Marco Verrocchio and Sally Wainwright win Italian Global Series Fest

To their credit, Richard Gadd (“Half Man”) and Natasha Lyonne (“Poker Face,” “Russian Doll”) were among the big winners at this year’s Italian Global Series Festival, which concluded on July 11th. They received the Breakthrough Storyteller Award and the Maximo Excellence Award, respectively. The awards were accepted in person at a ceremony held at the glamorous Teatro Galli in Rimini, Italy, early last week.

The Italian Global Series TV winners were announced on Saturday, with Marco Bellocchio’s HBO Venice’s Portobello taking the top three spots, while Sally Wainwright won twice for Riot Women.

But the festival’s main purpose is to shine a greater international light on lesser-known series and creators. Italy held its own here with awards for “La Legge di Lidia Poët” and “I csi di Teresa Battaglia – Figlia della cenere.”

The praise also shed further light on the Irish-British series “Leonard and the Hungry Paul,” the French series “Laura’s Cure,” and the Chilean soccer fandom series “Laza Brava.”

Other winners included Sweden’s Burden of Justice, Germany’s The Flaws and The Secret Service, for which British actor Leif Spall won Best Actor in a Drama.

The festival’s opening ceremony, led by “Lost” co-showrunner Carlton Cuse, also presented trophies for the festival’s Maximo Excellence Award. The festival praised Cuse for “changing the landscape of television” and “stopping the world in front of the screen” when “Lost” debuted.

Star Trek’s intergenerational cast and creators, led by Anson Mount, also received Maximo Celebration Awards.

“Star Trek” at 60 years old

Money aside, the Star Trek 60th Anniversary celebration marked one of the high points of the Italian Global Series Festival, culminating with a preview screening of Season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Also in attendance were guests involved in the creative history of Star Trek, including Nicholas Meyer, director of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Meyer spoke to Variety about the writing process and how he “went from being indifferent to Star Trek to success” thanks to producer Harv Bennett’s encouragement. “I had seen ‘Star Trek’ on TV and I just couldn’t understand it. I missed what was interesting about the show and the idea that people of different races, genders and cultures could come together and do something good. That just clicked with me.”

The cast also discussed the series’ timeless qualities and how it explores the spirit of creator Gene Roddenberry. Part of that was due to its flexibility with genre and its unique ability to instantly morph between musical or something closer to a western, as exemplified by “Strange New Worlds.”

“We wanted to get back to the big idea of ​​planet of the week, ship being the star, while also using our platform to prove that Star Trek can really experiment with its form even more,” said Anson Mount, who plays series lead Captain Pike. “I think we tried to incorporate what the original series did: missions of the week, serialized storylines, character throughlines,” added Rebecca Romijn, who plays Una Chin-Riley (aka Number One). “But there was a sexiness that the original series had, and I think that’s what we’re trying to capture. The Enterprise is, in a way, a groovy, sexy ship.”

Celia Rose Gooding, who plays another character from the original series, Nyota Uhura, also said that the strength of the new series is how it leaves room to explore the inner lives of these familiar characters.

“But there’s something that I think is really interesting in that the future of Trek is going to be a little more inward-looking, and the origins of Trek are going to be a little more outward-looking and exploratory. I think Strange New Worlds has a really great way of finding us right in the middle, where you see how the characters’ inner worlds color their style of exploration.”

overlap between film and television

Of course, the changing nature of television was a frequent topic of discussion throughout the week, particularly in relation to and comparison to the medium of film.

One of the early highlights of the IGS festival was a conversation between co-showrunners Carton Cuse and John Ridley (“The Night Is Coming,” “Shirley”), mostly about “Lost.” The two discussed the film’s influence on Lost’s visual language, which they said helped make it stand out at the time of its release. “It was kind of a subconscious movie,” Cuse said of director Frederico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni’s work. “It was about mood and mystery and images and dreams, but they were vague.” Cuse said he watched these works during his formative years, and “Lost” was the perfect opportunity to bring those influences to the TV show. “‘Lost’ was a show that was really driven by mystery,” Cuse continued. Network TV literally always had notes saying, “Please explain more, make it easier to understand, add subtext,” and it was very annoying. ”

That was quickly followed by another conversation that considered nuances across media, most recently with actor Barty Carvel, best known for playing Baelor Targaryen in the Game of Thrones spinoff Knights of the Seven Kingdoms.

TV industry in crisis

Discussions about the blurring of boundaries in the television industry have not always been positive. A panel discussion between Scott Free Chief Creative Officer David W. Zucker and Toluca Pictures Chairman and Executive Producer Steve Stark examined questions of industry viability.

