News round-up: ‘Unspoken’ wins Series Mania co-pro prize; Bell Media orders Pixcom’s ‘The Ultimate Fan’; FilmRise strikes National Black TV Media deal

‘Unspoken’ wins Series Mania co-pro prize

Ukrainian & Polish war thriller series Unspoken has been named as winner of the Series Mania Forum Co-Pro Pitching Sessions.

Unspoken is produced by Dmytro Sukhanov, Toy Cinema (Ukraine), Natalia Libet, 2Brave Productions (Ukraine) and Anna Rożalska, Match&Spark (Poland).

Written by Zhanna Ozirna and Filip Syczyński, the 6 x 30-minute series tells the story of a man who is trying to save his family from the danger of the Russian invasion.

Sukhanov, Libet and Rożalska were presented with a cheque for €50,000.

“The winning project united the judges unanimously with the raw, emotional intensity of the storytelling. The powerful, relatable tale of a father prepared to go to any lengths to save his family was a bold and original take on the most urgent subject matter of our time,” said jury president Caroline Hollick.

Bell Media orders Pixcom’s ‘The Ultimate Fan’

Bell Media in Canada has commissioned Pixcom to produce The Ultimate Fan, a new variety & musical nostalgia show for Noovo and Noovo.ca.

The 10 x 60-minute series, which will launch this fall, immerses the audience into the best popular music from recent decades via musical games that pit four stars against each other in each episode. The series is being created as an international format for distribution.

Pixcom VP of development & executive producer Charles Lafortune said: “The Ultimate Fan will combine nostalgia, humour, fun games and variety, and will be hosted by someone who really knows how to get the party going.”

FilmRise strikes National Black TV Media deal

FilmRise, the New York-based film and television studio and streaming network, has acquired the exclusive rights in all media to over 200 hours of content from National Black Television Media’s library.

The territories include the US., Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. In addition to linear, TVOD, SVOD and AVOD, FilmRise plans to create, curate and distribute programs as single series FAST channels.

The deal features 331 episodes across 14 series including Love That Girl, Arnold’s Caribbean Pizza, and Talk It Up, among others.