The jury for the second edition of the Canada-France Series Lab has selected four projects for the 2024-25 lab.

The main goal of the program is to foster and facilitate series coproductions between Canadian and French producers through online workshops and in-person events, including in Toronto in September, and culminating with pitch sessions and buyers meetings in Lille, France in March 2025.

The selected projects include the action drama Duel on the Ocean, (6 x 46 minutes), about a sea captain who challenges a billionaire to a zero-carbon race between Le Havre and Montreal. The series is created and written by Pierre Cattan and Rostaim Yavari. Cattan produces for Small Bang (France), with Ryan Lindsay and Daniel Fortin producing for Kontent House Productions (Canada).

Morning, Paris! (8 x 30 minutes) is a rom-com about a fashion design assistant who enlists the help of a security guard to break into Paris Fashion Week. It is created and written by Quentin Lee, who also produces for Margin Films (Canada), alongside producer Thomas Buchwalder for Cactus Films (France).

In the historical drama Nancy (8 x 60 minutes), the scion of the Cunard family breaks ranks with her aristocratic roots becoming a writer and activist in the 1920s and ’30s. The series is created and written by Laura Keightley, Sharon Buckinham and Heidi Lasi. The trio produce for Canada via Create to Elevate, TSB Productions and Pelee Entertainment, respectively. Alida King and Didier Falk produce for Will Production (France).

The action-thriller series Persona (8 x 60 minutes) is based on the true story of a disabled American woman recruited by the British as a spy during the Second World War. Written and created by Julia Skikavich, the series is produced by Andrew McCann Smith for Play Media (Canada) and Thibaud Sonntag for Henri Fleche Productions (France).

Rounding out the chosen projects is the drama Sara’s Choices, (4 x 52 minutes) which follows a geneticist fighting to find the cure for a rare disease. Created and written by Morgane Becerril and Laurent Levy, the series is produced by Theo Laboulandine for Melocoton Films (France) and Eric Idriss-Kanago and Daniela Mujica for Yzanakio (Canada).

The jury included Aude Albano, producer and head of series at Pathe; Christina Fon, VP, strategic partnerships and scripted content at Shaftesbury; and Cynthia Kennedy, TV executive and former VP, distribution at Quebecor.

The Canada-France Series Lab is a joint venture by Series Mania Forum, Telefilm Canada and the CNC, in partnership with the French Embassy in Canada, the Embassy of Canada in France and the Canada Media Fund.

The 2024-25 edition received support from the Alberta Film Commission, the Alliance des producteurs francophone du Canada, the Black Screen Office, the Canadian Media Producers Association, the Indigenous Screen Office, Ontario Creates and l’Union syndicale de la production audiovisuelle.

Photo from Unsplash