The opening gala of the 2nd edition of BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon was hosted by Błażej Stencel. “For the second time, I have the great pleasure of welcoming you to the unique BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon series festival. This means that the first edition of the festival, the so-called pilot, was accepted and entered mass production” – the presenter began. “With us are fantastic producers, directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, actresses and actors, thanks to whom the Polish series not only reaches the heights of film art, but also wins the hearts of viewers around the world”.
At the beginning, film material summarizing the first edition of the festival was presented.
“This festival was created out of love for the series that we all love and watch. For us, the series is art. As we have just seen in the material, the audiovisual industry has been waiting for such a festival for many years and it has finally arrived. There are four days of premieres, special shows, workshops, lectures and discussion panels with artists from all over the world who came to the festival. I hope you will actively participate in these festival days. I’m very glad you’re here” – said Szymon Miszczak, Festival Director, from the stage.
SerialCon Program Director Magdalena Sroka emphasized how important it is that participants want to actively participate in the festival and the importance of the presented series stories. These are stories about how “we have changed over the last 30 years”.
See also: Series are exciting stories that we don’t have to be ashamed of
Then, the titles of Polish productions that were nominated in the Best Polish Series of 2025 category were presented. The nominees included series such as “Breslau” (Disney+), “Heweliusz” (Netflix), “Angela” (Netflix), “A minute of silence”season two (Canal+), “The Office”season five (Canal+), “A decent man” (HBO Max), “Isthmus” (HBO Max), “Black Death” (TVP), “Bay of spies”season two (TVP).
The winner in this category will be selected by an international jury led by director Łukasz Palkowski (“Beak”, “Chyłka”, “Langer”). The jury consists of – Barry “Base” Idoine – cinematographer and director of photography (“The Mandalorian”, “Westworld”); Frank Spotnitz co-creator “From the X-Files” and producer “The Man in the High Castle”), Susie Liggat – producer “Doctor Who”Edward K. Gibbon – costume designer (“Daughter”, “The Guinness family”, “Skins”), Richard Bullock – set designer (“Peaky Blinders”, “Jackal Day”). Their verdict will be announced during the SerialCon Closing Gala on Sunday, November 30.
BNP Warsaw SerialCon also includes a section dedicated to the industry – ProIndustry, during which interesting panels on changes, trends and new phenomena in the industry are held.
See also: A place that focuses on TV series. BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon begins
During the Gala, the Cutting Edge award was received by the star “Game of Thrones” Michelle Fairley, the series’ Catelyn Stark. The Cutting Edge Award recognizes creators who “they are constantly looking for new and original forms of telling episodic stories and breaking genre conventions. The award aims to distinguish personalities who tackle bold and significant topics, promote diversity and break stereotypes through their actions.”. This perfectly describes not only the actress, but also the character of Catelyn, who redefined female characters in TV series productions.
“Good evening. My name is Michelle. I am extremely honored and delighted to be here this evening. It’s a big surprise for me to accept an award for a role on television, because I started in the theater and that’s why I probably received one of the most important roles. I will always be grateful for it, for the opportunities it gave me and the wonderful characters I could play – strong, flawed, but also fragile women. It’s always a challenge. Every one of them tastes good. Thank you very much, it means a lot to me” – said Michelle Fairley.
As part of the Opening Gala, there was also a screening of the HBO Max documentary series titled “Kill Miss” and a panel preceding the screening. “Kill Miss” is a three-episode documentary series that presents not only an intimate portrait of Agnieszka’s life, but also a study of platonic love that gets out of control and turns into a dangerous, leading obsession.
See also: Interia is the media patron of BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon. You can read about the details of the event HERE