The Franco-Algerian series El’Sardines won Special Mention in the Short Formats competition at the Series Mania festival in Lille. This is the first time an Algerian series has been presented at this event.
Directed by poet Zoulikha Tahar, this short series (six 11-minute episodes) is set in Oran. Six days before her younger sister’s wedding, Zouzou, a 30-year-old unmarried marine biologist, can’t bring herself to tell her family that she’s going to join an expedition to discover why sardines have mysteriously disappeared from Algerian waters. But what with the gossip about her single status, sessions with her hair-dresser-cum-psychologist and the wedding preparations, will Zouzou actually leave?
Co-produced by Arte, Fablabchannel and 2Horloges, it will be broadcast from June 2 on Arte via their Youtube channel, their Instagram page and on the Arte.tv platform.
In addition to this award, Series Mania featured series shown during Ramadan – “a true phenomena of the Maghreb and the MENA region” – with a discussion on Algerian productions. Actor/producer/rapper Sofiane Zermani, actress Zahra Harkat and director Yahia Mouzahem were invited to discuss the topic. Clips from various series were screened, including sequences from Eddama and El Barani.
Sources: Series Mania, El Watan, France Info
