Series Mania confirms dates & details for physical event in Lille

European drama festival Series Mania has unveiled new dates for its 2021 edition and revealed plans for an online and physical event, which like previous years will be based out of the French city of Lille.

The Series Mania Festival will run 28 May to 5 June, while the Series Mania Forum will be held in the Lille Grand Palais and is set for 1-3 June. The Lille Dialogues, which aims to link political decision-makers and industry execs, will be held on 1 June.

Series Mania Digital, the online platform which initially launched in March, will complement the live event for those who still may not be able to travel.

Registration for Series Mania 2021 will begin online on 18 January, while organisers have also extended the Call for Series for the Festival, and the Call for Projects for the Forum. The initial deadline of 6 January has now been extended to 5 March, given the new event dates.

Laurence Herszberg

Rodolphe Belmer, president of Series Mania, said: “We are extremely grateful to the Hauts-de-France region and the city of Lille who have worked closely with us in helping to secure these new dates for 2021. As you can imagine, this was not an easy task.

“With the ongoing uncertainly surrounding Covid-19, we believe these dates in the warmer months of May and June are the perfect time frame for Series Mania 2021. For our 2022 edition, we will return to our dates in March for which Series Mania has become known.”

Laurence Herszberg, founder and general director of the event, added: “With this opportunity to move our annual in person rendezvous to June for 2021, Series Mania will be in the coveted position slated between two other major international events, Cannes Film Festival and Annecy Festival. We are among great company.

“Our team has been working non-stop in preparing our events and I have no doubt our 2021 edition will be bigger and better than ever, sending a strong message of hope to both the audiences and the industry. I look forward to welcoming everyone to Lille, having again the pleasure of working together in person, and, true to my forever optimism, raising our glasses to celebrate better days ahead!”

Series Mania has been based in Lille since 2018 and is focused on TV series from across Europe. Its festival strand offers exclusive world premieres, while the trade-focused Series Mania Forum has previously welcomed more than 3,000 international professionals to the three-day event.