2024 TV Shortlists

Direction: Alaa Amer, Alisar Hasan. Sound Track: Kyan Bayani. Editing: Neel Cockx, Céline Ducreux, Gladys Joujou. Photography: Abdo Fayyad. Producers: Hanne Phlypo (Clin d'oeil), Heino Deckert (Ma.ja.de.), Estelle Robin You (Balibari), Marion Guth (a_Bahn). Producing Organisation: Clin d'Oeil Films. Coproducing Organisations: Ma.ja.de. Filmproduktion, Les Films du Balibari, a_Bahn, SWR, ARTE, VRT, RTBF, Submarine, Shelter Prod. Production Year: 2023.

Amany Al-Ali, one of few Syrian female cartoonists, resides in her father's home in Idlib, the last city not captured by Assad's forces. She is subjected to relentless Russian airstrikes and caught between advancing troops and extremist groups. Despite acclaim for her art, she faces threats, condemnation, and degradation that make her consider leaving. Ironically, her artwork has graced galleries in France and Italy but never had visibility within Syrian borders. The film captures her endeavour to organize her first exhibition in Idlib. This experience forces her to confront the harsh reality of a city defined by bombings and male domination. As she organizes drawing classes for women and girls, comforts her young niece, and shares her story with the film crew, Amany's outlook for the future gradually erodes. Behind the Lines is part of the Draw for Change project, a television series about female cartoonists who use their drawings to empower women and fight for gender equality.

Author, Direction, Narrating Voice: Larry Weinstein. Sound Track: B9. Editing: David New. Photography: John Minh Tran, Sven Jakob-Engelmann, Filip Drozdz. Other Participants: Keri-Lynn Wilson, Gabriela Lena Frank, Larry Weinstein. Producers: Jason Charters, Bernhard von Huelsen, Liam Romalis, Maria Willer. Producing Organisation: 3B Produktion. Coproducing Organisation: Riddle Films. Production Year: 2023.

In early 2023, filmmaker Larry Weinstein set out to make a documentary about Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. It was supposed to be about how far we have come in the two hundred years since its writing. However, as world events drag Larry into his own film, the question becomes a deeply personal one. Beethoven's Nine is a documentary about music, but also about war and hope. It follows nine unique individuals, including Ukrainian musicians, a deaf composer, a Polish rock star, a best-selling author, a legendary cartoonist, and Weinstein himself, as they try to better understand the legacy of Beethoven's Ninth, the composer's own struggles, the inspiration that music can provide, and how humanity continues to look for hope even in the darkest times.

Author: Claudio Centioni. Direction: Edoardo Anselmi. Producing Organisations: GA&A Productions, Tinkerland. Coproducing Organisations: ARTE GEIE, RAI Cultura, Luce Cinecittà; collaboration with RAI Teche; association with RTS, RTBF.

Surprisingly, an anonymous emergency door of a concert hall can be the symbol of a community or even a nation, just by means of a stencil. In January 2019, in Paris, three men steal the Bataclan door depicting Banksy's grieving woman after the 2015 terrorist attacks, nicknamed the Sad Girl. The theft sparks worldwide outrage, French and Italian authorities investigate. A year later, the door is found in an attic in the Italian countryside, sparking a legal battle over ownership. Through exclusive testimonies and expert insights, we unravel this story, describing the complexities of street art and Banksy's enigmatic legacy.

Screenplay, Direction: Waldemar Januszczak. Producing Organisations: SKY Italia, ZCZ Films. Production Year: 2023.

Mannerism is the strangest art movement from the age of the Old Masters. And the most exciting. It challenged the rules and produced art that amazes you. Squeezed between two great artistic epochs – the Renaissance and the Baroque – Mannerism has been understood as an in-between moment. But this is wrong. The ambition of this 3-part series is to introduce Mannerism to the world, to tell its story in detail and to show the great and exciting art it produced. In the first episode of the series, Waldemar Januszczak sets out to place Mannerism in the history of art. In the second episode, we see the revolutionary impact of Mannerism as it spread in Italy. The third episode celebrates the diffusion of Mannerism in Europe. The movement has always been underestimated. We want to change this.

Direction, Photography: Arakawa Kaku. Narrating Voices: Hashimoto Satoshi, Ishida Yuriko. Editing: Mouri Teruyuki; Tokuhisa Taro (Video Engineer). Sound Track: Ogata Shinichiro (Sound Engineer), Misawa Emiko (Sound Effects). Producers: Umehara Mari, Suzuki Megumi; Arakawa Kaku, Yokoyama Tomohiko (Executive). Producing Organisations: NHK, NHK ENTERPRISES. Production Year: 2023.

