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Cannes — Blessed for most part by balmy weather, French TV fest Canneseries launched a new life this week, staging its first standalone edition without a parallel MipTV or Mipcom supplying a big buyer base sitting literally just yards from Canneseries screenings.

Canneseries Artistic Director Albin Lewi argued before Canneseries that the event is not about on-site buyers but “buzz,” “the word of mouth of being in selection, even if buyers are not on-site, is very important. You don’t have to have thousands of people to have a market impact.” Moreover, “many of our industry participants also wear different hats and all the series are supported by international distributors,” he added.

In buyers’ stead, Canneseries expanded or launched Producers, Writers and Composers Clubs each made up of several dozens of professionals. But did the formula work? 10 takeaways on a new-feel Canneseries, running April 24-29:

“Duster” Dazzles

Certainly, the big U.

Cannes — In a striking triple whammy for Norway at this year’s Canneseries, “A Better Man,” from Thomas Seeberg Torjussen swept best series and best performance for star Anders Baasmo while Henriette Steenstrup’s “Nepobaby” scored screenplay and a special interpretation award for its ensemble cast.

In a third award for Norway, “The Agent – The Life and Lies of my Father,” from Magnus Skatvold, took best documentary. Flying the flag for Belgium’s Flanders, which had five series in Official Selection, more than any other country in the world, “Oh, Otto!” won best short-form series and the Student Award for that category.

“A Better Man” is produced by Synnøve Hørsdal’s Maipo Film, behind “Miss Julie,” with Jessica Chastain and Colin Farrell, and State of Happiness, which won best screenplay and best music at the inaugural Canneseries in 2018, sparking a close relationship between the French TV festival and Norwegian series,...

“A Better Man,” backed by Norway’s Nrk, a byword these days for adventurous shows, has a first teaser, which sets out he set-up for one of the major buzz titles set to world premiere this weekend in Canneseries competition.

Produced by Maipo (“The Crossing”), which won big at Canneseries’ first edition with “State of Happiness,” “A Better Man” excels – like some other of the series which will bow at Canneseries over April 24-29 – in its large relevance, drilling down on Internet trolling, the cancel culture and men’s notions of masculinity. It’s also brief, as many series shorten, just four episodes. But its issues are wrapped in what becomes a social survival thriller. Most important, it’s also often touching.

Beta Film, which handles international distribution, has just dropped a teaser which presents the miniseries’ basic set-up.

“Do you know what the fat around the penis is called?...

Beta Film, one of Europe’s biggest and most ambitious independents, has unveiled its Mipcom sales slate, led by 10-part epic “Rise of the Raven,” plus a new pick-up, “Last to Brake,” based on the true story of Finnish motorcycle racing great Jarno Saarinen, and now 288 episodes of Greek daily series smash hit “The Beach.”

Also brought to market are two Eagle Eye Drama shows: singular PBS and Channel 4 procedural “Patience,” starring Laura Fraser (“Breaking Bad”); and “Bookish,” created and starring Emmy Award winner Mark Gatiss, as well as Internet troll redemption’s tale “A Better Man,” from public broadcast powerhouses Nrk and Zdf.

Promising one of Mipcom’s biggest world premieres and billed by Beta Film as one of the most epic European TV productions of all time – which is something coming from Beta, the producers of “Babylon Berlin” and “Swarm” – “Rise of the Raven,” produced by the...

Leading distribution company Beta Film has come on board four-part Norwegian drama “A Better Man,” created by Thomas Seeberg Torjussen.

The show, which was commissioned by Norwegian broadcaster Nrk and German broadcaster Zdf’s platform ZDFneo, is produced by Synnøve Hørsdal and Christian Fredrik Martin at Norway’s Maipo Film.

“A Better Man” centers on Tom, Norway’s number one internet troll. He is a smart but angry and frustrated man with misogynistic tendencies, and an example of everything that is pathetic and wrong with the men who didn’t get the memo about the gender equality movement.

When hackers reveal his identity to the public, he is forced to dress as a woman to escape social persecution, and discovers that the world opens up to him when he dresses in women’s clothes.

Torjussen tells Variety that the idea for the series was planted “when I started digging into...

Also world premiering is HBO Max series ‘Spy/Master’ and Indian drama ‘Roar’

Italian crime drama The Good Mothers is among the seven titles selected for Berlinale (February 16-26) Series strand.

Scroll down for full list of titles

The Disney+ series is directed by the UK’s Julian Jarrold, whose credits include Kinky Boots, Becoming Jane and Brideshead Revisted, and Italian filmmaker Elisa Amoruso. The Good Mothers is a UK-Italy co-production and follows three women trying to bring down the Italian mafia.

The first two episodes of the six-part series is one of five series world premiering at Berlinale.

These...

Fond also backs two TV serires and Lisa Langseth’s new feature.

In its June round of funding, Nordisk Film & TV Fond supported seven new projects, including its largest ever production grant for a documentary, $118,000 (Nok 1m), to Mads Brügger’s [pictured] Cold Case Dag Hammerskjöld.

The Danish documentary is produced by Peter Engel of Wingman Media, in co-production with Norway’s Piraya Film, Sweden’s Laika Film and Belgium’s Associate Producers. Again with his unique style also on camera The Ambassador director Brugger reopens the case of legendary former Un Secretary Dag Hammarskjöld who died in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia in 1961.

Dr handles world sales on the film, which will be delivered in 2017.

The Fond also supported these projects in its latest round:

A Modern Man (documentary) $56,000 $231,000 (Nok 500,000) Produced by Danish Documentary and directed by Eva Mulvad, this film is an existential journey with violinist and model Charlie Siem. Rides Upon the...

Back in 2011 Norway's Thomas Seeberg Torjussen and Eric Vogel rolled into Fantastic Fest with their animated short Dickface. It is, as you may have surmised, a short animation about a man with a penis for a nose, a situation which makes for a remarkably concise summary of the male condition.Portrait of the artist as a young man.If he had a dick for a nose and no hands.Scarcely seen since that Texas premiere Twitch now presents Dickface for the world to see in its entirety below. Take a look....

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

The complete list of short films screening at Fantastic Fest has been announced. Unfortunatly as with most short films, there isn’t too much known about many of these. I know Infernal Nuns recieved a lot of praise from various blogs after it screened at Fantasia and Cop Hard is based on the popular web series, but apart from that, I’m pretty much in the dark. What I do know is that sometimes the short films are more rewarding than some features. Remember folks, some of these directors may go on to do some very big things in the near future, so try and check them out. Here is the press release.

Austin, TX-Wednesday, August 24th, 2011- Fantastic Fest is excited to announce the short film lineup for the seventh edition of Fantastic Fest, happening September 22-29 in Austin, Texas. Fantastic Fest loves its short films – they provide a...

Anybody can tell a good tale, spin a quality yarn so to speak, if given an hour and a half. But to accomplish that same feat in 15 minutes or so, now that's doing something. And Fantastic Fest has announced the lineup of 50 films doing just that for this year's program.

The Fantastic Fest shorts will be presented during the festival, which runs September 22-29 in Austin, Texas. With running times as long as thirty minutes and a short as two, and coming from over a dozen countries, the films look as diverse as they will be entertaining. Take a gander at the huge list complied below, and for those of you lucky enough to be in the great state of Texas during the fest, we envy you.

Fantastic Fest 2011 Shorts

All Men Are Called Robert (2011)

U.S. Premiere

Director: Marc-Henri Boulier, France, 6 minutes

A naked, terribly bruised man is running through the woods.