SERIES MANIA: A “timely” Israeli/French project about female Kurdish soldiers fighting ISIS has been awarded €50,000 (US$53,700) in development funding.

Fertile Crescent (8×52′) was announced as the winner of Series Mania’s Coproduction Forum pitching competition here in Paris last night.

It was presented on Tuesday by producers Masha Productions and Spiro Films, both of which are based in Tel Aviv, and Haut et Court TV, the Paris-based firm behind The Returned. No broadcaster is attached to the show yet.

The €10m-budget series beat off competition from 15 other projects, seven of which had broadcasters attached ^[1], to win the development money.

Based on an original idea by Maria Feldman (False Flag) and Eitan Mansuri, Fertile Crescent follows a man who goes in search of his sister, declared dead for several years, who he believes has joined female Kurdish soldiers fighting ISIS in the Middle East.

The five-member jury team consisted of president Francesca Orsi, co-head of drama at HBO; Thomas Bourguignon, producer at Kwai; Piv Bernth, head of drama at DR; Henrik Pabst, MD of Red Arrow International; and Pilar Perez Roel, head of acquisitions at DCD Rights.

Orsi praised the project’s “timely political conversation and emotionally daring, unique narrative” and said the jury was “greatly looking forward to seeing this globally important series come to life.”

It marked the first time a cash prize had been awarded to the winning pitch. Previous projects pitched at the event that have gone on to series include Swedish thriller Jordskott ^[2], Sundance TV/ITV’s Liar ^[3] and the recently announced S4C/BBC Wales drama Keeping Faith ^[4].