Pro-Palestine Protest Seen Outside Series Mania TV Festival In France

Jesse Whittock

19 March 2024 at 5:43 pm·2-min read

A small pro-Palestine protest formed outside Series Mania in France on Tuesday.

The group, which numbered no more than 10, wore Palestine flags and distributed flyers to delegates in French, while holding a banner reading “Stop Genocide In Gaza / Boycott Series Mania.”

More from Deadline

Series Mania Forced To Address Absence Of Israeli Shows In Competition After Fest Chief Said It Was “Impossible” To Include Any Due To The Ongoing War With Hamas
Jonathan Glazer’s ‘Zone Of Interest’ Oscar Speech Draws Condemnation Letter Signed By Hundreds Of Jewish Entertainment Industry Pros
Peak TV Placed In Perspective At Series Mania As Research Shows It Would Take Audiences 350 Years To Watch Everything On Streaming

They called for Series Mania to cut a longstanding writing residency partnership with Israeli cultural bodies over the country’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, and said they wanted to raise awareness among delegates of the French TV festival.

Specifically, the flyer literature pointed to Series Mania’s participation in the Drama Series Co-Writing Residency between Israel and France, which has been in place at the fest for half a decade. The residency is a program initiative of France’s film body CNC (Centre National du Cinéma) and Israel’s GMFF (Gesher Multicultural Film Fund), in cooperation with the Israeli Scriptwriters Guild, the Israeli Producers Association and the French Embassy in Israel.

The GMFF runs the Negev Film Fund, which receives support from the Israeli Ministry of Culture. Protestors said they took issue with the involvement of the fund in the co-pro initiative because it is involved in projects in the Negev region where Israel has announced the construction of Jewish settlements close to Palestinian and Bedouin towns.

The Israel-Gaza conflict has already impacted the build-up to Series Mania, after event organizer Laurence Herszberg released a statement saying it was “impossible” to include any Israeli shows in competition this year because productions had shut down due to the conflict. Series Mania insiders have admitted Herszberg could have worded her statement more clearly, but we understand the fest remains steadfast in its reasoning.

Protestors today claimed Series Mania had rejected Israeli submissions in fear of triggering larger protests during the festival.

It is understood the long-running ties between Israel’s production community and the festival remain strong. One Israeli project was included in the Co-Pro Pitch Sessions today at the event in Lille, northern France.

Israel’s military actions in Gaza have led to 31,000 deaths since October 7, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The current conflict broke out after a Hamas attack on Israel killed 1,200 as the decades-long regional tensions reached new levels of violence.

Tensions are running high in the industry as evidenced by the intense reactions to Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar speech and a turbulent recent Berlin Film Festival.

Series Mania declined comment.

