MIA presents itself with its 9th edition enriched and enhanced

USPA NEWS - Rome, October 9th 2023 - MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo, directed by Gaia Tridente, returns to Rome from October 9-13, 2023 in its historic venues of Palazzo Barberini and Cinema Barberini.

The Roman Market 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.
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 the Italian works presented at MIA 2023 content showcases, is Sono ancora vivo (I’m still alive), directed by Roberto Saviano, an animation project based on his autobiographical graphic novel. Animation projects also include the feature film Fiammetta - screenplay by Enzo D'Alò - on the story of Fiammetta and Boccaccio. For the Doc division, the directorial debut of actress Kasja Smutniak with Walls about the dramatic situation of migrants on the border between Poland and Belarus. In the Drama division, Miss Fallaci, Paramount+'s first Italian original series produced by Minerva Pictures and Paramount Television International Studios, in association with RedString Pictures, starring Miriam Leone in the role of the young Oriana Fallaci; Fireworks by Susanna Nicchiarelli produced by Fandango and Rai Fiction. Among films, Per amore di una donna by Guido Chiesa produced by Colorado Film Production and Vivo film with Rai Cinema. Among international works, 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 is today one of the main international market events dedicated to the audiovisual industry. Born in 2015 and grown thanks to well-established joint venture between ANICA (Italian Association of Film, Audiovisual and Digital Industries), chaired by Francesco Rutelli, and APA (Italian Audiovisual Producers Association) chaired by Chiara Sbarigia, enjoys the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, ITA-Italian Trade Agency, with the contribution of Creative Europe MEDIA. MIA is also supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, and the Lazio Region. Unicredit is the Official Sponsor. MIA 2023 also received for this edition 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. 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).

MIA XR: THE INNOVATION PROGRAMME FOR CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AND THE TECH PAVILION

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. MIA will offer a daily programme of activities including panels, showcases and masterclasses that will aim to bring all professionals interested in this new world and way of producing audiovisual content closer. An approach to the entire ecosystem of digital technologies applied to the production and distribution of audiovisual content in order to intercept international market trends and increase the international competitiveness of the sector by creating new business opportunities on a global basis, reaching an increasing number of operators and partners.

The Tech Pavilion will host Virtual Production demos every day, organised by STS and EDI, and in the areas dedicated to VR MIA delegates will be able to enjoy Virtual Reality experiences selected in collaboration with XR content partners Unifrance, Institut Francais and French Embassy, Rai Cinema and One More.
Among the speakers of MIA XR conference programme, Jake Morrison, expert VFX supervisor of several films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Iron Man 2, Thor, The Avengers, Thor: Ragnarok) will present an extraordinary discussion on the global VFX market, through the analysis of his projects and techniques, and will delve into the future of high-budget VFX, between artificial intelligence and adherence to real life.
MIA XR's experiences and meetings include The Powerplant immersive experience belonging to the work The origin of things, by Jérémy Griffaud Scholar of the XR Farnese Residency of the Institut français Italia. The Garden, an installation combining interactive VR and real-time immersive projection funded by French institutions such as Villa Médicis, CNC, New Image Festival and Le Hublot. Gaudi. The Atelier of the Divine, produced by Small Creative, GEDEON Experien

KEY NOTES AND PANELS

Over the five days of MIA 2023, among cross-cutting panels open to all genres and types of products and meetings focusing on specific topics, some of the most important professionals of the international audiovisual system will discuss the opportunities and challenges of audiovisual production and distribution. Among them, the keynote speakers of MIA 2023: Nicole Clemens, President of Paramount Television Studios (PTVS) and Paramount+ Original Scripted Series; Sara Bernstein, award-winning producer and President of Imagine Documentaries - the production company founded by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer; Marge Dean, Head of Skybound Entertainment's Animation Studio, Emmy winner and President of Women In Animation; Ari Folman, award-winning writer, director, producer and animator known for Waltz with Bashir; Nicholas Weinstock, Founder and President of Invention Studios, who developed and produced Apple+'s Emmy award-winning series Severance; James Townley, Chief Content Officer Development at Banijay.

