Alice Kanterian

Canneseries season 7 - great actors, series and a pink carpet - all in Cannes and still with MipTV!

Indeed this series festival takes place in Cannes, where else, nomen est omen. And it gets into competition with an the other majour festival dedicated to series. I'm talking about Series Mania from Lille. Both festivals are taking place in spring, one just finished and the other one, Canneseries to take place 05-10.04.

But while Series Mania is dedicated uniquely to television series in Europe Canneseries brings also worldwide premieres in collaboration with majour studios from the United States. International series are premiered in Cannes and on the big screen of the Palais giving its audience 6 days of pink carpet, discoveries and masterclasses with some of the most renowned personalities in the series world.

Should I stay or should I go now?

The success story of Canneseries has been made possible due to the collaboration with a global event which also takes place in Cannes and most important at the same time. MipTV and Canneseries has always been connected, from the very beginning in 2018. So far so good. Now its all changing, as MipTV says goodby to Cannes as a venue and moves on to London. It has been the talk since Berlinale Series in February, and it continued at the London TV Screenings and later in March at Séries Mania.

MIPTV gathers, in the entertainment industry's global deal-making hub of Cannes, together producers, distributors, and buyers to connect, commission and discover new series and projects for all genres and screens. And these synergies have been profitable for Canneseries. We will see what the future brings, some rumours are even saying that Canneseries might be moved to October in order to connect with MipCom, an even bigger market than MipTV.

Other rumours are saying it might even take place during the Festival de Cannes, but this would be quite absurd, not even the colours are matching, Canneseries is all about pink even the red carpet is not red but pink.

But coming back to the current edition „This year, we went big“ the organizers are announcing on their website, and indeed : great stars on the pink carpet such as Daniel Brühl, Kyle MacLachlan, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Michael Douglas, Pierre Niney, Ludivine Sagnier, Ella Purnell or Jamel Debbouze have been announced.

CANAL+ is once again CANNESERIES’ official partner and it will exclusively broadcast the Opening Ceremony of its Season 7 on Friday, April 5 th at 8:30 p.m. It will be presented in the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès by French author and comedian Bertrand Usclat.

And now let's have a closer look at the series presented at Canneseries. Some run in competion others out of competitions. This last category is the most anticipated one with Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, Fallout, Franklin and Maxima.

Terminal

There are big expectations at Canneseries for this premiere with 3 episodes 4, 7 & 11 in French screened, and subtitled in English. The French 12 episodes Terminal is opening Canneseries on 04.04 with a „sitcom made in Jamel“. Everybody in France knows who is meant by Jamel. Jamel Debbouze is the most popular French comedian, and he is very known abroad too. I once attended the „Marrakesch du Rire“ international comedy festival in Marrakesch, and Jamel was of course the moderator and the show was great

And here some quotes:

„Welcome aboard Flywings, the lowest of all low-cost airlines! 
Greeting you today is your pilot, Jack, who handles his personal life as inadequately as he does his airplanes. Alongside is co-pilot Charlie, recently demoted from a classier airline, as well as an oddball - to put it mildly - crew of flight attendants: naïve Nelly, erratic Nabil, ambitious Tristan, and social justice warrior Armelle.
A disaster safety check or a child who takes over the control system? Our crew of loveable losers - almost - always join forces to handle such absurd situations. And too bad if their methods don’t quite follow airline safety procedures.
So why not sit back, and enjoy your flight!“

Note from the artistic direction

Terminal, a new CANAL+ original creation, is the long-awaited comeback to sitcom of Jamel Debbouze, 25 years after the cult show H, this time as a director and producer. Following the codes of sitcom religiously, the series calls back Ramzy, his old sidekick, well supported by beautiful characters and hot guest stars.

Becoming Karl Lagerfeld

Disney + is back in Cannes with one of its most ambitious original creations. German actor Daniel Brühl, who became famous with „Good Bye, Lenin!“ plays the role of a young Karl Lagerfeld, full of doubts and unsure of his ambition, which will be revealed to him by Jacques de Bascher, played by the wonderful Théodore Pellerin.