Best of Deadline

Rolling Stone
Harris Taunts Trump After He Backs Out of Debates
“What happened to ‘any time, any place’?”
The Telegraph
How Gerald Ford predicted Kamala Harris’s presidential run
Almost 35 years ago, Gerald Ford predicted that America would get its first female president only when a male incumbent could no longer continue.
HuffPost
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Puts Elon Musk In His Place With Perfectly Patronizing Reminder
The New York legislator only needed a tweet to shut down the tech billionaire.
NY Daily News
Harris campaign roasts Trump as ‘old and quite weird’ after Fox News insults
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called in to Fox News Thursday, where he told supporters that presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is a “radical left, not very smart person” who’s part of a massive conspiracy to weaponize the nation’s legal system against him. Harris’ campaign fired back mere minutes later with an email blasting the “78-year-old convicted criminal’s Fox ...
People
Was Trump Struck By a Bullet or Shrapnel? FBI Director Testifies There's 'Some Question' Around Injury
"There's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear," FBI Director Christopher Wray said
Associated Press
China issues rare praise to Philippine president for his ban on Chinese online gambling operators
China issued a rare compliment to the administration of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Marcos accused some of venturing into crimes including financial scams, human trafficking, kidnappings, torture and murder. Relations between China and the Philippines under Marcos have been strained since he allowed an expanded U.S. military presence in the country under a 2014 defense pact and hostilities between their forces started to flare in the disputed South China Sea last year.
INSIDER
Trump picking JD Vance was a 'really bad decision' and he would have been better off with Nikki Haley, ex-Trump official says
Anthony Scaramucci said Trump made a "really bad decision" choosing JD Vance as his VP, although Trump has said that Vance is "doing a fantastic job."
CNN
Judge who ordered Trump to pay $454 million says he was ‘accosted’ by lawyer and won’t recuse himself from case
The judge who found Donald Trump liable for fraud and ordered the former president to pay $454 million said he will not recuse himself from the case.
LA Times
Israel is spying on Hezbollah commanders — and killing them one by one
Israel has assassinated two dozen Hezbollah commanders in Lebanon since last fall amid an intelligence war employing cellphones, drones and fake rocks.
HuffPost
'How Dare You?': Whoopi Goldberg Drops Fiery Response To JD Vance's 'Childless' Dig
"The View" co-host went after Vance, who once likened Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg to "cat ladies."
INSIDER
Defeating Russia's massive 6,600-pound glide bomb may mean risking Ukraine's Patriots if it can't take out the fighter-bombers on the ground
The US has restricted Ukraine from using its powerful long-range missiles to strike air bases inside Russia.
HuffPost
Trump Responds To Claims He's 'Cognitively Challenged' In Bafflingly Weird Way
The former president brought it up twice during a rally in North Carolina.
Reuters
Trump vows return to site of assassination attempt, Obamas endorse Harris
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Friday he will return to the Pennsylvania town where he narrowly survived an assassination attempt, while Vice President Kamala Harris capped her week-long bid to become the Democratic presidential nominee with former President Barack Obama's endorsement. "I WILL BE GOING BACK TO BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, FOR A BIG AND BEAUTIFUL RALLY," former President Trump wrote on his Truth Social site, without providing details on when or where the rally would take place. Harris, the first Black woman and first Asian American to serve as vice president, swiftly consolidated Democratic support after President Joe Biden tapped her to succeed him on Sunday.
The Independent
Police officer stood down after ‘truly shocking’ video shows man kicked in face at Manchester Airport
Hundreds of protesters chanted ‘shame on you’ at a protest at Manchester airport following the incident captured on camera
Reuters
Analysis-Battered Hamas confounds Israel's bid to declare victory
Senior figures in Israel's government have said it is closing in on its war aims of defeating Hamas militarily and the return of hostages seized on Oct. 7. After nine months of pummelling by one of the most powerful militaries in the Middle East, Hamas is much weakened from the force that carried out the cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Early in the war, Hamas propaganda videos showed well-drilled fighters in body armour and battle fatigues, their torsos wrapped with ammunition belts.
HuffPost
Stephen Colbert Taunts Trump With Absolutely Brutal Reminder About Melania
The "Late Show" host mocked the former president over one curious claim.
Associated Press
Amid tensions with China, some US states are purging Chinese companies from their investments
As state treasurer, Vivek Malek pushed Missouri's main retirement system to pull its investments from Chinese companies, making Missouri among the first nationally to do so. Now Malek is touting the Chinese divestment as he seeks reelection in an Aug. 6 Republican primary against challengers who also are denouncing financial connections to China.
The Independent
Trump suggested people with disabilities ‘should just die,’ nephew reveals in memoir
Fred Trump III writes that his uncle, Donald Trump, made the shocking suggestion during an Oval Office meeting in May 2020
The Independent
‘He fell on his sword’: Democrats, Republicans and media figures react to Biden’s address to nation
While most Democrats praised Biden for the speech, Rep Jared Moskowitz said Biden ‘didn’t look as good or sound as good’ despite saying it was ‘one of the best speeches he has given’
HuffPost
Harris Campaign Wishes Happy World IVF Day To Everyone Except 1 Person
And we bet you can guess who it is.

Latest stories