Special attention will be paid to film financing models between equity and new solutions, as well as to the world of distribution with meetings with top professionals like Frédéric Fiore, President and Partner of Logical Pictures; Claudia Bluemhuber, CEO of Silver Reel Partners; Maxime Cottray; COO of XYZ Films; Thor Sigurjonsson, Managing Director of Scanbox; Alex Brunner of United Talent Agency; Phil Hunt, CEO of Head Gear Films/Bankside.
Adding to the already announced line up, the Netflix event-panel The Craft of European Storytelling: a spotlight on Italy, Spain and the Nordics, will feature Tinny Andreatta, VP Content Italy with Diego Ávalos, VP Content Spain and Portugal and Jenny Stjernströmer Björk, VP Content Nordics at Netflix, who will analyse the group's creative and production process, the editorial line on European content and the slate in development and production including films, series, documentaries and unscripted projects. To open the panel, there will be a live musical introduction by Raffaele Costantino.

THE PANELS OF THE 4 DIVISIONS

The ANIMATION SECTION offers a series of encounters on the state of auteur animation in Italy and on strategies to foster collaboration between European producers. In International Co-productions, Luca Milano, Executive Director of Rai Kids; Yago Fañdino Lousa, Head of Children's Content and Director of Clan TV, RTVE; and Jo Allen, Commissioning Executive, BBC Children, will discuss the balance and challenges of public TV in their respective countries. In Kizazi Moto: Africa roars, Stuart Forrest, CEO of Triggerfish; Lesego Vorster, Co-Founder of The Hidden Hand Studios; Raymond Malinga, CEO of Creatures Animation Studio, will talk about Disney+'s first African anthology series. Content is also the focus of two other panels: Graphic Novels and Screen Adaptations in which Corinne Kouper, Co-Founder of TeamTO; Emanuele Di Giorgi, CEO of Tunué; and Lila Hannou, VP Creative Development and Strategy of Ellipsanime Productions, will address the topic of adaptations.

In Creative Renewal. Rebooting or Repeating? the revisiting of classics will be discussed with Gary Milne, Head of Development at Banijay; Simon Leslie, VP Licensing Southern Europe, Middle East, Turkey & Africa at Paramount; and Ana Gonzalez, Kids Editorial Lead Southern Europe and Africa at Warner Bros. Discovery. Finally, the focus shifts to Diversity&Inclusion in the world of animation in Toon's Gaze and the transformative impact of advanced language models - like ChatGPT - in the film industry in Language Models in Film Production, to be hosted in MIA XR programming. Perspectives and Development Potential of European Animation will discuss the common challenges and opportunities for the European animation industry in a talk with producers from different countries: Francesco Manfio, General Manager of Gruppo Alcuni (Italy); Giorgio Scorza, CEO-Creative Director of Movimenti Productions (Italy); Jožko Rutar, Member of the Board of Directors of CEE Animation (Slovenia); Maria Bonaria Fois, CEO of Mondo TV Studios (Spain); Ina Sommer, Head of Animation Germany (Germany).

MIA's DOC&FACTUAL SECTION offers a great space for co-productions and the hottest and most relevant topics in the world of international documentaries and factual shows. A series of keynotes and panels will allow the MIA audience to meet some of the main players on the international market. The new series of Meet the Commissioner meetings will be launched with Alessandro Saba, Head of Original Production of Walt Disney Company Italia; Giovanni Bossetti Netflix Nonfiction Manager, Italy; and Angelo Mellone, RAI Daytime Entertainment Director. Two appointments related to co-production with Italy will see Fabrizio Zappi, Director of Rai Documentari, confronting with his counterparts Antonio Grigolini of France Television and Christiane Hinz of the German WDR. Cinetel, the company that has been monitoring Italian Box Office data for almost 30 years, exclusively for the MIA, will present a research on the commercial value of documentaries in Italian cinemas in the post-pandemic period.

Space will also be given to reflections on the use of Artificial Intelligence, to the differences between documentaries and journalistic reportage, and to a new way of telling stories from new viewpoints related to diversity. Not to be forgotten, among the many events, is the live episode of Telly Cast, the most popular podcast in the international industry directly from the Barberini Cinema in Rome, curated by its creator Justin Crosby, as well as Dalla pagina al grande schermo (From the Page to the Big Screen), part of the roadshow of seminars organised by ANICA in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, with a dialogue by MIA Deputy Director Marco Spagnoli with Strega Prize-winning writer and screenwriter Francesco Piccolo, author of the documentary presented at Venice Le mie poesie non cambieranno il mondo (My poems won't change the world), produced by Piccolo with Annalena Benini and dedicated to poet Patrizia Cavalli.

