Serielizados Prizes: Hagai Levi’s ‘Etty’ and ‘Astonishing’ ‘Killing a Bear’ Win Big as ‘El Observatorio’ Bags the Mind the Gap Pitch Prize
Hagai Levi’s six-part drama “Etty” and Jorge and Alberto Sánchez-Cabezudo’s “Killing a Bear” won the international and national series prizes at Barcelona’s Serielizados awards. The wins recognise two series that reshape familiar genres: “Etty” gives a contemporary perspective to a story set in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, while “Killing a Bear” turns a bear’s death into an unconventional crime investigation.
“Etty”, based on Dutch Jewish writer Etty Hillesum’s diaries, follows the 27-year-old through a spiritual and emotional journey. “Killing a Bear” follows multiple characters in a Pyrenean community, including 262 members of an anti-bear chat room; it is a Movistar Plus original due to launch in Spain on 1 December. Other winners included Arte France’s “Camarades” for screenplay, BBC comedy “Ann Droid” for Diane Morgan’s performance, “Segunda Temporada” for screenplay, and Carmen Machi for her role in “Celeste” season two.
In short
- “Etty” and “Killing a Bear” won Serielizados’ top series prizes.
- “Killing a Bear” centres on a bear’s death and a community of 262.
- Other awards recognised “Camarades”, Diane Morgan, “Segunda Temporada” and Carmen Machi.
Explained simply
The Serielizados awards recognise television series and related projects, with international and national prizes for productions from outside and within Spain. The winning dramas draw on very different material: “Etty” is based on the diaries of Dutch Jewish writer Etty Hillesum, while “Killing a Bear” centres on a bear’s death in a Pyrenean community.
Hillesum was 27 and living in Amsterdam under Nazi occupation when she kept the diaries that inform “Etty”; the series follows her inner life during that period. “Killing a Bear”, made by brothers Jorge and Alberto Sánchez-Cabezudo, uses a crime investigation to explore a community that includes hundreds of people in an anti-bear chat room.
The awards also recognise writing and acting, alongside projects in development through the Mind the Gap pitch prize. Together, these categories show how the event honours both completed series and new ideas for television.