Remember the first two Totally Serialized (one, two)? Well, the third one’s coming next month…
Totally Serialized – Season 3
16 – 19 January 2014 at Ciné LumièreFrom 16 to 19 January 2014, Ciné Lumière will hold the third edition of Totally Serialized, London’s favourite TV series festival. It will showcase the best of new productions from both sides of the Channel as well as European TV series. Audiences can enjoy their favourite shows on the big screen (Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, The Returned, My Mad Fat Diary) attend premieres of tomorrow’s cult series and meet the creators during Q&As and masterclasses.
The rise of TV shows in the past few years has been meteoric, with clunky acting, minimal plotlines and pre-recorded laughter replaced by multimillion-dollar productions starring A-list actors, with staggering special effects, and the finest writers churning out complex stories and incisive dialogue designed to keep the viewer hooked. An even more recent development in the British TV industry has been the breaking down of frontiers, with international buyers moving away from a remake-centred strategy and now broadcasting the original series with subtitles. French shows such as The Returned, Braquo, Spiral, Hard and Maison Close have benefited from this shift, and have proven to be a success on Channel 4, FX, BBC Four and Sky Arts respectively. One of the aims of this festival is to encourage this trend by showcasing tomorrow’s cult series.
TV professionals will get a chance to participate in an industry event dealing with various aspects of the constantly-evolving field of TV series, including producing, screenwriting, and financing, as well as case study of The Tunnel featuring writer Ben Richards amongst others. There will also be networking opportunities to allow ideas and future collaborations to flourish. The general public can also have a peek at what goes on behind the scenes with our Craft Masterclass on women and TV writing, organised in collaboration with BAFTA, during which leading screenwriters such as Virginie Brac (Spiral), Paula Milne (The Politician’s Husband, White Heat, Small Island) and Emma Reeves (The Dumping Ground, Young Dracula) will examine women’s contributions to screenwriting and the particular obstacles they face.
This masterclass will be a central part of our Leading Ladies strand, which will also include UK premieres of the French hit Mafiosa in the presence of director Pierre Leccia, and of season 2 of My Mad Fat Diary, in the presence of Sharon Rooney and writer Tom Bidwell. Our other highlight will be on political thrillers, with three gripping UK premieres on Sunday 19 January: the Belgian Salamander, recently acquired by BBC Four for its Saturday Night Slot; the Danish hit The Protectors, an Emmy Award-winning offering of Nordic noir which is set to delight fans of Borgen and The Killing; and the French Les Anonymes by Pierre Schoeller (The Minister), who will be here for a Q&A.
Following the success of our UK premiere of The Returned in last year’s edition of Totally Serialized, we are pleased to host a marathon of the full first season of the now Emmy-awarded French show as part of our Saturday Fright Night, which will also feature a 10th anniversary screening of all the episodes of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace – with a Q&A with Matthew Holness – and a zombie party. For those who prefer laughter to chills, our Cult Comedy Marathon will showcase the best comedies from both sides of the Channel.
Totally Serialized is curated by Lorraine Sullivan and organised by the Institut français du Royaume-Uni, in association with: SACD, La Culture Copie Privée, MediaDesk UK, Canal+, BAFTA, TV France International, France 24 and Ile de France Film Commission.
Programme after the jump and even more details at the Totally Serialized web site.
PUBLIC EVENTS
Thursday 16 January
Mafiosa
8.00pm, £8, conc. £6 | UK premiere
season 4, episode 1 | cert. 15 | in French with English subtitles
France | 2011 | 52 mins | creator Hugues Pagan, with Hélène Fillières
Opening Ceremony introduced by Pierre Leccia (director), Nicole Collet (producer) and Dominique Jubin (CANAL+). Followed by a Q&A with director Pierre Leccia, moderated by James Rampton, arts feature writer at The Independent.
Friday 17 January
No Limit
5.00pm | £5, conc. £3 | UK premiere
season 1, episode 1 | cert. 12A | in French with English subtitles
France | 2012 | 52 mins | creators Luc Besson and Franck Philippon, with Vincent Elbaz
BAFTA Craft Masterclass: Why Don’t More Women Write for TV?
6.30pm | £5, conc. £3
Panel discussion with writers such as Virginie Brac (Spiral), BAFTA award winning Paula Milne (The Politician’s Husband, White Heat, Small Island) and Emma Reeves (The Dumping Ground, Young Dracula).
My Mad Fat Diary
8.15pm | £8, conc. £6 | UK premiere
season 2, episode 1 | cert. 15 | in English
UK | 2013 | 60 mins | creator Tom Bidwell, with Sharon Rooney
Followed by a Q&A with actress Sharon Rooney, writer Tom Bidwell, and Gabriel Tate, TV journalist.
Courtesy of Channel 4 (for E4)
Saturday 18 January
Cult Comedy Marathon
2.00pm | £5, conc. £3
in English, or in French with English subtitles
The Cult Comedy Marathon will feature episodes of French shows Love Bugs (Un gars, une fille) and So (Bref), as well as favourites from the UK.
Saturday Fright Night
6.00pm – dawn | £12, conc. £10
in English, or in French with English subtitles
Including a 10th anniversary special marathon of all episodes of Gareth Marenghi’s Darkplace with a Q&A with Matthew Holness, a zombie party with fancy dress, drinks and dancing, and a screening of the full first season of The Returned. Part of the BFI Gothic season.
Sunday 19 January
The Line / Un village français
2.00pm | £5, conc. £3 | UK premiere
season 4, episode 1 | cert. 15 | in French with English subtitles
France | 2012 | 52 mins | creators Frédéric Krivine, Philippe Triboit & Emmanuel Daucé; with Robin Renucci, Audrey Fleurot
Les Anonymes
3.30pm | £8, conc. £6 | UK premiere
single drama | cert. 15 | in French with English subtitles
France | 2012 | 125 mins | dir. Pierre Schoeller; with Olivier Gourmet, Mathieu Amalric, Karole Rocher
Followed by a Q&A with director Pierre Schoeller and James Rampton, arts feature writer at The Independent.
Salamander
7.30pm | £8, conc. £6 | UK premiere
season 1, episode 1 | cert. 15 | in Flemish and French with English subtitles
Belgium | 2012 | 45 mins | creator Ward Hulselmans; with Filip Peeters
The Protectors / Livvagterne
8.30pm | £5, conc. £3
season 1, episode 1 | cert. 15 | in French with English subtitles
Denmark | 2008 | 45 mins | International Emmy Award
