First screening in Toulon of a series in the Duanju format: King Gandolfi
- May 8
- 2 min read
Updated: May 9
The screening of the series King Gandolfi took place on May 7, 2026, in Toulon at the Chalucet Media Library, as part of the MEDSERIES Club. Organized by Quattrocento in partnership with the City of Toulon, the event offered an immersion into several formats of contemporary serialized storytelling on the eve of the Cannes Film Festival.
Presented as the opening screening, King Gandolfi is an offbeat medieval comedy series following a King confronted with trials involving mystery, honor, and power. Between a sacred medallion, betrayals, and unexplained disappearances, each situation contributes to building the legend of a ruler as unpredictable as he is unsuited to his own role.
Filmed in the south of France, the series makes use of numerous natural and historical locations, including the Roquefavour Aqueduct in Ventabren, the Château de Tarascon, Daudet’s Mill in Fontvieille, the calanques of Marseille, the Mill of Régusse, and the Saracen tower of Cournonterral.
Created by Guillaume Sanjorge, the series features Jean-Pierre Castaldi, Marthe Villalonga, Laurent Artufel, Anthony Joubert, Michel La Rosa, Stéphane Martinet, Sébastien Bugeja, Cyril Etesse, François Viette, Rémi Barrero, Nicolas Tacussel, Roger Nicolas, Jordan Deluxe, Karine Lima, Claudia Notte, Alexandre Thibault, Aurèle Barbieri, Sami Bentayeb, Gérald Michiara, and Raphael Forte.
Designed for mobile viewing with short episodes, King Gandolfi was presented as a work adapted to the Duanju format, a model of vertical mini-series particularly popular in China. The screening highlighted how the South of France region is currently experimenting with new hybrid audiovisual formats combining digital distribution and theatrical experience.
The MEDSERIES Club program continued with Buddy Bob, a mini-series written and directed by Anne Loriot, followed by Paoliwood, a series recounting the ambitious attempt to introduce Pascal Paoli to Mel Gibson. Together, the screenings offered more than two hours of programming blending humor, intimate storytelling, and projects deeply rooted in Mediterranean cultures.
How MEDSERIES discovered the Duanju format
Even before watching King Gandolfi among the projects submitted to the MEDSERIES Club, one of the festival organizers recalls hearing about these Chinese mini-series for the first time in a context completely unrelated to the professional Duanju industry. During a casual conversation, someone described these short-form series watched on smartphones during daily commutes. A few hours later, upon discovering King Gandolfi among the selected works, he realized that the series perfectly matched this rapidly emerging narrative format.
