China suspense series up for awards at European TV festival

Suspense adventure series "Gold Panning," an iQiyi original production and part of its "Light On" series, has been listed in the International Panorama section of this year's Series Mania, Europe's most prestigious TV festival.

Running on March 18-25 in the northern French city of Lille, Series Mania will showcase 55 new series, selected from 330 submissions worldwide.

Among the 12 shows in the International Panorama section, "Gold Panning" is the only production from Asia. It's also the first time that a work from the Chinese mainland has been listed for consideration in Series Mania awards.

"'Gold Panning' is a riveting, operatic drama that expertly drives the narrative and character arcs while depicting a specific sense of location and of a not-so-distant past," said Frédéric Lavigne, artistic director of Series Mania.

"The stunning cinematography cloaks molten gold into dark shadows. We are beyond excited to screen such formal beauty on a cinema screen, for our International Panorama jury and our audience," Lavigne said.

The series will compete for the Best Series Award, Special Jury Prize and Audience Award.

The awards ceremony will be held on March 25.