EXCLUSIVE: Those who’ve journeyed to France for today’s Canneseries opening ceremony would be forgiven for feeling like the French Riviera feels a tad quieter than previous years, but 2025 of course represents the first time the fest is operating in the post-MIPTV era.
Albin Lewi, Canneseries Artistic Director, told us he’s not overly concerned by the loss of footfall and is using the opportunity to double down on what has made the young festival stand out over the past eight years while simultaneously beefing up its industry sidebar.
Lewi acknowledged that Canneseries will never be a buyer’s market per se – he noted that many shows launching in Cannes have already sold bountifully around the world – but said the fest has a role to play for both industry folk and punters keen to watch the next big hit.
“We don’t aim for thousands of people here we want the hundreds that matter,” Lewi told Deadline at the glamorous Majestic Hotel in the hours before this year’s opening gala. “We want to be more relaxed so it is not stressful for [attendees] to have deeper conversations. We have ambitions and can expand but for a start we are happy.”
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When Deadline broke the news last year that MIPTV was relocating to London after 60 years, thoughts almost immediately turned to the future of Canneseries, with some wondering whether it would move to run concurrent with October’s much larger MIPCOM.
But Lewi says this was never a consideration and is confident the “DNA” of Canneseries wills out. “Even if we are not dedicated to buyers, the noise of the market is here,” he added. “They know that coming to Canneseries is proof of quality.”
“Convincing American blockbusters”
With this in mind, Lewi says Canneseries has passed the test of “convincing American blockbusters to come” with flying colors, as he reeled off shows like Fallout, Silo and Franklin that have previously premiered at the fest. “We’re identified as a TV festival happening in Cannes and we are also a marketing platform, so we can aim for the biggest blockbusters,” said Lewi.
This year’s exemplar is Duster, J.J. Abrams’ HBO crime thriller that will premiere on Sunday, with creator LaToya Morgan and star Josh Holloway in town.
“As a movie geek, having J.J. Abrams return to series here is fantastic,” said Lewi. “I think [Duster] tackles an America that we like, the America of the 1970s. It wasn’t perfect but it was cool and we like to spend time there.”
The show is proof that Canneseries is “not shy of aiming for the biggest series,” he said, including tonight’s opener The Agency, although talent haven’t made the journey to Cannes for that one as Season 2 cameras have just started to roll. A Walking Dead tribute with star Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Canneseries jury president Norman Reedus is also planned for tomorrow night.
Making up for the loss of The Agency talent is Éric Rochant, the creator of The Bureau, the French show which The Agency is based on. He will address the fest almost a decade to the day that The Bureau launched.
“This was the dream,” added Lewi. “Having edgy series, big marketing launches from the U.S. and then popular French shows.”
Alongside the likes of House of Cards scribe Beau Willimon and Doctor Who producer Jane Tranter, Rochant is keynoting a beefed-up industry schedule after the Canneseries’ creative team spent the past 12 months putting its collective head together to figure what it could do in a post-MIPTV world.
“These are icons of the past who have great testimony about the old TV scope but are so relevant today,” added Lewi.
And alongside this sidebar, Canneseries is hosting distinct clubs for producers, commissioners and composers, which were programmed by people from the industry.
Tied together by “anxiety” and Belgium
This year’s Canneseries competition includes the likes of Reykjavik Fusion starring Severance’s Ólafur Darri Ólafsson and Jean-Charles Hue’s Malditos for Max.
Lewi said the shows are tied together by themes of disquiet.
“There are no big series about the past but these are very intimate series that tackle social issues,” he explained. “All have anxiety in them, even the comedies. So I think creators are anxious because the world is full of anxiety but deal with this not from a big scope but from their own perspective.”
Many of the shows are also tied together by one nation, Belgium. There are six projects airing at Canneseries from Belgium including the spooky Dead End, which is the latest from original Bad Sisters creator Malin-Sarah Gozin, and euthanasia drama How To Kill Your Sister from Pedro Elias and Evelien Broekaert.
Lewi said Belgium is a nation that “has low budgets but knows they have to focus internationally and so finds very surprising pitches.”
“The country is almost made for that,” he added. “With multiple languages they have to be open to the world. Their industry is very mature.”
For future editions, Lewi is hoping to co-operate more with the big Asian territories like Korea and India, the former of which has the thought-provoking S Line in competition this year. Canneseries struck a recent partnership with the Busan Content Market and Lewi will journey to Korea next month for the first time.
The post Canneseries Director Talks Luring American “Blockbusters” Like J.J. Abrams’ ‘Duster’, Attracting Industry Folk In The Post-MIPTV Era & This Year’s Official Selection Reflecting A “World Full Of Anxiety” appeared first on Deadline.
