The ninth edition of the international series festival Serial Killer in Brno announced its winners at the closing evening on Sunday. The festival ran from 23 to 28 September 2026 and offered 40 screenings and 33 series from 15 countries, accompanied by the TV Days professional conference with 70 speakers.[2]*

International competition Primetime Killer

The prize for the best television series from Central and Eastern Europe, Primetime Killer, went to the Polish series Proud, directed by Karol Klementewicz and made for the HBO Max platform. The series, which this year also won at the Series Mania festival in Lille, France, tells the story of a young Warsaw model who has to cope with unexpected fatherhood and social prejudice.[2][3] The jury praised the work's authorial confidence, script and direction; according to the festival's programme director Dan Vondra, it is a "rare case of a series in which stylish form meets powerful content."[2] The international jury chose from five titles, among them the Bulgarian series Zpřetrhaná pouta and the Polish series about a smallpox epidemic, Variola Vera.[3] Klementewicz also received the Progressive Killer award for an outstanding figure of television production in the region.[2]

Czech competition Czech Killer

The domestic competition section Czech Killer was held at the festival for the first time, and its first-ever winner was the series Kamarád, produced by Czech Television, by director and screenwriter Petr Pylypčuk.[1][3] The series, based on a true story from a school hiking club, is about a boy who, after his mother's death, looks for support in a new environment and finds it in a teacher and club leader, whose seeming friendship gradually turns into manipulation and sexual abuse.[1][4] The Czech jury consisted of writer Petra Soukupová, commentator Pavel Klusák and film historian Jindřiška Bláhová; it chose from five series: Hec and Kamarád (ČT), Oddíl B and Rekordwoman (Oneplay) and Táta (Prima+).[3] The jury's special mention in this category went to the cast of the prison comedy Oddíl B by Jan Prušinovský and Petr Kolečko, for combining professional actors with non-actors.[1][2]

Audience vote and reactions

An audience vote was also held at the festival for the first time; it closed after the last screening on Monday, anyone could vote using a QR code, and the result was tallied by the Filmtoro portal. Kamarád won again, ahead of the Dutch titles Úplně v háji and Případ letu 1862.[3] The screening of the first two episodes of Kamarád was watched by a packed hall "almost breathless," followed by a discussion with the creators and actors Matouš Ruml and Bára Kodetová. Director Pylypčuk said that during preparation he was surprised how often the public sides with the perpetrator rather than the victim. [1]

Broadcast and release

Kamarád is to be shown on Czech Television and iVysílání in spring 2027.[3] Oddíl B, made for Oneplay based on anecdotes from Zdeněk Godla's time in prison, premiered on the platform on 9 October 2026.[3][4] The tenth, jubilee edition of the Serial Killer festival is to be held from 21 to 26 September 2027.[2]

Chronology

  • — The Polish series Proud won the main prize at the Serial Killer festival in Brno; among Czech series, Kamarád won. Deník.cz ČTK / České noviny

Sources

  1. Deník.cz — 27 September 2026
  2. ČTK / České noviny — 27 September 2026
  3. Médiář — 27 September 2026
  4. Novinky.cz — 27 September 2026