At the end of September, K7’s Keri Lewis Brown, Richard O’Meara and Alice Hinett attended the 2024 edition of the Serial Killer festival in the city of Brno, Czech Republic.

Read on for our highlights from the Central and Eastern European-focused festival and industry programme!

AND THE WINNER IS…

Keri served on this year’s jury panel, where she and her fellow jurors crowned Serbian drama Operation Sabre (pictured) this year’s main competition winner. The magnificently acted series explores the murky 2003 assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić in nail-bitingly tense fashion.

The jury felt that this is an important piece of Serbian history, lesser known internationally, and a story that deserves to be told. The jurors were blown away by the superb craftsmanship on every level, both technically and emotionally. Writing, cinematography, editing and sound were exceptional. Casting was excellent, notably 22-year old newcomer Lazar Tasić as a fatherless boy confused about his participation in gang crime. The series is distributed by Beta Film and launches on RTS in November.

Special mentions went to two further series. The first is for Canal+’s first Czech original, the satirical comedy Daughter of the Nation. The true story follows young Zdeňka Havlíčková, daughter of Czech journalist Karel Havlíček Borovský. After his death, Czech revivalists try to mould her into a national symbol. Exuberant sets and performances made for a highly colourful and entertaining series.

The jury was also gripped by the intriguing twists and turns of Bosnian drama I Know Your Soul starring the renowned Serbian actress Jasna Đuričić. Đuričić plays Nevena Murtezic, a prosecutor navigating a divorce and raising her teenage son, Dino. The story unfolds as a teen’s suicide case unravels her life. This series was noted for its multi-layered script which gave equal weight to both story and character. Distributed by Beta Film.

A ‘KILLER’ INDUSTRY SESSION LINE-UP

While large scale industry get-togethers like MIPCOM, Content London and Series Mania are invaluable, we’ve always adored the intimate vibe of Serial Killer. With just one track of panels bringing attendees together to learn in the TV Days industry programme, and plenty of varied networking events arranged around the pretty Moravian city, there’s a real community feel to the event.

Highlights from the sessions included The Bear producer Carrie Holt de Lama sharing some amazing stories about the production and success of that truly unique show. Former SVP of distribution at NBCUniversal and Sky Vision Gillian Rose meanwhile explored the challenges and rewards of the big international players working in Europe and particularly in the CEE region.

K7 was, as ever, delighted to deliver our now traditional duo  of insight sessions at the event. This year, Richard presented some of the scripted trends we’ve picked up this year at the LA Screenings, Edinburgh TV Festival and BCWW (BroadCast WorldWide).

He highlighted the success of European scripted formats in the US, along with trends such as police dramas with strong human elements and the growing appeal of 90s and 00s nostalgia. Alice, meanwhile, offered a refreshing change of pace for the drama-focused audience, sharing valuable insights from the unscripted world.

The TV Days programme featured a range of showcases from local CEE broadcasters and streamers, along with a look at what international players like Canal+ and Beta Film are doing in the region. Canal+’s aforementioned Daughter of the Nation was screened at the festival while Beta Film’s Hungarian historical epic Rise of the Raven will launch at MIPCOM.

Beta Film has long been a major power in the region, having distributed best-selling CEE series including Ukraine war escape drama In Her Car, Latvian hit Soviet Jeans and human trafficking-themed crime drama The Silence. This year, the company is the distributor of no less than three of the five series in the main competition. Despite the challenges for scripted TV in the past couple of years, coproduction and co-funding between global giants and local CEE players continues, with some great end results!

FACTUAL DRAMA AND BOLD COMEDY TRENDS IN BRNO

Fittingly, with Operation Sabre taking the main award this year, fact-based drama was everywhere at the festival. This included Czech streamer Voyo’s latest big hit The Markovič Method (Metoda Markovič) – pictured – about the real life investigations of legendary Soviet era detective Jiří Markovič, about to return for a second season.

In the session hosted by French/German premium channel Arte the upcoming Rematch was teased. This follows chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov’s iconic duels with the chess-playing robot Deep Blue in the 1990s. Fact-based drama remains hot the world over right now, but it does feel like the CEE region – with its often dark and complex, but extraordinarily fascinating history – has eagerly embraced this trend.

Away from these more serious shows, there was plenty to lighten the mood. Voyo presented a look at season two of ballsy youth comedy Sex O’Clock. Czech TV’s upcoming Limity (Limits) also looked hilarious – an oddball story of a waste disposal company owner, whose marital dispute makes him an unwitting (and totally clueless) climate change hero.

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In our opinion, the intimate and always insightful Serial Killer has become a vital destination, and a brilliant champion of the amazing scripted TV coming out of Central and Eastern Europe. Big thanks as ever to festival founder Kamila Zlatuskova, TV Days co-ordinator Dominika Erhart Braná, and the rest of the Serial Killer team. We’ll see you next year!