unspoken.’ We are extremely pleased that our illustrious jury chose to give the award to a Ukrainian project which is very much connected with what is going on in Ukraine today. Despite this war, Ukraine, its creators, and its culture, are still very much alive, and that is another reason to admire the courage of the Ukrainian people,” Herszberg added.