France’s prestigious Series Mania festival never disappoints in drawing top industry entertainment executives and passionate audiences to witness the unveiling of television’s most anticipated new series.

Lionsgate’s first Israeli drama was meant to be a showcase for “The German,” before anti-Israel protesters repeatedly disrupted Sunday’s screening, waving Palestinian flags and shouting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Produced by the creative team behind hit shows “Fauda” and “Tehran,” it’s a gripping TV drama starring Oliver Masucci as Uri alongside Anna (Ania Bukstein), who seeks refuge in a kibbutz overlooking the Sea of Galilee after the Holocaust. Their attempt at a normal life is soon derailed when Israeli intelligence recruits Uri to infiltrate a group of SS veterans in Germany to capture notorious Nazi criminal Dr. Josef Mengele.

Last year, a similar pro-Hamas protest took place outside the Palais in Lille, with demonstrators wearing Palestinian flags and holding a banner reading “Stop Genocide In Gaza / Boycott Series Mania.” That same year, the festival faced criticism from Israeli producers after festival director Laurence Herszberg stated it was “impossible” for an Israeli show to be included in its official selection.

For Masucci, Sunday’s chaotic premiere was the culmination of a production journey fraught with tensions against the backdrop of war in Gaza.

“The inner movement and inner world of Uri, who is also a traumatized person, is conflicted because he wants to put everything away and move forward with his life,” Masucci tells Deadline. “But you get co-traumatized while you’re there and start acting like the Israelis. I tried to stay focused on succeeding in playing this role in Hebrew and this somehow matches with Uri’s inner intentions.”