SERIES MANIA: A look back at our meeting with Series Makers from EDHEC

Some 100,000 professionals and passionate fans from the world of TV series met up in Lille earlier this month.

Since 2018, Lille has been hosting SERIES MANIA, an international festival dedicated to TV series from around the world. With world premieres, discussions, masterclasses and prestigious guests, the 2024 edition, which ran from 15 to 22 March, attracted 98,000 visitors and around 4200 professionals from the world of cinema.

The EDHEC Alumni association made the most of this wonderful event to hold a fascinating roundtable on EDHEC’s Lille campus to discuss the topic "2024: streaming madness?".

They have worked on projects like Versailles, Engrenages, Tehran and Les Mousquetaires. 5 EDHEC graduates who have carved out a place in this highly competitive industry were in attendance: Julien Leroux (EDHEC 2004), CEO of Paper Entertainment in London, Mathieu Van de Velde (EDHEC 2006) Producer for BLACK SHEEP FILMS, Guillaume Thouret (EDHEC 1992), Managing Director of Banijay Studios France, Valérie Billaut (EDHEC 1998), Co-founder and CEO of TALESEED, and Sébastien Beffa (EDHEC 1989), Associate and joint Managing Director of PLAYTIME.

As could be expected from the topic of discussion, many questions were raised among the 50 graduates present, with frank answers from our EDHEC representatives.
 What are the many different jobs behind the creation of a TV series? How do you develop a project and negotiate the budgets needed in such a highly competitive market that is dominated by American behemoths? What are the latest trends with the arrival of new technologies like artificial intelligence? What place do women occupy in this industry? And what about EDHEC graduates? An increasing number of them appear to be tackling this sector, where you have to learn on the ground, sometimes as an entrepreneur.

The evening event ended with food & drinks, the perfect opportunity for networking in a relaxed atmosphere.

More information about upcoming initiatives at the EDHEC Alumni club Hauts-de-France