The Italian Global Series festival, which will take place on the Adriatic coast from July 3 to 11, returns for a second time with a leaner lineup and sharper focus. With participants from all over the world gathering in Rimini and Riccione, this showcase once again turns the Riviera Romagnola into a seaside crossroads for the television industry.
“We wanted to open this festival to the world,” says IGS Artistic Director Marco Spagnoli. “We need to promote not only Italian creations, but also the region, the culture and the spirit of collaboration. We need the people we meet. Last year we saw American actors, Spanish actors and Italian directors come together. Television rarely creates such opportunities.”
Spagnoli streamlined the selection to give participants more leeway, with the first edition in 2025 being a reboot or spin-off of RomaFictionFest, which held its finale in 2016. The international competition will feature 21 series from 15 countries, down from 32 titles last year. He describes the move as a “streamlining” to bring IGS more in line with other major international festivals.
“Emergency 53”
IGS takes a flexible approach to premieres. Exclusivity is not a requirement for competition, although British-Spanish crime drama “The Benidorm Murders” and Brazilian medical thriller “Emergency 53” will have their world premieres at the festival. International premieres include the spy thriller “The Secret Service,” directed by James Marsh and starring Gemma Arterton. Korean thriller “Speaking Dead” directed by Lee Jeong-hyo. And then there’s “Laza Brava,” a historical masterpiece that follows the violent soccer ultraviolents of Santiago during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship in Chile.
“At this point, we’re not fixated on world premieres,” Spagnoli said. “There are too many interesting shows around the world worth seeing. Importantly, this festival serves as a platform for international series to reach audiences, journalists and industry professionals alike.”
Among the talent headed to the Adriatic coast, American performers CCH Pounder and Judith Light will support social horror series The Terror: The Silver Devil, while French Virginie Ledoyen and Camille Razat will accompany Stendhal’s adaptation of Le Rouge et Le Noir. Carlton Cuse, Titus Welliver, Lisa Mulcahy and Richard Gadd will all be in attendance to receive the festival’s Maximo Excellence Award.
“Raza Brava”
Each of the festival’s three jury chairs represents a different element of the festival’s identity. The comedy competition is directed by French actor Bruno Gouly (“Emily in Paris,” “The White Lotus”), who brings international recognition and multilingual appeal. “Bruno’s mother is Italian and speaks Italian perfectly,” Spagnoli said. “He could start working here tomorrow and we want to encourage that kind of crossover.”
Drama jury president Marti Noxon will also be honored for his influence on modern television. “What Marty did on Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the very concept of vampires, and they’ve been with us ever since,” Spagnoli says. “Festivals like this need to recognize that continuity and show which works are important and who has shaped this landscape.”
Few creators, on the other hand, have had as wide a cultural impact as limited series jury president Nicholas Meyer. After Meyer’s The Seven Percent Solution helped modernize Sherlock Holmes in ways that still resonate in every subsequent film adaptation, the director reframed nuclear proliferation in his 1983 television movie The Day After. As Spagnoli says, it is “probably the only movie that really changed the course of history.”
Of course, Meyer also took Kirk and Spock to new heights, making the director of The Wrath of Khan one of the key writers of the broader Star Trek series, and a worthy centerpiece at the festival celebrating the series’ 60th anniversary. The program will include a conversation with Meyer and producer David W. Zucker, as well as a screening of the season 4 premiere of “Strange New Worlds” with stars Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Celia Rose Gooding and “Voyager” star Jeri Ryan.
“Little House on the Prairie”
“[Through her character Seven of Nine]Jeri Ryan has explored questions about machines, artificial intelligence, and what it means to be human, all very modern questions,” Spagnoli says. “Star Trek was born during the Vietnam era, but many of its themes still resonate today, especially the idea of peace and an optimistic vision of a future driven by cooperation. It’s not just limited to 1966.”
Spagnoli is equally enthusiastic about Netflix’s upcoming “Little House on the Prairie” reboot, which will be shown as a special preview event. Spagnoli wants to send a message to the European television industry by taking a new version of a familiar IP and leaning into the festival’s international crossroads ambitions.
“Intellectual property can and should survive, and it must be updated,” he says. “We Europeans should learn from that. There are many Italian and European series that shaped my generation, but they can be just as powerful for modern audiences.”
“In Italy, we are born with the past,” he adds, linking his interest in rebooting to something deeper than brand recognition. “These series were meaningful to millions of people. We must continue to look back to the past to understand the present and imagine the future.”
“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”
