Two Israeli TV Shows Deservedly Win Big at Series Mania in France

LILLE, France – In a sign of these unprecedented times, Israeli TV big shots Ron Leshem and Hagai Levi took time out to deliver an urgent message to European producers last week: Make sure you know where your money is going if you’re investing in Israeli television and film.

Specifically: Make sure you’re not giving money to any production company that’s backing the Netanyahu government in any way, shape or form. They made their plea at an emergency session called “Israeli Creators Under Threats” (I never did ask whether that was a typo) at Series Mania – the vibrant festival in northern France that predominantly celebrates European television.

• Television as you’ve never seen it before: in a cinema
• Meet ‘Kid Sister,’ the funniest Jewish comedy in years
• Can Israeli comedy make the world laugh like its politicians do?

“Euphoria” and “Valley of Tears” writer-co-creator Leshem recounted how his 78-year-old mother is an almost daily presence at the pro-democracy protests in Tel Aviv, despite being tear-gassed for her efforts to prevent the onslaught on democracy.

Of course, Israel is hardly unique when it comes to protest these days. Just hours before Leshem and Levi made their cri de coeur, the streets of Lille themselves were the scenes of unrest – as thousands marched against President Emmanuel Macron’s move to increase the retirement age for both men and women to 64. Mon Dieu, whatever next? Outlawing the placement of yappy dogs in handbags?

It all made for some surreal, nigh-on apocalyptic scenes: walking from cinema to cinema as riot police patrolled in between and protesters set fires in the streets. There were times when it felt like being an extra on the set of Kathryn Bigelow’s “Strange Days.”

The show must go on, though, and despite one particularly fraught evening when protesters tried to storm the red – purple actually – carpet ahead of a master class by Marcia Cross (I’ll let you add your own joke about desperate housewives here), the actual screenings at Series Mania proved to be an oasis of calm.

With over 50 shows premiering during the weeklong TV spectacular, it’s a wonderful showcase for the best that television – and French cuisine – has to offer.

Due to what I still presume to be a clerical error, I was in town to help cast judgment on six French television shows (more on those anon). But in a work schedule that only Garfield would describe as intense, I also had plenty of time to catch other eye-catching series.

Top of my list were the three Israeli shows at the festival: “A Body That Works” (“Guff Shlishi” in Hebrew, or “Third Person,” and currently airing on Keshet), “Red Skies” (“Shama’im Adumim”) and “Innermost” (“Lo Karov Mi Kan,” or “Not Far from Here”). I hope I’m not being too much of a blind patriot when I say that one of them (“A Body That Works”) was the best thing I saw at the entire event, while another, “Innermost,” wasn’t far behind.

Three Israeli actors – Rotem Sela and Gal Malka in “Body” and Eran Naim in “Innermost” – were honored for their work (the former two shared the best actress award in the International Panorama section; the latter took the best actor prize in the same section). And it was impossible to disagree with those decisions.

With her stunning performance, Sela makes a huge advance from the comedy roles in the likes of “The Baker and the Beauty” and “Bloody Murray” that have made her a household name in Israel. She plays a book editor who turns to a surrogate after suffering yet another miscarriage as she nears 40. The lesser-known Malka (who has a remarkable backstory in real life) is equally sensational as the “womb-for-rent.”

I’ve seen five episodes and all I can say is that if you have tear ducts, prepare to give them a good workout here. I had the pleasure of interviewing both the cast and creators for a future column and wasn’t engaged in a smoke-blowing exercise when I told them that, for me, this show takes Israeli television to another level. It boasts a literary quality that’s rare to find in television and is quietly devastating. It was the show I recommended to anyone who asked – and several people who didn’t – and I felt strangely gratified and proud when their responses were equally positive.

I’ll need to watch more of “Red Skies,” which takes place during the second intifada, before pronouncing judgment. A week after seeing the first two episodes, I still feel rather traumatized by the experience.

