After two editions postponed to the fall due to the health crisis, Canneseries, backed by MIPTV (international TV program market, from April 4 to 6) thus regains its spring setting.

Impossible, however, to inaugurate the event "without having a huge thought for the Ukrainian people", launched the president of the festival, Fleur Pellerin, during the opening ceremony.

"Culture is one of the foundations of a democratic and enlightened life", she notably underlined to justify the maintenance of cultural events in these troubled times.

Gillian Anderson receives the Variety Icon Award at the 5th Cannes International Series Festival (Canneseries) in Cannes, April 1, 2022 Valery HACHE AFP

Time for the party, therefore, illuminated Friday by the unforgettable agent Scully of "X-Files", Gillian Anderson, who came to receive the "Variety Icon Award" for her emblematic career in the history of the small screen, of "Sex Education" at "The Crown".

"Halo"

The young Sydney Sweeney was also awarded a prize by Madame Figaro devoting her status as a rising star, before the public at the Palais des Festivals discovered the blockbuster "Halo" (Paramount+).

Sydney Sweeney receives the Madame Figaro Rising Star award at the 5th Cannes International Series Festival (Canneseries) in Cannes, April 1, 2022 Valery HACHE AFP

Taken from the eponymous blockbuster on Microsoft's Xbox consoles and co-produced by Amblin, Steven Spielberg's studio, this intergalactic war story will be broadcast in April on Canal+, partner of the Riviera festival, which also has two original creations out of the four offered out of competition. .

On Saturday, festival-goers will thus discover the mini-series “Infiniti” – science fiction thriller with Céline Sallette, shot in Ukraine and Kazakhstan – two days before its arrival on the encrypted channel.

And on Wednesday, Jonathan Cohen, who inaugurated the 2020 edition with "La Flamme", will close this 5th season with his sequel, "Le Flambeau, les aventuriers de Chupacabra", a parody of "Koh-Lanta".

In the meantime, TF1 will present "Visions", a paranormal thriller starring Louane.

On the competition side, among 180 series received, ten from nine countries compete in the long format category, and ten for the short formats.

Fanny Herrero President

The long series will be submitted to a jury chaired by the creator of "Funny" and "Ten percent", Fanny Herrero, surrounded by actors Anne Marivin, Denis O'Hare, Olafur Darri Olafsson, Sami Outalbali, and composer Daniel Pemberton.

Fanny Herrero during the opening night of the 5th Cannes International Series Festival (Canneseries) in Cannes, April 1, 2022 Valery HACHE AFP

"Games of influence, the combatants", following the Arte series created by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade on the pesticide lobby, will represent France.

She will face two German series: "Souls", a work of "chilling science fiction", and "Punishment", a sort of "Black Mirror" in the universe of justice, prohibited for at least 16 years old and taken from a collection short stories by Ferdinand von Schirach.

Spanish series ("El Inmortal", on a caïd of the 80s and 90s), Belgian ("1985", on the affair of the "killers of Brabant"), Norwegian ("Afterglow" a sort of cross between "The big C " and "This is us") complete the selection.

Added to this is the Israeli "The Lesson", where a political discussion between a teacher and a high school student degenerates, the Canadian "Audrey is back", about a woman who has emerged from a 16-year-old coma, the Italian "Bang Bang Baby", "explosion of colors" in the universe of the mafia, and the Danish "The dreamer", on the author of "The African farm", Karen Blixen.

Invited free of charge to the "Cannes meetings", the general public will also be able to attend five-star meetings, with in particular Gillian Anderson or the rapper Soprano, hero of a Disney + documentary series, who walked the pink carpet from Friday.

Robin Migne from the Skam series in Paris, January 13, 2020 STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN AFP / Archives

Actors from "Plus belle la vie", from the teen series Skam, which will receive the Konbini commitment award on Wednesday, or director Ovidie are among the other personalities announced, the creator of "Squid Game", Hwang Dong -hyuk, in front of him to meet the professionals.

In October, Canneseries had welcomed 25,000 participants.

© 2022 AFP