'The Good Mothers'

Source: Claudio Iannone

‘The Good Mothers’

Disney+ drama The Good Mothers, about women who defy the ‘Ndrangheta mafia, has won the first ever Berlinale Series Award.

The Italian language series is produced through the UK’s House Productions and Italy’s Wildside, a Fremantle company, and launches on Disney+ on April 5.

It follows the true story of three women who were born into ‘Ndrangheta mafia clan and how they worked with a female prosecutor to bring it down from the inside.

Based on the book by Alex Perry and adapted by Stephen Butchard (Bagdad Central, The Last Kingdom), the project is directed Julian Jarrold (The Crown, Becoming Jane) and Elisa Amoruso ( Sirley, Chiara Ferragni: Unposted).

The cast includes Gaia Girace, Valentina Bellè, Barbara Chichiarelli, Francesco Colella, Simona Distefano, Andrea Dodero and Micaela Ramazzotti.

The Good Mothers team

Source: © Stefanie Schmid Rincon

Left to right: Daniel Frigo (country manager The Walt Disney Company Italia), Elisa Amoruso (director) Julian Jarrold (director), Alessandro Saba (head of productions The Walt Disney Company Italia)

The Good Mothers was chosen as the winner of the inaugural Berlinale Series Award by a jury comprising writer Mette Heeno, actor André Holland and yes Studios founder Danna Stern.

In a statement, the jury said: “The Good Mothers captured us with its multi-layered characters that are treated with care and allow to evolve before our very eyes. We were moved, anxious and, at times, breathless. The series creators have been meticulous in recreating an authentic and detailed world, presented by a stellar cast, with performances that made our hearts skip a beat.”

The Berlinale Series Award is the first award at an A-festival to be established specifically for a series.

The jury gave a special mention to the Norwegian series Arkitekten (The Architect).

Seven series were nominated for the Berlinale Series Award, which was presented on Wednesday (February 22) at Zoo Palast in Berlin.