“Proud,” a show that came from a show that came out of nowhere at Series Mania to become one of its leading crowd-pleasers yet may still be controversial in its native Poland, walked off Friday night at the French TV festival’s top Grand Prix.
Created by Karol Klementewicz, “Proud” also won lead Ignacy Liss best actor for his engratiating turn as a young gay man, a party animal, who’s suddenly forced to step up his game and take care of a baby orphaned by his late sister. The two hope that the series will spark dialog in Poland where there are no legal previous for gay couples to adopt children.
“There hasn’t been a show like this before, and this subject continues to polarize our society. I think ‘Proud’ has a chance to show both sides and prove that you can – and you should – talk to each other,” Liss told Variety ahead of the show’s world premiere at Series Mania.
Beyond Poland, whose medical drama-espionage thriller, strikingly directed by Kuba Czekaj, won a Student Jury Award, much of the night belonged to the BBC, with two early 2026 gems winning major plaudits at Series Mania, Waiting for the Out, scooping best screenplay, while best sries and actor plaudits in International Panorama went to “Detectorists” creator Mackenzie Crook’s “Small Prophets,” hailed by The Guardian as “a magical new comedy, pure, pure pleasure.”
The coveted main competition Audience Award was won by Australian ABC-BBC-ZDF drama “Dustfall,” a sweaty and discomforting Australia tropical noir “Dustfall,” driven by a powerhouse performance by Anna Tor.
“We are delighted that the awards list confirms the trends we observed: the strong presence of the United Kingdom and the quality of Polish series, both awarded three times, as well as the notable presence of Quebec,” said Laurence Herszberg, founder and managing director of Series Mania.
She added: “We are also particularly pleased that such a unique series as ‘The Flaws’ has earned its place among the winners. Finally, we commend the presence of two fully female teams in their creation, production, and direction, ‘My. Brother’ and ‘Dustfall.’ We warmly thank all of our partners, without whom this event could not take place, including the Hauts-de-France Region, the CNC, the MEL, the City of Lille, and Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe.”
More to come….
variety.com
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