The United Media (UM) produced ‘Awake’ series is the first from Serbia selected by the prestigious international series festival in Cannes (Canneseries), the organisers have told a news conference in Paris on Tuesday.

The series is not only the first from Serbia but also from this part of Europe and was included in a selection of ten series that will be presented to viewers this year in Cannes at the festival held from October 8 to 13.

„It is a great success that the selectors recognised the quality and that they included ‘Awake’ in this year’s festival, especially because the series is in the Serbian language and that it does not come from countries that traditionally perform at this festival. We are very proud of the fact that universality and series have been recognised and that visitors from all over the world will have the opportunity to watch the first two episodes in France”, United Media CEO Aleksandra Subotic said.

The directors of the series Uros Tomic and Jelena Gavrilovic added they were “very glad that the festival chose this series, which brings a refreshment in the crime genre, because you have a family drama and a police thriller, but with ‘supernatural’ elements, where dreams are an organic part of the story. Also, there must be some humour all the time, even though ‘Awake’ is not a comedy. We wanted to watch a serious drama, thriller or even science fiction moments in a witty way.“

The production also says that they believe that Awake’ will open its doors to other projects from Serbia.

The series will premiere on October 4 on the United Media’s Nova S TV channel. It was shown at the Sarajevo Film Festival in August.

‘Awake” tells the story of young, ambitious detective Sonja Kljun who is tasked to go from Belgrade to the northern city of Subotica to investigate an alleged suicide there.

She did not expect her arrival to trigger an avalanche of events, which will reveal deeply buried secrets related to the mysterious organisation, but also her past.

Staying in Subotica will turn her life upside down, especially when she and her ten-year-old daughter start having frightening dreams that occasionally come true.

By accepting her unusual gift, Sonja will reveal the dangerous conspiracy behind the alleged suicide, but also a deeply buried secret from her past.

Executive producer is Delirium film.