“Innermost,” however, requires no such reticence. Yaron Shani’s drama recalls his earlier Oscar-nominated film “Ajami” with its powerful interrelated storylines – the principle one concerning Naim’s police officer, whose questioning of a group of teenage boys has unexpected ramifications.

Using nonprofessional actors (Naim himself was a cop for 15 years and will be a familiar face for anyone familiar with Shani’s work), “Innermost” is a true gem, a beautifully crafted, ultra-realistic drama full of compelling performances. Again, if you have tears, prepare to shed them here. And if you ever wondered what it might look like if Ken Loach and Robert Altman teamed up to make a TV series in Tel Aviv, here’s your answer.

Judge and jury

The main reason for my week in Lille was to be part of a five-person panel judging six French shows. We (myself and four fellow jurors from Italy, Spain, Germany and Britain) had to choose our best series, best actor, best actress and best music.

I say “our” deliberately, because for me the word “best” is always a misnomer in any competitive context. “Favorite” would be more apt – though clearly it says something when all five jurors found it incredibly easy to select the “best” series, music and actress. Honestly, I don’t think there has been this much consensus in Europe since Abba won Eurovision in 1974.

The political comedy “Under Control” (“Sous Contrôle”) was simply a joy: a Gallic “The Thick of It”/“Veep” that reveled in skewering French and European politicians in the most painful of places.

Like “Veep,” the show has a wonderful female character at its heart: Léa Drucker as the head of an important nongovernmental organization who answers her country’s call to become foreign secretary and is immediately thrust into solving a hostage situation in Africa. Many, many laughs ensue.

But unlike “Veep” and its star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Drucker isn’t a comedian by trade – which makes her performance all the more noteworthy. She didn’t win our “best actress” award, however. Gripped by a spirit of liberty, equality and fraternity/sorority, we wanted to share the love between four different shows – and could have chosen any one of half a dozen women, such was the depth of talent to choose from in this particular field.

The performance that ultimately stood out most for us was Clémentine Célarié in the mainstream ensemble comedy-drama “Six Women” (“Les Randonneuses,” or “The Hikers”) as a sexagenarian with cancer and money problems. The show worked better for me than for some of my peers, but we were all wowed by Célarié’s mesmeric performance.

The fact that none of the jury was that familiar with Célarié – or many of the other acting talents on show – amplifies a long-held gripe that French television has been woefully underexposed, presumably held back by its snobbish grand frère, cinema. I really hope this changes now because, from what I’ve seen over the past week, French television has a lot to commend it.

Briefly, our other awards went to the lesbian drama “Split” for its hypnotic and atmospheric music. As well as being the most technically accomplished of the shows we watched, “Split” also boasted the most memorable line (for better or worse): “Your clitoris looks like a beating heart.” Ladies and gents, please let me know how that works as a pickup line for you.

The hardest choice we faced was for best actor – mainly because there weren’t that many major male characters in the six shows. There was one enjoyable performance, by Jean-Paul Rouve in the quirky but slightly derivative “Polar Park,” but otherwise it was pretty slim pickings (though newcomer Noham Edje was definitely slim and pretty when playing Jean-Louis Trintignant in the biopic “Bardot”).

In the end we opted for the perhaps slightly left-field choice of Carel Brown, who plays an autistic boy in the colorful comedy “Aspergirl.” I spent an evening seeking guidance online on the rights and wrongs of casting neurotypical actors in neurodivergent roles. However, I ultimately agreed with my peers that the very young Brown’s performance was sensitive and understated, while anchoring the entire show. It also provided a lovely contrast with the choice of the somewhat more senior Célarié in the other acting category.

I saw plenty of other excellent shows – I absolutely loved the French-Japanese Apple TV+ drama “Drops of God,” while Iranian drama “The Actor” was the worthy winner of the top award. There were also a couple of high-profile duds that I won’t name and shame here, but may later return to when they are released globally.

I’d heartily recommend Series Mania to any TV lover – and I fully intend to return next year. Of course, that will be as a mere critic, rather than as a juror being treated like royalty. Still, I’ll console myself by remembering what the French like to do to their kings and queens.