This documentary follows Hayao Miyazaki, the internationally acclaimed animation director and Academy Award winner for Spirited Away at his firm Studio Ghibli. It shows how he created his first new film in 10 years, The Boy and the Heron, for which he won a Golden Globe and his second Oscar in 2024, after telling the world he had retired. An NHK director received special permission to come and go freely at Studio Ghibli, where he saw Miyazaki engaging in a bizarre creative process on the borderline between sanity and insanity. The camera follows Miyazaki for seven years, recording a creative struggle where he becomes so immersed in the world of his films that he cannot easily return to reality. Why did Miyazaki make this film? What did he intend to leave behind after withdrawing from the film industry? This is a recording of Hayao Miyazaki by the only director he has ever allowed to film him.

Direction: Saskia Boddeke. Actors: Anne Aalderink, Ayle Albert de la Bruhèze, Tim Assen, Joeri Bakker, Rick Boereboom, Herman Borcheld, Evelien Gerbers, Monique Golbach, Dania Haring. Editing: Elmer Leupen NCE. Photography: Ruzbeh Babol, Reinout Steenhuizen NSC. Sound Track: Luca D'Alberto (Composer), Huibert Boon (Sound design), Mark Wessner, Gaby de Haan (Recording). Producers: Iris Lammertsma (Witfilm); Creative: Boudewijn Koole (Witfilm); Executive: Jantien Ekkes (Witfilm); Commissioning editors: Oscar van der Kroon, Diana Tromp (NTR). Producing Organisation: Witfilm. Coproducing Organisation: NTR.

When director Saskia Boddeke saw the performance Furia by Kamak, a professional theatre group of actors with intellectual disabilities, she was so impressed that she decided to make a film about the ensemble. Their piece is portrayed cinematically by Boddeke in beautifully staged shots and rich, saturated colours. Alternating between events on stage and behind the scenes, Inside My Heart combines the magic of an opera with the depth of a documentary. Fact and fiction blend, sometimes even for the actors themselves, who deeply feel the emotions they portray. They are a well-bonded group, offering each other congratulations, wise comments on life and love, and lots of mutual support. Engaging with the poetry of their performance, this film portrayal is first and foremost an ode to the liberating power of imagination without limits.

Author: Steven Knight. Direction: Benoit Swan Pouffer (Choreography), Matt Hargraves (Camera). Narrating Voice: Benjamin Zephaniah. Dancers: Guillaume Queau, Naya Lovell, Conor Kerrigan, Joseph Kudra, Musa Motha, Alex Soulliere, Angelique Blasco, Adel Balint, Aishwarya Raut, Antonello Sangirardi, Dylan Tedaldi, Archie White, Max Day, Cali Hollister, Caiti Carpenter, Jonathan Wade, Seren Williams, Tristan Carter. Sound Track: Roman GianArthur. Editing: Stephen Bevan. Photography: Rowan Biddiscombe. Producers: Helen Shute, Steven Knight, Emma Cahusac, Fiona Morris, Caryn Mandabach. Producing Organisations: Rambert, North South. Coproducing Organisations: BBC, The Space; with Birmingham Hippodrome (stage prod.), The Lowry. Production Year: 2023.

Opening in the trenches of Flanders, a personal story unfolds in postwar industrial Birmingham as the Shelby family navigate the decisions that determine their fate, and Tommy is intoxicated by mysterious newcomer Grace. While Tommy is building his empire, Grace is operating as an undercover agent for Special Branch on a mission to get close to the heart of Tommy's gang. As the story unfolds, hearts are broken, and revenge is sought. Rambert's thrilling stage adaptation The Redemption of Thomas Shelby, written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, features a live onstage band supporting the drama with specially commissioned music by Roman GianArthur and iconic Peaky tracks. Key points of the story are illuminated by narrator Benjamin Zephaniah (Jeremiah in the TV series).

Authors, Screenplay: Alice Géraud, Marc Herpoux. Direction: Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. Actors: Alix Poisson, Olivier Gourmet, Julien Frison, Jonathan Turnbull, Noémie Lvovsky, Clémence Poésy, Pauline Parigot. Sound Track: Raf Keunen. Editing: Sophie Brunet. Photography: Elin Kirschfink. Producers: Matthieu Belghiti (What's Up), Pascal Breton, Lionel Uzan (Federation). Producing Organisations: France 2, What's Up Films, Federation Studios. Coproducing Organisations: Versus Production, participation of France TV. Production Year: 2023.