Artificial Intelligence and creation of original TV formats. Legal issue or creative revolution? How to protect original ideas while A.I. catches on as the turning point of this era, will be hosted in the MIA XR area, with Francesco Saverio Nucci, Director of Sustainable Society Lab, Engineering Group; Leonardo Pasquinelli, CEO of Endemol Shine Italia; Elena Varese, Lawyer, Partner IP Dept., DLA Piper; Michael Von Wurden, Managing Director of Snowman Productions.

DRAMA SECTION: Drama Breakthroughs: Stories Of Representation And Success presents a selection of TV series whose main theme is representation. On stage Bilal Baig, showrunner and star of the HBO series Max Original Sort Of; Abby Ajayi producer and screenwriter of the series Riches and screenwriter of milestones in Shonda Rhimes' ShondaLand universe such as How to get away with murder and Inventing Anna; Maddalena Rinaldo, Producer and Head of Content of Cross Productions; Dhanny Joshi, Managing Director of Big Deal Film and producer of the series Dreaming Whilst Black (defined as the new Fleabag in a black and male key) and Nicola De Angelis CEO and Head of Development and International Coproductions of Fabula Pictures. The panel The Producer's Role tells the point of view of international independent producers, among speakers some top players of the global industry such as Danna Stern; David Levine; Nicholas Weinstock, President and Founder of the newly founded Invention Studios and Marc Helwig new Head of Worldwide TV at Miramax.

New Studios Models explores the role of studios today, bringing together some of the industry heavyweights including Tesha Crawford, the new SVP Global Scripted Series at Universal International Studios; Brendan Fitzgerald, SVP International Co-Productions at Sony Pictures Television; Françoise Guyonnet, Executive Managing Director TV Series at StudioCanal; Elisabeth D'Arvieu, CEO of Mediawan. Anonymous Content will be present with a panel in which David Levine, HBO's long-time Head of Drama and now CCO of Anonymous, and David Davoli, President of Television, will present the company's new production and management projects along with their strategies for co-productions and financing. Drama Financing Trends reports on new production and financing models and explores co-production as a way of sharing risks. The CEE drama Outlook is a panel entirely composed of women industry leaders who will explore opportunities for collaboration with producers, studios and talent from Central and Eastern Europe and report on current and future trends together with opportunities and challenges.

THE FILM SECTION will open with a panel on Italian cinema, Cinema in Italy: a brighter tomorrow?, a conversation between the main players of the industry to take a snapshot of the current condition and outline future approaches, with Alessandro Araimo, General Manager Southern Europe of Warner Bros. Discovery; Paolo Del Brocco, Managing Director of Rai Cinema; Piera Detassis, President & Artistic Director of the Accademia del Cinema Italiano-Premi David di Donatello; Giampaolo Letta, Managing Director of Medusa; Federica Lucisano, Managing Director of Italian International Film; Marina Marzotto, Founder and Senior Partner of Propaganda Italia; Massimiliano Orfei, Managing Director of Vision Distribution. With Local and yet global, introducing Vuelta Group we will follow the recent entry on the European scene of an important new player that is charting a new course in the field of local and international production and distribution, with David Atlan-Jackson, CCO of Vuelta Group; Daniel Campos Pavoncelli, Partner & Producer of Indiana Production; Al Munteanu, CEO of SquareOne Entertainment; Thor Sigurjonsson, Managing Director of Scanbox; François Yon, Managing Director at Playtime.

Financing models and equity investments are at the centre of The Morning Show, MIA film's focus on opportunities for building financial plans between equity and co-production. A snapshot of today's viable financing models, a unique opportunity to pick up tips from leading experts, with Frédéric Fiore, President and Partner of Logical Pictures; Naima Abed, CEO & Co-Founder of Paradise City; Alex Brunner, of United Talent Agency; Claudia Bluemhuber, Managing Partner of Silver Reel Partners; Maxime Cottray, COO of XYZ Films; Phil Hunt, CEO of Head Gear Films. In the highly competitive scenario of creating entertainment, films and series, it is crucial to find stories that can be recognised and appeal to a wide audience: in Hunting the next goldmine IP, from books to screen, Valentina Bertoldo, Head of Development and Production of Vision Distribution; Lorenzo Gangarossa, Producer of Wildside; Geoff Morley, Motion Picture Literary Agent of United Talent Agency; Joseph Rouschop, Producer of Tarantula; Maria Grazia Saccà CEO and Producer of Titanus Production, will talk about the world of film adaptation from a creative, legal and commercial viewpoint.

With Unlocking Growth: Exploring the European Investment Fund, EIF's Nathalie Chollet will explain the European Investment Fund's MediaInvest programme, which facilitates access to equity financing for companies in the audiovisual sector.