The Italian Pavilion at Cannes’ Marché du Film hosted the presentation of the twelfth MIA | International Audiovisial Market, which is organised by ANICA (Italian National Association of Audiovisual and Digital Film Industries) – presided over by Alessandro Usai – and by APA (Italian Association of Audiovisual Producers) – chaired by Chiara Sbarigia – under the leadership of Gaia Tridente.

The MIA will unfold in Rome between 19 and 23 October. On an institutional level, the Market enjoys support from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation by way of the International Trade Agency, as well as from the Ministry of Culture, the Lazio Region, and the Fondazione Roma Lazio Film Commission. It was also granted support from Creative Europe MEDIA.

Gaia Tridente drew attention to significant new additions to the event’s twelfth edition. Works in progress will now have a concrete opportunity to access the international market through a business and creativity platform which promises to help develop projects selected in certain categories - fiction films, animated films, documentaries, scripted series, docuseries, animated series – by way of a new gap financing tool. The selected works will be presented within revamped Pitching Forums, designed to foster the creation of a more targeted and efficient distribution, co-production and acquisition ecosystem. The Forums will revolve around the following sections: Film Pitching Forum (Narrative Feature Films and Animation Feature Films), Doc Pitching Forum (Documentary Feature Films and Docuseries), Drama Pitching Forum (Scripted Series – all formats).

This year’s MIA will also introduce CASA MIA, a large networking lounge which will be integrated within and close to the market’s main areas, and accessible to all MIA badge-holders. It will be a space in which to meet, work, share, and follow through on new opportunities in a welcoming, well-maintained and functional setting. A setting which doesn’t only facilitate networking, but which also helps to reinforce a sense of belonging within the international MIA community.

The Animation Series Gap Financing Market, for its part, is a new programme dedicated exclusively to animated series, designed as a new industry-focused format for projects which have already secured partial funding, as well as backing from broadcasters. It will see producer-broadcaster teams presenting animated series in search of international co-producers, co-financiers and co-commissioners, with the aim of finalising these series’ financial structure and kicking-starting production.

Works in progress will be presented in the MIA’s various content showcases, aiding their international distribution or, in other cases, providing a showcase for selling formats according to their language and category: C EU Soon for European and international fiction and animation films, Greenlit for European narrative series (dramas and comedies), the Italian Series Animation Showcase for animated Italian series, and Italians Doc It Better for documentaries and docuseries of Italian origin.

As for the programme dedicated to the circulation and sales of films destined for movie theatres, this will now include Comin’UP, in which the works currently gracing distributors’ slates will be presented. As yet unseen works which are soon to be released on the market, these titles will be presented by sales agents to an audience of international buyers (from both the film and TV worlds) and festival representatives. The Buyers Club will also boast dedicated networking activities and reserved screenings, which are organised by Rome Film Fest and Alice nella Città, and which are also open to international MIA-accredited buyers.