Power Play, a 1970s-set comedy that plays with the conventions of period TV, docudrama and political satire, has won the top prize for best series at this year’s Canneseries television festival.
The series stars Kathrine Thorborg Johansen as Gro Harlem Brundtland, a young doctor and women’s choice activist in the 1970s who, through a series of accidents, stumbles into politics and, while the government around her implodes, learns to play the power game, rising the ranks to become Norway’s first female prime minister. The project, which plays like a comedic version of Danish political series Borgen, also took the best music honor at Canneseries for Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim, Andrea Louise Horstad, Kristoffer Lo and Eivind Helgerød.
Created by showrunner Johan Fasting and directed by Yngvild Sve Flikke, the series was produced by Motlys and Fremantle label Novemberfilm for NRK / NDR in Norway. Power Play is being sold worldwide by REinvent International Sales.
Korean horror series Bargain won best screenplay at Canneseries for co-writers Woo-Sung Jeon, Byeong-Yun Choi and Jae-Min Kwak. The chiller, involving an underground organ auction, a disastrous earthquake and a fight to the death, is carried on TVING and Paramount+ in Korea and is sold by Paramount Global Content Distribution worldwide.
Israeli actress Hadas Ben Aroya won best performance for her leading turn in Corduroy, as a free-living modern woman in Tel Aviv who gets entwined in an “anti-love story” with a married man. Produced by Banijay’s Movieplus Productions, Corduroy is being sold by HOT.
Another Israeli series, Carthago, won the festival’s special interpretation prize. The historic drama/comedy/thriller, based on real-events, follows Elijah Levi, a Jewish comedian sent to British prison camp in Carthago in Africa in the early 1940s, where his fellow inmates include Italian fascists, Nazi spies and Jewish terrorists. Produced by 24 Drafts Studios, Yoav Gross and Reshef Levi for KAN 11 in Isreal, the series is being sold worldwide by Ehud Bleiberg and UTA Agents.
Draw for Change!, a six-part documentary series about female cartoonists in Mexico, USA, Russia, India, Syria and Egypt, took the prize for best documentary series.
As previously announced, Sarah Michelle Gellar won this year’s Canal+ Icon award, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power actress Morfydd Clark was honored with Canneseries’ rising star award, and Transparent creator Joey Soloway was honored with the Konbini commitment award.
The prizes were handed out at a ceremony in Cannes Wednesday night. The full list of 2023 Canneseries winners is below.
Best Series: Power Play
Best Screenplay: Bargain
Best Music: Power Play
Best Performance: Corduroy
Special Interpretation Prize: Carthago
High School Award: Carthago
Best Short Form Series: The Left-handed Son
Student Award: L’air d’aller
Best Documentary Series: Draw for Change!
Canal+ Icon Award: Sarah Michelle Gellar
Madame Figaro Rising Star Award: Morfydd Clark
Konbini Commitment Award: Joey Soloway
Europe 1 Audience Award: Les Combattantes
Source: Hollywood