1988: a woman opens her eyes at dawn on a path away from the main road. Her sweater is pulled up over her chest, and there are red marks on her neck. Her name is Christine, and she's in her early thirties. She goes to the police station but struggles to recall what happened to her. The police officer's questions rattle her. That same day, Jean-Pierre, a rookie, joins the local police force. He wants to fit in with his colleagues and doesn't dare criticize their questionable methods. At the station, complaints of sexual assault and rape pile up, but no one seems to care.

Authors: Luisa Hardenberg, Anne Katharina Roicke; Luisa Hardenberg (Headwriter). Direction: Katja Benrath, Mia Maariel Meyer. Actors: Mariam Hage, Anna Schudt, Lydia Lehmann, Idil Üner, Katja Hutko. Sound Track: Manja Ebert, Louis Marioth. Editing: Nathalie Pürzer, Nina Meister, Jasmin Benazzouz. Photography: Carolina Steinbrecher, Lotta Kilian. Producers: Jochen Cremer; Diana Kraus (Commissioning Editor), Christiane Meyer (Coordination ZDFneo). Producing Organisation: Bantry Bay Productions. Coproducing Organisations: NPO, SVT, VRT, DR, NRK, YLE, RUV (New 8-Project). Production Year: 2023.

Broken water, babies in breech position, premature labour pains – for the midwives Nalan, Anna and Greta a state of emergency is everyday procedure. What becoming or involuntarily not becoming a parent can entail is told without taboos – not always pretty, but all the more emotional. Then there's the constant balancing act between the full-time job of midwife and maintenance of some private life. It doesn't help that, on top of everything else, Anna and Nalan are slapped with a lawsuit. Did a child suffer brain damage due to a lack of oxygen at birth? The thematic focus of Push is on womanhood in general and motherhood in particular. A series in which women are not judged, but should feel seen and understood. A courageous and modern series that portrays the realities of women's lives in a new and contemporary way.

Direction: Alberto Ruiz Rojo. Actors: Luis Tosar, Sonia Almarcha, Blanca Portillo, Víctor Clavijo, Lamine Thior, Álex Monner, Alfonso Lara, Carlos Serrano, Ramón Ródenas, Eva Marciel, Pau Durá. Editing: Fernando Márquez, David Nieves, Fernando Vázquez. Music: Jeansy Asuz. Sound: Eddi Walter, Carlos Faruolo. Producers: Rafa Parbus, Enrique Pérez Vergara. Producing Organisations: Studio 60, McFly Films. Production Year: 2024.

A true story based on the rescue of 51 immigrants in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The fishing boat "Francisco y Catalina" from the town of Santa Pola, Alicante, Spain, made the news in 2006 as the first European boat to rescue 51 sub-Saharan immigrants adrift in international Mediterranean waters, one hundred miles from Malta. The Law of the Sea showcases a story of solidarity and survival in which the real protagonists, the Spanish fishermen, moved by humanity, challenged international laws to save a group of immigrants in the middle of the sea. The event changed the European legislation on immigration after a heroic struggle between "the Laws of the Sea and the Laws of the Land"

Direction: Sanna Lenken. Actors: David Dencik, Maria Sid, Einar-Hugo Strömberg, Martin Nick Alexandersson, Linus Gustafsson. Sound Track: Irya Gmeyner, Martin Hederos. Editing: Kristin Grundstrom, Andreas Nilsson. Photography: Jonas Alarik. Producing Organisation: Art & Bob. Coproducing Organisations: SVT, Film i Väst, Film Stockholm, Kärnfilm, YLE, NRK, DR, RUV. Production Year: 2024.

In 1998, the world-famous Playwright Lars Norén and Producer Isa Stenberg are invited to a prison to collaborate with three long-term convicts. Dazzled by Norén's fame and filled with optimism they stop at nothing to make the project come true. The prison board regards theatre work as rehabilitation. The project evolves into an unstoppable process where all security concerns are pushed aside, and all control mechanisms fall away. The result is a legendary theatre performance, a heated public debate, and a double murder that still today is an open wound in Swedish contemporary history. How was this even possible?

Direction: Saul Dibb. Producing Organisation: Wild Mercury Productions. Coproducing Organisation: True Vision.

