Next to the Danish social drama in the main competition are 22 July, Cold Courage, The Minister, Thin Ice at the Panorama and Pulse in the short formats.
Cry Wolf (Ulven kommer), formerly known as A Family Matter, is among ten high-end dramas world premiering in the international competition, presided over by US writer/producer Tom Perrotta (The Leftovers, Little Children).
The 8x45’ series is the first TV drama for the acclaimed Danish filmmaker Pernille Fischer Christensen (Becoming Astrid, A Family). Episodic directors are May El-Toukhy (Queen Of Hearts), Samanou Sahlstrøm (Follow The Money) and Niclas Bendixen (Ditte And Louise). The series is based on a script by head-writer Maja Jul Larsen (The Legacy, Borgen).
“We are extremely excited to be part of the Series Mania international competition and we are honoured to be the only Nordic series represented this year,” told DR Drama producer Claudia Saginario to nordicfilmandtvnews.com, adding: “The entire team is cheering from the set and post production and we are looking forward to presenting an innovative crime series with excellent acting performances.”
In the series, a family is torn apart by the school essay of 14 year-old Holly who described domestic violence at home. Lars, a social worker is assigned to the case. A strong believer in Holly’s story, he puts her and her younger brother in foster care. Holly’s parents launch a full-scale legal attack against Lars and their own daughter.
Toplining the cast are Bjarne Henriksen, Peter Plaugborg and Christine Albeck Bjørge.
Jul Larsen who first pitched the series at the Berlinale Copro-Series 2019, said Cry Wolf deals with “lies that we tell ourselves and each other and about the complexity of doing the right thing”. “It’s a family drama, but also an examination of our social system,” she added.
The series will be pitched at this year’s Berlinale Co-pro Series’ Danish Showcase by Saginario and Fischer Christensen on Tuesday 25. The series set to premiere on DR in September, is sold internationally by its global distribution arm DR Sales.
Meanwhile four Nordic premium shows have been selected for the 15-title strong International Panorama section.
Making its world premiere in the Series Mania’s Short Format competition is the Danish youth series Pulse (Puls), produced by Toolbox (Daniel, Shorta) for TV2 Play. Author/screenwriter Tomas Lagermand Lundme and actress Mette Føns are co-creators/co-writers, collaborating with writer Christian Gamst Miller-Harris (Netflix’s Ragnarok). Føns makes her long fiction directing debut.
The coming-of-age drama centres on Bastian (16) and his group of friends. The boys play at the local basketball team where Samir, Bastian’s best friend, is the star player and the dream of the girls.
But the envious and self-chosen leader Erik, discovers that Samir has a secret. Soon the group's friendships are put to the ultimate test and new secrets emerge. Cast members are Amer Bosnjak, Albert Rudbeck Lindhardt, Vilmer Trier Brøgger, Frederik Winther Rasmussen, and Isabella Møller Hansen. The series will premiere later this year. REInvent Studios handles sales.
A total of 74 brand new series (including 38 world premieres) from 25 countries will bow at the major TV and industry event, set to open with the fantasy romantic UK/New Zealand co-production The Luminaries starring Eva Green.
Outlining trends in global TV drama, Series Mania's artistic director Frédéric Lavigne and MD Laurence Herszberg stressed the difficulty to choose an inflating volume of content from more and more territories, in just over six months. Contemporary realistic series dealing with social and political issues and abuse to women are recurrent themes.
Among the 400 guests are US show-runner Chris Brancato (Narcos), Israel’s Hagai Levi (The Affair), actor Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), the team behind the hit French series The Bureau, as well as actors Rachel Griffiths, Carole Bouquet, Zabou Breitman.
During the three-day industry event Series Mania Forum (March 25-27) 15 high-end projects – picked from 400 submissions - looking for co-financing, will compete for the €50,000 Best Pitch development award.
Among the projects is the Norwegian series Underground, produced by Anagram Norway.
More than 3,000 professionals are expected at the industry event.
For further details, check: www.seriesmania.com