Series Mania 2025: A Global Stage for Storytelling

A Culinary and Crime-Solving Start

Series Mania 2025 kicks off with a delectable treat: Carême, a French-language drama for Apple TV+ chronicling the rise of the world's first celebrity chef, Antonin Carême. From humble pastry apprentice to culinary icon, his journey intertwines with the political machinations of early 19th-century France. The festival closes with the return of a fan favorite, High Intellectual Potential (HPI), bringing its unconventional detective Morgane Alvaro back to her roots in Lille.

History and Geopolitics Take Center Stage

This year's festival dives deep into history and geopolitics, exploring conflicts that continue to resonate today. The German, a joint Israeli-American production, revisits the hunt for Nazi criminals in the 1970s, while A Life's Worth, a Swedish-French miniseries, offers a poignant perspective on the UN peacekeeping missions during the Yugoslav Wars.

More recent events are also under the microscope. The Deal dissects the high-stakes drama of the 2015 Iran nuclear negotiations, while Kabul captures the tension and chaos of the 2021 Western withdrawal from Afghanistan. Mussolini: Son of the Century blends dramatization and archival footage to trace the dictator's ascent, prompting inevitable comparisons to contemporary political figures.

Family Dynamics and Personal Crises

Beyond the grand sweep of history, Series Mania also delves into intimate family dramas. Spain's Querer confronts issues of consent and power imbalances within marriage, while Denmark's Generations explores the lingering impact of repressed trauma across generations. From the U.S., Hal & Harper offers a tender portrait of a single father balancing his own struggles with his children's needs.

For those seeking a darker flavor, The Rose Family, a French black comedy, presents a seemingly normal household with a shocking secret: they are cannibals.

Redefining Masculinity and Celebrating Female Voices

Series Mania 2025 challenges traditional notions of masculinity with stories like the British series What It Feels Like for a Girl, following a young man's journey with gender identity, and Quebec's T-Rex, which offers a sharp look at shifting desires and self-perception. Fighter, a Norwegian documentary, tells the inspiring story of an MMA fighter rebuilding his identity after becoming quadriplegic.

Strong female narratives abound, including Celeste, featuring a Spanish tax inspector taking on a Mexican pop star; The Danish Woman, showcasing a former secret agent seeking justice close to home; and Empathy, a psychological drama following a young psychiatrist navigating the complexities of a prison hospital.

Le Sens des Choses explores faith and doubt through the eyes of a young rabbi, while Requiem for Selina revisits a controversial Norwegian blogger, forcing audiences to confront their role in online judgment culture.

A Panorama of International Storytelling

The festival's International Panorama broadens its horizons with diverse selections like At the End of the Night from Iran, South Korea's Family Matters, and Brazil's musical tribute Raul Seixas: Let Me Sing. Special screenings include the French dramedy Ghosts: Fantômes en Héritage and the political thriller Menace Imminente, along with the return of the satirical Franco-German series Parlement.

Competition Highlights

The International and French Competitions showcase a range of exciting new series. From Canadian psychological dramas to French black comedies, the competition line-up offers a glimpse at the future of television.