‘Anatomía de un instante’ and ‘A Better Man’, the winning series of the 12th Serielizados Festival

Serielizados – Barcelona Series Festival has announced today the winning titles of its 12th edition:

National Official Section Awards

Best Series
Anatomy of an Instant (Movistar Plus+), created by Alberto Rodríguez, Fran Araújo and Rafael Cobos

The Jury has decided to award the series “for addressing a key moment in Spanish history from both a political and human perspective, for the excellent adaptation of the original novel by Javier Cercas, for the sobriety and at the same time dramatic strength of its direction, for the outstanding performances, and for the relevance of highlighting the importance of democracies.”

Best Screenplay
Diego San José, Daniel Castro and Fernando Delgado-Hierro for Yakarta (Movistar Plus+)

The Jury considers that “the screenplay has unique qualities. Through a sport that, according to the series, is not played by happy people, the two protagonists fight their demons in search of dignity, with wonderful dialogue and a story that begins as a classic unlikely friendship and evolves into a more complex narrative full of revealed secrets. The relationship between a coach and an athlete is asymmetrical, just like that between an adult and a child. This asymmetry can destroy lives if handled poorly, but it can also be transformative and have a very positive influence on a young person’s life. This script bravely tackles trauma, the desire for community, and the power of sport, without ever falling into sentimentality. And as viewers, we truly wish this most unlikely pair reaches the promised land. Or Jakarta.”

Best Performance
Javier Cámara and Carla Quílez for Yakarta (Movistar Plus+)

According to the Jury, the award goes “to two actors who sustain a complex and wonderful interaction, giving each other space while also claiming their own, like in a perfect doubles badminton match, in a story about an unlikely friendship. The two leads share warm and believable chemistry that remains captivating through their personal struggles.”

The Jury of the National Official Section was composed of German Jana Daedelow, coordinator of the Berlinale Series Market; Argentine Diego Batlle, critic and director of the portal Otros Cines; and Norwegian Henriette Steenstrup, creator and actress of series such as Perni and Nepobaby.

International Official Section Awards

Best Series
A Better Man (Norway, Lithuania), created by Thomas Seeberg Torjussen and distributed in Spain by Filmin

The Jury decided to award this series “for speaking to us with enormous courage about the here and now, for entering places as sadly everyday as they are dark, and from there giving space to hope, redemption, and the ability to put ourselves in another’s place without that meaning to justify or excuse them.”

Best Screenplay
Florence Longpré for Empathy (Canada)

According to the Jury, “for creating a moving series from premises completely opposed to sentimentality, for delving into themes often treated superficially such as grief and mental health, and doing so, as only great storytellers can, while making room for humor.”

Best Performance
Florence Longpré for Empathy (Canada)

The Jury decided to grant this award to Florence Longpré “for portraying, with the subtlety of mastery, a broken character, exploring a vast range of nuances and tonal shifts, with a pain that permeates her entire journey but never overshadows her character.”

The Jury of the International Official Section, sponsored by DAMA, was composed of Paloma Rando (President of the Jury), screenwriter of series such as Mariliendre; Javier Giner, creator of I, Addict, winner of the National Official Section in last year’s edition; and Iria del Río, actress in series such as The New Years.

SAE CEV Youth Jury Award

Serielizados also features a Youth Jury sponsored by SAE CEV, the festival’s official school. This year’s jury was made up of Iris Porcuna, Miguel Prats, Andrés Rangel, Jaime Muñoz and David Carbonell, and awarded the prize to the series Empathy (Canada), created by Florence Longpré.

Unanimously, they decided to award Empathy “for its excellent screenplay, its outstanding editing, its excellent direction, its excellent music, and its wonderful way of making us feel that, with something as simple as empathy, we could change the world.”

Popitas Audience Award

The Popitas Audience Award, granted by the festival’s attendees and chosen among all the series competing in the two Official Sections, went to the series A Better Man.

Award Ceremony and Other Activities of the 12th Edition of Serielizados

The award ceremony took place today at the CCCB Theatre in Barcelona, in a gala that was followed by the premiere of the series Sense filTRES (3Cat), with the presence of much of its team: Jiajie Yu Yan (director), Sandra Reina (director), Aleix Mestre (screenwriter), Afioco Gnecco (screenwriter), Nico Ariso (actor), Luana Rocha (actress) and Lara Oliete (actress).

Serielizados – Barcelona Series Festival continues until next Wednesday, November 12, with more than twenty screenings and activities. Among them, the tribute to the 20th anniversary of Ventdelplà (3Cat), featuring actresses Emma Vilarasau, Georgina Latre and Mar Ulldemolins; the docuseries Missing in Murcia (Movistar Plus+) by Carles Porta; the Spanish premiere of U.S. series such as I Love LA by Rachel Sennott, and The Paper, a spin-off of The Office; or the full screening of the Basque series Zeru Ahoak (EITB and RTVE), presented by its actors Josean Bengoetxea, Sara Cozar and Miren Gaztañaga.

The Norwegian series Nepobaby will also premiere, with the presence of its creator and actress Henriette Steenstrup, known for Perni; the docuseries La Fugida, Hidden Truths (3Cat), which follows real stories of sexual abuse of minors in religious schools; and many more highlights of the year: ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!, about the creators of South Park; the British series The Gold starring Jack Lowden and Dominic Cooper; I Know Your Soul by Jasmila Zbanic, director of Quo Vadis, Aida?; Putain, 37 Seconds, The Agent – The Life and Lies of My Father, Family Matters, Vanguard; a block of animated series and a block of LGTBIQ+ themed series.

‘Nepobaby’ by Henriette Steenstrup.

The festival will also host a talk with Estela Ortiz and Oye Sherman about The Sopranos, a masterclass with Leticia Dolera about her series Puberty, a new session of DAMA’s Making Of about the series Delta, and a live edition of the podcast La Trama on how to make a sitcom in 2025.

This edition of the festival has stood out for the presence of such notable personalities as Alan Ball, creator of Six Feet Under and True Blood; Álvaro Morte and Alberto Rodríguez (Anatomy of an Instant); Javier Cámara, Carla Quílez, Diego San José and Elena Trapé (Yakarta); Trine Dyrholm and Benedikt Erlingsson (The Danish Woman); or Pablo Derqui and Víctor Rebull, actors from The 39, among many other guests.