Kyrgyzstan's 'Red Pants' secures top honor at Series Mania Forum

Kyrgyzstan drama "Red Pants" has clinched a top honor at the influential Co-Pro Pitching Sessions event during Series Mania.

This production, brought to you by Studio Oymo and Human Films, will receive a prize of €50,000 ($58,000) after surpassing 15 other entries for this esteemed award that marks the essence of the Series Mania conference.

Also securing victories at Series Mania are the French series R91, which was awarded the Series Mania Buyers Upfront yesterday, and the Canadian series Chachachá!, which won the SeriesMakers Award, presented in partnership with Series Mania Institute.

The ten-part series Red Pants is an action-packed drama set in the late 1970s Soviet Kyrgyzstan. 

It centers on Aisha, the daughter of a military officer, who founds the infamous ‘Red Pants’—the first female criminal gang—as a means to avenge her father’s demise and resist the oppressive government.

Tilek Cherikov serves as the writer with production by Erke Dzhumakmatova for Studio Oymo, and Co-Production by Pavel Feldman & Alexander Seliverstov for Human Films.

The Co-Pro Pitching Sessions figure prominently at the Series Mania Forum, often highlighting projects from smaller international drama-producing nations like Kyrgyzstan. Past winners have emerged from countries such as Slovakia and Ukraine.

R91 stands as the second recipient of the Series Mania Buyers Upfront award. This gripping thriller series from France revolves around the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91), embarking on a strategic mission when a crew member is found dead and another goes missing. 

The military investigator Paul Fischer and his deputy Helena Duval are dispatched to unravel the case.

The SeriesMaker Award recipient, Chachachá!, is an eight-episode series from Canada, written and directed by Alison Fairweather Murray and produced by Jennifer Weiss of Nice Picture!

The Series Mania Forum continues today and will conclude tomorrow, wrapping up with the Lille Dialogues sessions that span the entire day.