Amidst the war, for the first time, Israeli television series will not participate in the Festival Séries Mania held in France. The festival organizers claimed that insufficient submissions were received from Israel due to the ongoing war, a claim Israeli broadcasters refute.
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"Not only did we not submit fewer entries - we submitted more series than last year," sources in Israel said. Festival Séries Mania, which previously showcased Israeli series, announced on Wednesday in an unprecedented statement the absence of Israeli series this year.
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Israeli actresses Rotem Sela and Gal Malka during the 2023 Festival Séries Mania
(Photo: Gettyimages / Sylvain Lefevre)
Laurence Herszberg, general director of Series Mania, and president Anne Bouverot stated to "Variety" that “The Russian-Ukrainian war and Israel-Hamas war have drastically reduced the number of applicants from these territories. In Israel, many ongoing projects were shut down, making it impossible for Series Mania to include any Israeli production this year, for the first time ever."
Israeli broadcasting entities reacted with astonishment to the statement. "They are not telling the truth. We submitted no fewer series than last year," conveyed a senior Israeli source. Another source corroborated the claim regarding their broadcasting body: "The festival's claim is also incorrect for us. We submitted series even amidst the war - and the numbers have not diminished from last year."
At least two other Israeli broadcasting entities opposed the claim: "They fear public opinion in the Arab world, and that's why they excluded Israeli series this year. No fewer submissions were made, even on our part."