HBO Europe docuseries How to Win a Political Debate gets boost from Council of Europe

This Is Not a Murder Mystery is among the projects supported in previous rounds of the initiative

The Council of Europe is supporting six television series with a total of €2.5m (US$2.9m), including a forthcoming political docuseries from HBO in Europe.

How to Win a Political Debate, from Poppy Pictures in Serbia, Survivance in France and HBO Europe in the Czech Republic, will receive €500,000 from the Council of Europe’s Pilot Programme for Series Co-Productions.

Also receiving €500,000 each are drama series Henki, from Klynge in Norway, Scanbox in Denmark and Staragara in Slovenia; animated series The Amazing Adventures of Lost Socks, from Anima-pol in Poland and Sparkle Animation in Portugal; and drama series In Vitro, from Noodles Production in France and Spain’s Rodar y Rodar and Moire Films Producciones Audiovisuales.

The remaining €500,000 from the initiative’s third round, opened earlier this year, has been split evenly between drama series Brothers, from Blonde Audiovisual Productions in Greece, Deal Productions in Luxembourg and Hager Moss Film in Germany; and docuseries Immigration Union, from Scenery in the Netherlands and Clin d’Oeil in Belgium.

The Pilot Programme for Series Co-Productions is a three-year initiative of the Council of Europe, home of Eurimages. It supports high-quality series made as international coproductions and aims to empower independent producers and foster new relationships.

Currently supported by 22 donor institutions from 21 member States of the Council of Europe, the programme is set to continue beyond the initial three-year phase, with plans already taking shape for 2027, the Council of Europe said.

Among the projects supported in the previous funding rounds have been This Is Not a Murder Mystery, Arcanes, Favàritx, Greater Adria, Puberty and Interstellar Ella.

The Council of Europe was founded in 1949. Bringing together 46 member states, it operates with an annual budget of about €500m to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe.