Yes show 'On The Spectrum' wins top prize at SeriesMania

The series was created by Dana Idisis and Yuval Shafferman and stars Neomi Levov, Niv Majar and Ben Yosipovich.

By AMY SPIRO
Updated: MAY 7, 2018 00:19
Neomi Levov, Niv Majar and Ben Yosipovich in the Yes show On the Spectrum. (photo credit: VERED ADIR/YES)
Neomi Levov, Niv Majar and Ben Yosipovich in the Yes show On the Spectrum.
(photo credit: VERED ADIR/YES)
The upcoming Israeli TV series On The Spectrum won the top prize at the SeriesMania competition in France on Saturday night.
The Yes show, which is slated to premiere in Israel later this month, features three 20-something roommates with autism and their attempts to navigate the world.
The festival called the show “a funny and moving gem of a series that is carefully crafted and full of humanity, offering a bold new take on the autistic condition.”
The series was created by Dana Idisis and Yuval Shafferman and stars Neomi Levov, Niv Majar and Ben Yosipovich.
“Ten years ago, we had a dream to create this series,” said Idisis when she took the stage in Lilles, France on Saturday night to accept the prize. “We want to thank Yes and Yes Studios for making this happen.”
Idisis said she also wanted to “dedicate this to my brother Guy, who is in the inspiration – I hope you are happy and proud.”
The show is based in part on the experiences of Idisis’s younger brother. In 2013, she created a documentary film, Bar Mitzva Movie, about the preparations for her brother Guy’s celebrations.
On The Spectrum beat out nine other international TV series for the top prize, including the HOT show Autonomies. That show, which is slated to premiere in Israel later this year, portrays an ultra-Orthodox controlled autonomous zone within Israel that has its capital in Jerusalem. A wall separates the autonomy from the secular country – whose capital is Tel Aviv – but drama, crime and family still span the two areas.
Israeli-born filmmaker Adi Tishrai won the short forms competition with her film First Love that was submitted as a French and American production.
Last year, an Israeli show – Yes’s Your Honor – also took home the grand prize at the SeriesMania festival. In 2015, the Keshet series False Flag also won the top prize at the awards ceremony.