The German drama series The Report has emerged as the winner of the Séries Mania Project Exchange Award at the exclusive Berlinale Co-Pro Series pitching event, which, as every year, was organised by the European Film Market’s Berlinale Co-Production Market. The project competed alongside nine others (see the news) during the online event reserved for a handpicked group of professionals, and it will have the chance to be presented at the upcoming Séries Mania Forum, which is due to be held in Lille from 22-24 March. As is customary, for the eighth year in a row, one project that was pitched at Séries Mania last year, and which in this case was the Spanish-Colombian series Picadero, partly directed by Isabel Coixet, was invited to Berlin for the Co-Pro Series pitch as well.

The Report is the first series produced by Match Factory Productions. Based on true events, the series follows the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister – the crime is to be solved by an international team of investigators chosen by the United Nations. The writer and showrunner is Ben von Rönne (Toter Winkel), and according to Match Factory Productions representative Tobias Pausinger, the series will offer a “multi-perspective journey into the dark heart of interest-driven Middle Eastern politics”.

Franceso Capurro, head of the Séries Mania Forum, mentioned: “The series revisits a geopolitical conflict that is still relevant today, the Lebanese political crisis, through a gallery of complex characters. Led by a prestigious creative team, this political thriller reflects the excellence and the creativity of today’s European TV series.”