After cancelling the Series Mania international TV festival in northern France the organisers are launching an online platform for buyers to showcase some shows that would have screened there, including Operation Buffalo, The Secrets She Keeps and The Commons.
Meanwhile leading independent film companies and talent agencies are banding together to plan a virtual market if the Cannes Film Festival and Marché are axed due to the coronavirus.
The virtual market consisting of movie screenings, buyer presentations from filmmakers and talent, video meetings and promo and sizzle reels would be held in early May, Deadline reported.
Among the companies backing the initiative are AGC Studios, Altitude, Cornerstone, Endeavor Content, FilmNation, Lionsgate International, Miramax, Mister Smith, Protagonist, Rocket Science, Sierra/Affinity, Solstice Studios, Studiocanal, STX Entertainment, Voltage Pictures and Wild Bunch.
There would be no registration fee and the platform could encompass films that are selected to take part in any scaled back version of the festival, according to Deadline.
The Series Mania Digital Forum will screen about 60 shows and will be available from March 25 to April 7, costing 90€ ($A165), at seriesmaniadigital.com.
Porchlight Films’ Operation Buffalo (formerly Fallout), an espionage thriller set during the British nuclear tests in outback South Australia in the 1950s, was scheduled to have its world premiere at the festival which was due to unspool from March 20-28 in Lille.
Four other Aussie series were to have been showcased: See-Saw Films’ The End (International Panorama section), Lingo Pictures’ Upright (Midnight Comedies), Playmaker Media’s The Commons (International Showcase) and Blackfella Films’ Total Control (European premiere).
More Australian tittles may be added to the online platform, according to the organisers. Ms. Laurence Herszberg, founder and general director of Series Mania, said: “The Series Mania Forum is a major professional event for European and international decision-makers. It is also a key rendezvous in the industry’s international agenda.
“At their request, the Series Mania Forum team had to provide continuity solutions, the mere cancellation of all pitching sessions being too detrimental to creation and industry. As such, we are delighted to provide the Series Mania Digital Forum.
“In the face of adversity, we had to adapt in order to offer industry professionals a prime follow-up of activity, essential to a future recovery that we all hope for.”