The Italian Global Series (IGS) festival is returning to two coastal cities in Italy next month, with a set of special celebrations and a range of stars, writers, actors, producers and other creatives from the world of series. A celebration of the 60th anniversary of Star Trek will be among this year’s highlights.
Meanwhile, Robert Powell will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth, a landmark in TV history that was originally intended to be written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. And IGS will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Un posto al sole, Italy’s longest-running soap opera, with the series’ cast presenting and discussing an episode with actress, director and stand-up comedian Michela Giraud, who is known as a fan of the series.
Among the stars confirmed to attend this year’s festival are British actors John Hannah (Benidorm Is Murder, The Mummy) and Bertie Carvel (A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the upcoming Harry Potter series).
The fest, under the artistic direction of Marco Spagnoli, unveiled the majority of its program on Monday, including its International Competition selections, Conversations series and notable Italian premieres. Free to the general public, the series showcase takes place in both Rimini, from July 3 to July 6, and Riccione, from July 7 to July 10, before returning to Rimini on Saturday, July 11 for the closing night ceremony, during which the winners of the competitive sections will be unveiled.
IGS said it received more than 160 submissions from around the world this year, with the final selection of the International Competition boasting 21 series from 15 countries, including from Europe, Asia, North America and Latin America. The International Competition, comprised of a drama, a comedy and a limited series section, will see the Maximo Awards awarded for best series, best lead actor, best lead actress and best creator/director, along with a special jury prize.
U.S. producer Marti Noxon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Prison Break, Grey’s Anatomy, Mad Men) will serve as president of the drama series jury, director and screenwriter Nicholas Meyer will be the president of the limited series jury, and French actor and playwright Bruno Gouery (Emily in Paris, The White Lotus) will serve as the president of the comedy series jury.
The slate of conversations at IGS this year includes Carlton Cuse hosting a session entitled “Lost in Fellini,” for which he will be joined by Oscar-winning writer and showrunner John Ridley (American Crime, 12 Years a Slave), a conversation between executive producer David W. Zucker (Alien: Earth, Dope Thief, Blade Runner 2099) and producer Steve Stark (The Handmaid’s Tale, Wednesday, Fargo) about the future of international production and an event with married Turkish film and social media stars Ozge Gürel and Serkan Çayoğlu, in which they will discuss their work and their lives in the public eye.
Among the other sessions will be a conversation with actress Jeri Ryan, known for her role in the Star Trek universe, about contemporary female role models in TV and in science fiction in particular, plus a chat between Zucker and Nicholas Meyer, director of several Star Trek films. The festival will also host a special preview screening of an episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The fourth season of the series will debut, following the event, on July 23, on Paramount+.
Check out the International Competition lineup for the second edition of IGS below.
International Competition
Drama Section
Benidorm Is Murder, a U.K./Spanish production directed by Simon Delaney and starring John Hannah;
Emergency 53, an adrenaline-fueled medical series from Brazil
Secret Service, a political spy thriller directed by Oscar winner James Marsh and starring Gemma Arterton
Speaking Dead, a Korean thriller
Burden of Justice, a Swedish legal drama
I casi di Teresa Battaglia – Figlia della cenere, an Italian drama by Kiko Rosati that stars Elena Sofia Ricci
The Terror With Devil in Silver, an anthology series produced by Scott Free and the first U.S. title in the competition program of the festival, with appearances set for Riccione by its two leads, Judith Light and CCH Pounder
Limited Series Section
Le Rouge et Le Noir, a new adaptation of Stendhal’s novel The Red and the Black, starring Victor Belmondo and featuring Camille Razat and Virginie Ledoyen, both of whom will be travelling to Rimini alongside director Gaël Morel
Falling, the first romance by Jack Thorne and directed by Peter Hoar
The Widow Killer, a noir set in Prague in 1945
Raza Brava, an epic tale of rebellion set in the world of Santiago’s ultras, beginning during the Chilean General Augusto Pinochet dictatorship
Laura’s Treatment, starring Valérie Bonneton, from France
One of Us by Andrea Rebuzzi, starring Raoul Bova
The Tribute, a twist-filled family drama starring Elsa Pataky, with a cameo by her husband, Chris Hemsworth
Comedy Section
Boho, a generational portrait set in the multicultural neighborhood of Borgerhout in Belgium
The Flaws, a German comedy created by a theater collective and produced by Razor Film
Happily Ever After from Canada, which challenges the myth of “forever” at age 25
Una piccola formalità, an Italian series by Davide Marengo and starring Pilar Fogliati
Leonard and Hungry Paul, an Irish comedy starring Alex Lawther and featuring the voice of Julia Roberts
Riot Women from the U.K., which bears the signature of creator Sally Wainwright, who will be attending the festival alongside star Tamsin Greig
Cell Block B, a prison comedy originating from the Czech Republic