Viaplay’s The Fortress among six Nordic series competing at Series Mania

A totally of 54 series from 24 countries out of 396 submissions from 63 countries have retained the attention of Series Mania artistic director Frédéric Lavigne, general manager Laurence Herszberg and their team.

From the Nordics, four out of the seven selected series are Viaplay Originals or co-productions, reflecting the Nordic-based streamer’s major role in financing - and distributing - top Nordic content with festival appeal.

The Viaplay Norwegian Original The Fortress produced by Maipo Film is among eight high-end TV shows in the International Competition vying for the Grand Prize-Best Series, Best Script, Best Actress and Best Actor.

“We are thrilled to be selected for this prestigious competition,” said Maipo Film’s CEO and producer Synnøve Hørsdal. “After a long and challenging production, during Covid, it is a very welcoming recognition.”

The 7x45’ dystopian drama set to world premiere in Lille, was co-written by Linn-Jeanethe Kyed (Rod Knock, Born2Drive) and John Kåre Råke (The Quake), with Cecilie Mosli (Mammon, Grey's Anatomy) and Mikkel Brænne Sandemose (State of Happiness) serving as conceptual directors. Tobias Santelmann, Selome Emnetu and Russell Tovey topline the international cast.

Set in the year 2037, an enormous wall surrounds Norway, where its people enjoy privileged and sheltered lives in a self-sufficient Nordic paradise. But when a deadly pandemic breaks out, the inhabitants soon realise that the wall intended to protect, is instead holding them prisoner.

"The topic is more relevant than we wish it was, unfortunately,” Hørsdal told nordicfilmandtvnews.com. The premiere on Viaplay is scheduled for spring 2023. TrustNordisk handles sales in selected territories.

Viaplay’s Call Me Dad (Kald mig far) is world premiering in the Comedy Competition, alongside five other international shows, due to screen in an all-night Comedy Evening.

The 6x25’ series is written by Søren Felbo (The Orchestra) and directed by Christian Dyekjær (Guru, All I Want for Christmas). Trin Hjortkjær Thomsen and Laura Frederikke Kragholm are producing for Nordisk Film Series.

Emil (Alex Høgh Andersen) and Viktor (Magnus Haugaard) are lifelong friends and now partners in a catering company. But when self-confident Viktor begins dating timid Emil's mother Helle (Ellen Hillingsø), the scene is set for an unusual family face-off.

Viaplay Content Distribution handles global sales. The premiere is pencilled for Q3, 2023.

Viaplay’s Danish youth series One of the Boys (En af drengene) which is world premiering in the Short Format Competition was created by Teys Schucany and Frederik Rye Nielsen. The two rising talents won a ‘Viaplay Talent Award’ in 2022 for the 4x17’ series produced by Apple Tree Productions. The story is set in a small Danish town where boys traditionally go on a ‘men’s trip’ before starting high school. Socially awkward Lau (Jonathan Tage Pedersen) must prove he’s a real man, while struggling with his attraction to another boy.

“The series shows how difficult it can be to navigate among gender ideals, shame and secrets, not least as a queer in a small community,” said Viaplay’s EVP & Chief Content Officer Filippa Wallestam. The premiere is scheduled for later this year.

Also competing in the Short Format Competition is the Finnish series A Strange Summer (Outo kesä) produced by MADE for Yle. The psychological thriller about toxic friendships and growing up in turbulent and uncertain times was created by written by Lauri-Matti Parppei, whom we’ve selected among seven Nordic Talents to Watch in 2020. See our separate story Seven Nordic Talents to watch: CLICK HERE.

The two main characters in their 20s, Minna (Elsi Sloan) and Aino (Katja Lukkarinen) are spending their last summer together before going to uni. Neither of them knows what will happen in the autumn, so to escape the feeling of uncertainty and the boredom of a small town, they come up with a dangerous hobby: they start breaking into homes in the neighbourhood at night. The exciting game soon turns dangerous. The series produced by Ilona Tolmunen premiered on Yle Areena last August. Yle Sales handles global sales outside Denmark, where DR has acquired streaming rights.

The International Competition Panorama will be showcasing two Nordic series, that have received strong reviews in the local press during their national premiere.

Sweden’s Blackwater (Händelser vid vatten) is produced by Apple Tree Productions for SVT. Co-writers Karin Arrhenius and Maren Louise Käehne competed recently for the Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize-Best Screenplay of a Nordic series. The multi-layered suspense drama adapted from Kerstin Ekman’s best-selling novel is directed by Mikael Marcimain. Rolf Lassgård, Alba August, Asta August and Pernilla August are headlining the premium series, sold internationally by ITV Studios.

Denmark’s Nordland’99 written/directed by Kasper Møller Rask is produced by Nevis Production for DR. The crime drama set in a small Danish provincial town stars Elias Budde Christensen, Emilie Kroyer Koppel and Troels Lyby. DR Sales handles sales.

Meanwhile Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom Exodus will be screening as a French premiere out of competition. The Viaplay/DR series world premiered in Venice.

Commenting on their overall 2023 programme Herszberg and Lavigne identified three major trends: stories either going back to the 80s-90s Wave, focusing on societal debates (such as the environment with The Fortress), or girl power.

“Although creativity is now a worldwide phenomenon, we must also acknowledge a certain uniformity in storytelling due to the influence of streaming platforms, exacerbated competition, and market tensions,” they said. “Within this context, the diversification of narratives and their visibility appear all the more important, and in this respect, festivals such as ours, as well as the press, have a vital role to play.”

Next to the Series Mania Festival unfolding in Lille , France March 17-24, the three-day Series Mania Forum (March 21-23) will be unveiling its programme February 24.