A European co-production about the 2015 US-Iran high-stakes nuclear diplomatic talks has taken the inaugural Buyers Upfront at this year’s Series Mania.
Six-part The Deal was selected for the Buyers Choice Award, from among 10 projects shortlisted, by a jury of international buyers, presided over by Sky’s group director of acquisitions for UK, Ireland & Europe Katie Keenan.
The political thriller follows a Swiss diplomat leading a mission of last-ditch nuclear talks between the US and Iran, with Europe, Russia and China involved. When her former lover, a threatened Iranian engineer, turns up, she begins to cross the line of right and wrong to protect him.
The series hails from Switzerland’s Bande à Part Films, Parisian outfit Les Films Pelléas, France’s Gaumont, Luxembourgian producer Bidibul Productions, and Belgium’s Versus Production.
Keenan’s jury comprised Ghislain Barrois, director of cinema, fiction, sales, rights’ acquisition and distribution at Mediaset; Marina Chiaravelle, head of TV rights acquisition at Rai Cinema; Rubén Fernández Loa, head of series acquisitions at Movistar Plus+; Julia Fidel, head of international fiction – acquisitions at ZDF and Virginie Padilla, commissioning editor at Arte.
The shortlisted projects were curated by the Series Mania Festival’s artistic team based on artistic merit and broad audience appeal.
The Buyers Upfront saw more than 100 international acquisitions execs with companies including Apple TV+, Max, NBCUniversal, Canal+, Channel 4, Paramount+ and France Télévisions, among others.
Keenan said: “We chose The Deal as the winner as it is a very timely drama given the state of world affairs which adds to its market appeal. Alongside the dynamics of diplomacy and the tension it brings to the drama, there were also human and personal stories that we are certain will unfold.”
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