The Sixth Commandment tells the story of how the meeting of an inspirational teacher, Peter Farquhar, and a charismatic young student, Ben Field, who bonded over their love of books and involvement with the Church of England, set the stage for one of the most complex and confounding criminal cases in recent memory. It also focuses on how suspicions around Ben's relationship with Peter's deeply religious neighbour Ann Moore-Martin, also targeted by Field, unlocked a series of stunning revelations, culminating in a gripping trial.

Direction: Chloe Wicks, Carl Tibbetts. Actors: Lindsay Duncan, Clarke Peters, Sue Johnston, Peter Egan, Karl Johnson, Kiran Sonia Sawar. Producing Organisation: Clerkenwell Films. Production Year: 2024.

Phil had a long and distinguished career in the police, but she's now thirteen years retired and very, very bored. Her old flame and SAS veteran Ken feels similarly lost. They reunite for the first time in years at a friend's funeral, and – at the drunken wake – they and their friends all take it in turns to imagine what a dignified death looks like, dreaming of quality of years over quantity. Naturally, Phil and Ken would make the perfect team to help any ill friends with a 'solution'. Ken could kill them, and Phil could use her detective nous to cover up the crime and make it look like a natural departure – it's just like police work in reverse, after all. But what starts out as a fanciful idea quickly morphs into a shocking reality when their beloved friend Tom asks for the ultimate act of mercy.

Direction: James Strong. Actors: Toby Jones, Monica Dolan, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Alex Jennings, Ian Hart, Lia Williams, Will Mellor. Editing: Mike Jones, Agnieszka Liggett. Producers: Natasha Bondy, Ben Gale, Gwyneth Hughes, Patrick Spence, James Strong, Joe Williams. Coproducing Organisations: ITV Studios, Little Gem. Production Year: 2024.

The story of the greatest miscarriage of justice in British history. Watched by 15 million viewers, making it the second biggest drama this millennium, Mr Bates vs The Post Office has been groundbreaking. Our stated intent was that the sub-postmasters felt heard. Over 10,000 online articles in the first two weeks; lead story on the national news for six consecutive days; 1.2 million people signed a petition demanding the Post Office CEO be stripped of her CBE; $1bn was knocked off the value of Fujitsu worldwide and within 9 days of airing, the Prime Minister was forced into announcing a change in the law, without reference to the judiciary, for a mass pardon to the hundreds of sub-postmasters victimised. The decision was as shocking as it was unconstitutional, but that's how angry the country had become from the moment the first episode aired.

Direction: Boris Benjamin Bertram. Photography: Morten Krüger (Director). Editing: Peter Winther (Director). Producers: Signe Løvetand, Sidsel Marie Jacobsen, Cyrillia Sabroe, Kine Løken Thoreid, Jenny Engslätt, Sari Maljanen, Elisabet Kurtén, Minna Viro. Producing Organisations: DR, NRK, SVT, YLE. Production Year: 2023.

A thrilling documentary series about how Putin's shadow war is unfolding in the Nordic countries – and in the rest of Europe. For more than a year, a team of award-winning investigative reporters and documentary filmmakers from Nordic Broadcasters DR, NRK, YLE and SVT have been researching and filming all over Europe to investigate how the Russians operate undercover in our part of the world. The result is both frightening and uncovers daunting patterns and perspectives. In the middle of the investigation the sabotage of The Nord Stream gas pipes makes it more evident to try to take a much closer look of Russian military activities in our Western societies.

Direction: Solène Chalvon-Fioriti. Sound Track: Charlie Nguyen Kim. Editing: Laure Matthey. Photography: Noor Azadi, Sandra Calligaro, Solène Chalvon-Fioriti. Producer: Béatrice Schönberg (Chrysalide). Producing Organisations: France 5, Chrysalide Production. Coproducing Organisations: Elephant Doc, participation of France TV. Production Year: 2024.

Her name went round the world: Jina Mahsa Amini, aged 22, died on 16 September 2022 following a violent arrest by the Tehran religious police. Her graceful, made-up face, a symbol of freedom under attack, sparked off a massive revolt by young people – mainly students from the lower middle classes – which was violently suppressed in autumn 2022. Faced with arrests, torture and executions by the Islamic regime, the movement ran out of steam. But behind the broken momentum lies another, silent revolution: the irrepressible cultural mutation of Iran's generation Z. A massive, highly urban (almost 80% of the population live in cities), highly educated youth – and a youth in pain, deprived of fundamental individual freedoms: to love, to meet, to dress without constraint, to dance, to sing…

Author, Direction: Steffi Niederzoll. Producing Organisation: Westdeutscher Rundfunk.