This series is taking the viewers on a journey to the beginnings of fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld. And this journey is full of passion and decadence. In 1972, Karl Lagerfeld is a 38-year-old fashion designer largely unknown to the public. His encounter with the young Jacques de Bascher, an ambitious dandy, changes everything. Karl is finally ready to go up against the Saint Laurent/Bergé duo. Fashion, passion and betrayal: witness how Karl became Lagerfeld.

A German designer in the rockking Paris in the 70’s and 80’s sounds like fun to watch, and it is indeed. Inside the party scene of the Palace enjoy an iconic soundtrack, watch the emblematic figures of fashion, and witness the rise of a master. Great entertainment by Disney+, it can be watched on the streeming platform only. I got the chance to watch it prior the premiere, a difficult procedure gave me access, but so far undisclosed.

Note from the artistic direction

Disney + is back in Cannes with one of its most ambitious original creations. Daniel Brühl plays the role of a young Karl Lagerfeld, full of doubts and unsure of his ambition, which will be revealed to him by Jacques de Bascher, played by the wonderful Théodore Pellerin. Inside the party scene of the Palace, where you’ll enjoy an iconic soundtrack, come and join all the emblematic figures of fashion in the 70’s and 80’s Paris, and witness the rise of a master.

Franklin

Based on Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff’s book, “A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America,”. Franklin explores the thrilling story of the greatest gamble of Benjamin Franklin’s career. In December 1776, Franklin is world famous for his electrical experiments, but his passion and power are put to the test when — as the fate of American independence hangs in the balance — he embarks on a secret mission to France.

At age 70, without any diplomatic training, Franklin convinced an absolute monarchy to underwrite America’s experiment in democracy. By virtue of his fame, charisma and ingenuity, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies, French informers and hostile colleagues to engineer the Franco-American alliance of 1778 and the peace treaty with England in 1783.
 
The eight-year French mission stands as Franklin’s most vital service to his country, without which America could not have won the Revolution. Diplomats and historians still regard it as the greatest single tour of duty by an ambassador in our nation’s history.

Fallout

The series is directed by Jonathan Nolan, and yes in case his lastname rings the bells since the Oscars, he is the younger brother of Christopher Nolan, the director of Oppenheimer, which won 7 Oscars, including the Oscar for the best film.

Based on one of the greatest video game series of all time, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. 200 years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind — and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird and highly violent universe waiting for them.

Note by the artistic direction

A dive into the world of one the greatest video games franchises of all time: FALLOUT. Produced by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan - who also directed the first three episodes - the series brings us into a strange and complex post-apocalyptic world. FALLOUT is completely up to the task with a cast mixing emerging talents such as Ella Purnell or Moisés Arias with emblematic figures of television like Walton Goggins or Kyle MacLachlan.

Máxima

And now the series that first caught my attention, as there is a prince involved. In case you always wanted how you can catch a prince, were here you get the answer, And in case you wonder how Máxima did it here you get an idea.

The series tells the life story of the Argentinian-born Dutch Queen Máxima. When the press catches wind of her relationship with the crown prince, heated discussions erupt about her father's political career in the Videla regime. Can Máxima stay true to herself without giving up her family?

Fiasco

Raphaël Valande (Pierre Niney) begins shooting his first feature film: an adventure through time from the prehistoric era to the D-Day landings via the Vikings, meant as a tribute to the heroic life of his grandmother, who was part of the French Resistance. However, the problems pile up and filming gradually becomes a nightmare. And for good reason: a member of the crew is trying to sabotage his film from the inside...

Note from the artistic direction

Fiasco is the new Netflix comedy show by Igor Gotesman, co-created with Pierre Niney : a spoof of our favorite true crime shows that takes us, laughing yet helpless, behind the scenes of the shooting of Raphaël’s first feature film (Pierre Niney). We will cross paths with, among others, Géraldine Nakache, François Civil, Vincent Cassel, or Marie-Christine Barrault. On that set, literally everything will go wrong.

This year, 8 series in Competition, 8 series in Short Series Competition and 5 series in Documentary Series Competition will be vying for the various CANNESERIES awards. 6 series Out of Competition will complete the Selection. All series will be previewed in the incredible technical conditions of the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière - Palais des Festivals et des Congrès and Espace Miramar.

To be continued!

Alice Kanterian