The discussion “Agora Series Case study - Kabul European Series Co-Production in Action” was held on Saturday November 2nd, at MOMus-Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, within the framework of the Agora Talks of the 65th TIFF. On the occasion of the new drama series Kabul, producers Fabienne Servan Schreiber (Cinétévé) and executive producer Sandrine Paquot met with Faye Tsitipi, Head of Strategic Analysis and Productions at COSMOTE TV, in a discussion about the challenges and opportunities of co-production financing, resources and expertise exchange, as well as the complexities of international collaborations. The upcoming series, which was filmed exclusively in Athens, is based on the true events of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 and will premiere in early 2025 on COSMOTE TV. The discussion was moderated by journalist Zac Ntim (Deadline).
The first to speak was Sandrine Paquot, who laid out the thematic components of the series. She then mentioned that the series revolves around the fall of Kabul and the 2021 dramatic events. She went on to say that the plot focuses on human stories, whereas the versatility of these stories is the feature that classifies the series into the realm of European approach and mentality. As for the selection of Greece as the series’ location, she pointed out that it offered the balance and the multicultural aspect that the series’ executives were looking for.
Fabienne Servan Schreiber described the first spark of the original idea, by saying that everyone can recall their whereabouts on August 15th, 2021. She was on holiday in the Greek island of Tinos, watching live Kabul’s fall through photos and journalistic coverage. She then made a case for the contrast between the beauty of the Greek landscape and the horror of the war, which served as an inspiration for Kabul. In the following month, she got in touch with the writers Olivier Demangel and Thomas Finkielkraut, who could not hide their enthusiasm over the topic. She also explained how they managed to find the series’ directors amidst a context of restricted financing, while she concluded by making mention of the difficulties of securing and managing the totality of the budget.
The baton was passed on to Faye Tsitsipi, who talked about COSMOTE TV’s interest to take part in international co-productions, especially in a top-notch series like Kabul, with such an elaborate production stage. She then underlined how well-organised the production was, explaining that the faith in the project came from the trust shown to the series’ involved parties, as well as to the story’s depth, before referring to the adversities of the shooting, namely in terms of weather conditions. The discussion was concluded with questions from the audience.