Tehran, July 2007: Reyhaneh Jabbari, 19, has a business meeting with a new client. When he tries to rape her, she stabs him in self-defence. Later that day, she is arrested for murder. Her trial results in a death penalty sentence. Thanks to personal and secretly recorded videos provided by Reyhaneh's family, their testimonies and the letters written by Reyhaneh in prison, the film retraces the fate of a woman who becomes a symbol of resistance and women's rights even beyond the borders of Iran.

Direction: Andreas Pichler. Producing Organisation: Beetz Brothers FILM Productions. Coproducing Organisations: Miramonte Film, BR, SWR, SKY, RAI.

Nowhere else in the world do bears and humans live in such close proximity like they do in Trentino, near Lake Garda. However, as the bear population grows, dangerous encounters are on the rise. A 20-member team of rangers and veterinarians is tasked with protecting both people and animals. When 26-year-old Andrea Papi is found dead in the forest during Easter 2023, it's suspected that he was killed by the bear called JJ4. This incident marks the first recent death caused by a wild animal in Central Europe. As foresters attempt to capture JJ4, the conflict between animal rights activists and bear opponents intensifies. Should JJ4 be killed? How should we handle the return of large predators? When do bears become "difficult bears"? Who truly owns nature and the forest?

Screenplay: Mea Dols de Jong, Ester Gould, Reijer Zwaan. Direction: Mea Dols de Jong, Chris Westendorp. Narrating Voice: Renée Fokker. Sound Track: Alexander Reumers. Editing: Pelle Asselbergs, Patrick Schonewille, Pepijn Ahsmann. Photography: Jean Counet, Sal Kroonenberg, Viacheslav Tsvietkov. Participants: Huib Modderkolk, Sevghil Musaieva, Bart Groothuis, Puma Shen, Billion Lee, Artem Starosiek . Producers: Ester Gould, Reijer Zwaan, Sander van den Eeden. Producing Organisation: The Other Room. Coproducing Organisation: BNNVARA.

Hidden is a journalistic detective series that takes us to the grey zone of hybrid warfare. Here, the distinction between war and peace is often blurred. When Dutch Journalist Huib Modderkolk learns that an intelligence agent has disappeared after a secret operation in Iran, his investigation leads to the shadowy world of digital warfare and espionage. As he tries to solve this cyber cold case, we meet his fellow truth seekers in Ukraine, Taiwan and Brussels. Can they expose today's hidden threats and protect our democracies in modern times of war? Hidden combines character-driven storytelling, investigative journalism and suspense. This four-part geopolitical thriller is an ode to the search for the truth; a cinematic series that underscores the importance of digging for facts in a confusing world.

Direction: Maciek Hamela. Sound Track: Antoni Komasa-Łazarkiewicz. Editing: Piotr Ogiński. Photography: Yura Dunay, Wawrzyniec Skoczylas, Marcin Sierakowski, Piotr Grawender. Producers: Piotr Grawender, Maciek Hamela. Producing Organisations: Affinity Cine, Pemplum. Coproducing Organisations: TVP, SaNoSi Productions, 435 Films. Production Year: 2023.

In the Rearview is a collective portrait composed of an array of experiences of Ukrainians sharing a single goal: finding a safe haven in the throes of conflict. With temporary asylum granted to all passengers, their differences in gender, age, skin tone, physical condition, origin, identity, worldviews and faith become irrelevant. While the war itself remains in the backdrop, its reflection and impact are evident and raw. Shortlisted for the Academy Award, In the Rearview is an authentic, intimate observation of war as it unfolds, following multiple generations of Ukrainian civilians as they abruptly abandon their homes and rely on the help of director Maciek Hamela's volunteer aid van to escape the life-threatening conflict.

Direction: Sean Langan. Producers: Leslie Knott, Mark Miller, Sean Langan. Coproducing Organisation: Tiger Nest Films. Production Year: 2024.

Two years after Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we wanted to make a film that expands our understanding of the logic that sustains a war of aggression – and shows what life is like inside the closed world of Russian propaganda. By presenting the view of the other side – through the eyes of soldiers on the frontlines and civilians in Donbas – we do not diminish the suffering of the Ukrainian people but highlight the wanton destruction and bleak future of Putin's war.