Series Mania, the prestigious international television competition, which will be held in Lille, France, starting on March 18, has unveiled its lineup, and several Israeli shows are taking part, notably Rama Burshtein-Shai’s much anticipated series, Fire Dance.
Israeli series have done well at Series Mania in the past few years, with His Honor and On the Spectrum winning the top prize in 2017 and 2018, respectively, Just for Today taking the Special Jury Prize in 2019, and the trio of lead actors from The Echo of Your Voice sharing the Best Actor Award in 2021. Nine shows from only six countries are competing this year in the International Competition, and this will be the first time since 2019 that the festival has had an in-person event.
Fire Dance will take part in the International Competition.
Burshtein-Shai, who was born in New York, became ultra-Orthodox after attending the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School, and Fire Dance tells a story of forbidden love in the haredi community between a troubled young woman (Mia Irvin) and the married son of the leader of their sect. Yehuda Levi, from Very Important Person and Yossi & Jagger, and Noa Koler (The Wedding Plan) also star. It promises to be delicious fun for fans of Shtisel and The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem. It will be released in the spring of 2022.
Shira Haas, one of the stars of Shtisel, will be among the judges in the International Competition.
The International Panorama Competition will feature Children in the Woods, a drama about human trafficking, cowritten by and starring Dalit Kahan, which is currently running on Yes.
In the Midnight Comedy section, the series Bloody Murray will take part. It is a nine-part romantic comedy that features On the Spectrum star Naomi Levov (who also appears in Children in the Woods) and Rotem Sela (The Beauty and the Baker, The Chef) and tells the story of two roommates, a college professor and a gynecologist, looking for love. It was created by Stav Idisis, an Israeli actor.
Fire Dance, Children in the Woods and Bloody Murray are all from Yes Studios.
The Photographer, about a portrait photographer who encourages her subjects to reveal the stories of their lives, will be part of the Short Forms competition.
The New Season Premieres section will feature the second season of In Treatment, the French version of the Israeli series BeTipul, which was adapted by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano.