MIA Market kicks off today in Rome

MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo returns to Rome from October 9-13, 2023 in its historic venues of Palazzo Barberini and Cinema Barberini  with over 80 events, 5 content showcases, 4 pitching forums,  more than 60 market screenings and film presentations,  9 awards,  5 immersive experiences, an ultra-tech hall,  2 live podcasts and over 120 selected projects.

The Roman Market, directed by Gaia Tridente,  returns with its 9th Edition with over 80 events including panels, meetings, keynotes, interviews and masterclasses, 5 content showcases - all international from this year - 4 pitching forums, 50 market screenings and 11 presentations of films still in progress, 9 awards, 5 immersive virtual reality experiences, a tech hall equipped with an 8x4 metres Absen cinema curved LED screen and a sensorial carpet for virtual production demos and 2 live podcasts. 121 selected projects will be presented during the  Co-Production Market & Pitching Forum and Content Showcase, with titles in development and works in progress,  from 47 countries.

The full program and all the news were unveiled at today's press conference, introduced by MIA Director Gaia Tridente and attended by: Francesco Rutelli, President of ANICA, Chiara Sbarigia, President of APA, Luca Di Persio, Global Chief Innovation, Marketing, Communication & B2B Officer at ITA, and Lorenza Lei, Cinema and Audiovisual Delegate, Lazio Region.

This year's edition of MIA leads to a successful climax of a process that has developed over the years and has ensured continuous growth and international recognition by the entire audiovisual industry. 

MIA 2023 will be rich and wide-ranging in terms of content and curatorial research, with an ambitious and "extended" programme that combines careful study and research of the industry sector in the various format and genre categories that MIA deals with in order to transform it into a key tool for the development of the national and international market. A hotbed of discussion and confrontation for the major market players, a fundamental hub of co-production and sales, with ample potential for growth to meet the needs of the complex audiovisual ecosystem.

MIA represents a unicum in the sector, one of the few professional events to truly bring industry and creativity together. It is devoted to a wide range of genres and formats, representing the needs of all players in the industry and anticipating the themes and spaces of the future. An ideal theatre for a business that relies on the visionary capacity of entrepreneurs, their passion and dedication, and the risk one takes when working on an intangible product.

Among international works attending MIA 2023 edition, the series A Prophet, an international co-production by CPB Films and Media Musketeers Studios, co-produced by UGC, Orange Studio, Entourage Series and Savon Noir, for OCS based on the 2009 film of the same name by Jacques Audiard; the eagerly anticipated series The Count of Monte Cristo, directed by Bille August and produced by Palomar, in collaboration with DEMD Productions, Rai Fiction and France TV. Plus the long-awaited new animation project from Paw Patrol creator Keith Chapman, PaddyPaws; and Savages! the new stop-motion feature from award-winning director Claude Barras, nominated for an Oscar in 2017. The films include Persona non grata by Antonin Svoboda, founder of the Austrian collective Coop99 filmproduktion, together with directors and producers Jessica Hausner and Barbara Albert; En vigília, a debut feature by Vigília Collective, Clara Serrano Llorens and Gerard Simó Gimeno, produced by Ringo Media and moreover the third feature by Portuguese director André Gil Mata, Sob a chama da candeia/The Flame of a Candle.

MIA 2023 received  the patronage of Eurimages, the cultural support fund of the Council of Europe for the co-production, distribution, exhibition and digitisation of European cinematographic works.

The 9th Edition of MIA will be characterised by an "extension" of spaces and contents dedicated to Innovation for Creative Industries with an in-depth look at the theme of technological innovation and digitalisation linked to the audiovisual sector. In a dedicated area - a real Tech Pavilion created in the wonderful locations of Palazzo Barberini - in partnership with STS and EDI Effetti Digitali Italiani, and thanks to the collaboration of Mnemonica and Blackstone - it will be possible to discover VFX, Virtual Production and XR.

In order to stimulate cross-border cooperation, mobility for European participation and strategic outreach, MIA has enriched its programme by structuring more targeted relations at the European level. Involving a larger number of European participants, MIA 2023 hosts a number of delegations from the main European institutions operating in the sector, in a programme of activities that sees MIA at the centre of policy interests in support of the audiovisual market.

Among the panels promoted by the European partners, a very topical discussion in the meeting Being an independent producer. What does it really mean today? promoted by Creative Europe Desk Italy MEDIA, in which the changing role of the independent producer in Europe will be examined, amidst changing dynamics, the acquisition of international groups, new rules for public funding and an analysis of the evolving European directives. Among speakers, Martin Dawson, Deputy Head of Unit Audiovisual Industry and Media Support Programmes, DG CNECT, European Commission.

The meeting organised in collaboration with ACE Producers entitled Dal film alla serie e viceversa/From film to series and back again in which Judy Counihan, producer and creative director of Scripted by Pulse Films will delve into her 25-year career in Europe and the USA, from producer of Oscar-winning European films to producer of highly successful comedies and drama series.

In the panel  European Writers Club. Boosting Impact: From Facts to Fiction, organized by EWC - the unique network of European creators, writers, producers and broadcasters present at the MIA also for a closed-door meeting - we will talk about how to increase and enhance the stories of television series based on real events.

Is it finally time for equity financing in the TV series and Feature films business?, held in collaboration with the EPC-European Producers Club, focuses on the current scenario of financing models and the new tools implemented by the Media Programme, with Maxime Cottray, COO of XYZ Films; Sebastian Janin of Media Musketeers and Frédéric Fiore, President and Partner of Logical Pictures.

EBU-Eropean Broadcasting Union returns again this year with the participation of numerous Heads of Drama from the main European public broadcasters who will meet at the MIA for their annual assembly. This year MIA and EBU will also offer all delegates participation in an open session entitled New European Collaboration in which new European collaborations will be discussed which will be presented exclusively to the market.

In the EWA Network's vision for women in the European AV industry panel, the issue of female underrepresentation in key positions in the European audiovisual industry will be addressed. The pan-European community of women in the EWA network is committed to turning this around. Taking a deep dive into the landscape of fiction series, EWA Executive Director Anamaria Antoci will shed light on the concrete steps the network is taking to bring more female-led European stories to life.

As part of strategic relations work at a European level, MIA will host the second edition of the Spanish Screenings on Tour, one of the main initiatives of Spanish Screenings XXL, supported with the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan promoted by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and sports through ICEX España Exportación and Inversiones, the Malaga Festival and the San Sebastian Festival. Among the objectives of the initiative is to give impetus and offer new opportunities to the Spanish audiovisual industry, also through presence in internationally relevant markets, such as the MIA.

For this edition, the MIA Digital platform will be active to allow registered attendees, live and remote, to access all sessions (live streaming and on demand).

More at: www.miamarket.it