The rise of streamers has proven to be one relentless focus. Zucker said streamers have “fundamentally changed the way content is produced and the way that content relates to viewers.” He went on to point out that television used to be about people forming long-term relationships with characters. Streaming services are now “interested in providing services that people will still be paying for next month,” he explained, adding that this will change both the nature of how viewers watch TV and the nature of the TV they watch itself.

Stark said an overreliance on audience data is driving the direction of TV choices.

The rise in popularity of the Global Series

One of the most popular panels took place on July 5th in the Rimini part of the festival and was led by on- and off-screen couple Özge Güler (The Wolf, Mr. Long) and Serkan Čayoglu (The Wolf, Cherry Season). It was a compelling example of the incredible success of the Turkish dizi, the very subject of the panel, especially among international audiences, both in Italy and abroad. Güler and Çayoglu both talked about the Turkish film industry and how they think the emotions of their respective programs can be easily transmitted to new viewers.

The international focus of The Italian Global Series goes back to Zucker and Stark’s panel discussion, where both producers highlighted as one of the positives of the modern television landscape: the new immediacy of connecting with audiences around the world thanks to the international reach of streamers (and, on a simpler level, perhaps the internet itself). That interconnectedness, whether through online fan communities or through the streamers themselves communicating with producers and studios around the world, felt like an ambient influence throughout the 2026 Italian Global Series Festival.

A list of this year’s winners can be found below.

International Competition Drama Division

best series

“Responsibility for justice”

Best Director Award

Lisa Linnertorp “Burden of Justice”

Best Leading Actress Award

Elena Sofia Ricci “I casi di Teresa Battaglia – Figlia della cenere”

Best Actor Award

Rafe Spall “Secret Service”

International Contest – Comedy

best series

“defect”

Best Creator/Director

Sally Wainwright in “Riot Women”

Best Leading Actress Award

Joanna Scanlan “Riot Women”

Best Actor Award

Alex Lawther “Leonard and Hungry Paul”

Special Jury Award

“Leonard and Hungry Paul”

International Competition – Limited Series

best series

“Laura’s treatment”

Best Director Award

Hernan Cafiero “Laza Brava”

Best Leading Actress Award

Valerie Bonneton “Laura’s Treatment”

Best Actor Award

Gabriel Muñoz “Raza Brava”

Maximino Award

“Raza Brava”

EDITA Italian Novel Competition

Best drama series

“Guerrieri – La Regola delle Ilibrio”

best comedy series

“Pesci Piccoli” – Season 2

Best miniseries

“Portobello”

best tv movie

“Franco Battiato. A long journey”

Best Director Award

Best Director Award, Drama Category

Giuseppe Mezzapesa, Jacopo Bonvicini, Letizia Lamartire (“La Legge di Lidia Poët” – Season 3)

Best Director/Comedy Award

Francesco Ebasta, Alessandro Grespin, Danilo Carlani, Alessio Dogana (“Pesci Piccoli” – Season 2)

Best Director for Miniseries

Marco Bellocchio (“Portobello”)

Best Director, Best Television Film

Stefano Lodovici (“Il Farsario”)

Best Actress and Best Actor

Best Actress in a Drama Category

Marina Occhionello (Avocato Liga)

Best Actress in a Comedy Category

Sara Drago (“Call My Agent – ​​Italy” – Season 3)

Best Actress in a Miniseries

Carolina Crescentini (Mrs. Playmen)

Best Actress in a TV Movie

Giulia Michelini (“Il Farsario”)

Drama Category Leading Actor Award

Lino Guanciale (“Il commissario Ricciardi” – Season 3)

Best Comedy Actor Award

Francesco Russo (“Call My Agent – ​​Italy” – Season 3)

Best Actor in a Miniseries

Valentino Manias (“Il Mostro”)

Best Actor in a TV Movie

Dario Aita (“Franco Battiato. Ilungo Viaggio”)

Best Screenplay Award

Drama script award

Gianrico Carofiglio, Doriana Leondef, Antonio Leotti, Oliviero del Papa (Guerrieri – La Regola delle Equilibrium)

Best Comedy Screenplay Award

Francesco Apolloni, Giovanni Cardillo, Giovanni Tancredi Bursapolci, Giulio Manfredonia, Valentina Capezzi (“L’appartamento – Sold Out”)

Best Miniseries Screenplay Award

Giordana Mari, Giuseppe Fiore, Marco Bellocchio, Stefano Bisses (Portobello)

Best TV Movie Screenplay Award

Co-written with Sandro Petraglia, Lorenzo Bagnatori and Eleonora Bordi (Zvani – The Family Story of Giovanni Pascoli)