23/10/2015 - 1,317 accredited professionals attended the new International Audiovisual Market, which was held between 16 and 20 October

1,317 accredited professionals and 270 visitors, with 58 countries represented by 546 producers, 310 buyers, 118 international sales agents and 50 commissioning editors. The first edition of the MIA, the new International Audiovisual Market which was held from 16 to 20 October, came to a close having exceeded the expectations of the organisers, both in terms of participation and results. "We’re just at the beginning of an important project in which we hope the MIA will be an active contributor to the internationalisation and growth of audiovisual products. The success of this edition has really encouraged us to work hard to launch effective initiatives throughout the year and to work on organising a stronger, even more innovative market,” announced the director of the MIA, Lucia Milazzotto.

Born with the aim of putting Italy back on the map of European and global audiovisual industries and, at the same time, providing the most active stakeholders from all over the world with an effective market tool, the MIA also aims to establish itself as a major convergence platform for film, television, documentary film and gaming that can strengthen strategic and industrial actions for the co-development, co-production and exportation of material within and outside of Europe and on lesser explored markets.

The MIA was also attended by a significant number of national and foreign institutions, with 172 representatives in total. 92 films and 8 TV series were offered up for the international market, with 35 world market premieres. 1500 b2b events were organised as part of the New Cinema Network, Make It With Italy and IDS for international film and documentary co-production projects. Over the course of the 82 events, (TV Days Soft Talks, Country focuses, MIA Talks and the Agora and IDS events), more than 300 guests, chosen from the biggest international audiovisual stakeholders, exchanged views on and discussed the future of the sector.

Over the course of the Market, distribution and co-production negotiations were held and agreements concluded for, among others, Non essere cattivo [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Claudio Caligari, which was one of Rai Com’s Italian films that sold the most. Non essere cattivo is in the running to be one of the nominees for Best Foreign Film at the upcoming Academy Awards. True Colours, the new company set up by Indigo and Lucky Red, did very well with sales of Le confessioni by Roberto Andò and Me, Myself and Her [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile], directed by Maria Sole Tognazzi (see news article). Other films that found foreign distributors at the Market include La felicità è un sistema complesso by Gianni Zanasi (which will be released in Italy in November by BIM) and Black Souls [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Francesco Munzi
film profile] by Francesco Munzi, continuing its international success with a distribution agreement with Japan. 

Happy Winter [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a documentary by Giovanni Totaro which was chosen for the IDS Academy, found a national distributor through the MIA, and turning to television, the United States will soon receive two films from the Inspector Montalbano series, the new season of L’ispettore Coliandro, Claudio Canepari and Paolo Santolini’s documentaryCamilleri - Maestro Senza Regole and ‘mockumentary’ TV series Crazy Dreamers, by Filippo Macelloni and Lorenzo Garzella.

(Translated from Italian)