The MIA Market, a regular fixture at Rome’s usual venue, is shifting to several hotels lining Via Veneto, the street immortalized by La Dolce Vita. The 12th edition opens Oct. 19, and it will run concurrently with the Rome Film Festival, which begins Oct. 13.
MIA has changed its approach, moving from a single venue to a spread-out setup across several hotels along Via Veneto in the Eternal City. This expansion marks a new format for the International Audiovisual Market.
The New Venue and Schedule
Since its beginning, MIA has centered its attention on international TV series, animation, feature films, and documentaries. For its 12th edition, the festival is broadening its reach, adding several hotels along Via Veneto to its lineup of venues. That street is famous for its cafes and luxury boutiques.
The market is scheduled from Oct. 19 through Oct. 23. The Rome Film Festival takes place from Oct. 13 to Oct. 25. As a result, MIA’s run lands squarely inside the middle of the festival, causing the two events to overlap.
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| MIA Market | Oct. 19–23 |
| Rome Film Festival | Oct. 13–25 |
The Festival Connection
For a period, MIA and the Rome Film Festival ran on different dates. Now they take place at the same time.
“We want the market to be more rooted in the city and Rome to become a major film and TV industry hub during this period,” MIA chief Gaia Tridente told Variety.
Buyers who take part will gain automatic accreditation to sit through the morning screenings set aside for the press and industry at the Rome Film Fest, including its Alice in the City sidebar, which centers on films for children and youth.
The Onstage Lineup
The previously announced MIA fireside chats feature several industry leaders: Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti, Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh, and Canal+’s chief content officer Jane Tranter, alongside Edward Berger, best known for All Quiet on the Western Front.
The new additions to the lineup include conversations and keynotes with Oscar-winning documentary director Asif Kapadia (Amy), British filmmaker Kim Longinotto, and Trevor Roth, who serves as COO and president of development at Roddenberry Entertainment.
Longinotto has made a name for herself through documentaries that put female rebels and pioneers at the center, with her 2019 film Shooting the Mafia serving as a prime example — it follows Sicilian photographer Letizia Battaglia. Roddenberry Entertainment is marking 60 years of the Star Trek franchise.
The Projects on Show
A total of over 100 projects from 43 countries will be featured. A selection of the most notable titles is shown below.
- Gucci: Game Over, a high-end Gucci family series from Sky Italia, directed by Gabriele Muccino
- About Love & September Laws, the next feature from Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani, whose 2023 debut Goodbye Julia made a splash in Cannes
- Ducati 100 Years of a Legend, a documentary about the Italian motorcycle manufacturer, directed by Alex Infascelli and produced by Minerva Pictures Group
- Barry Loser, a U.K. animation kiddie series based on Jim Smith’s bestselling books, produced by Big Little Fish Television
MIA’s new Animation Series Gap Financing Market includes the Barry Loser project. That market is open to international animated series projects that already have support from broadcasters or commissioners, along with substantial financing already secured.
The AI Panels
One standout panel is “Producing With AI: Augmentation or Replacement?” featuring Max Wiedemann, managing director and head of AI at France-based pan-European studio Mediawan, and Tom Paton, founder and CEO of AiMation, the company behind the AI Reality series Non Player Combat.
A companion keynote from Al Munteanu, the CEO of BriskPace Studios, comes after that panel. BriskPace Studios is based in Munich and London. The keynote looks at how AI is actually used across the production value chain.
Steve Saltzman, who leads the International Entertainment Group at London-based law firm Fieldfisher, moderates the Al Munteanu keynote.
The Accreditation Detail
What matters most is how the two events sit on top of each other. People who sign up for MIA gain access to morning screenings at the Rome Film Fest, along with its Alice in the City sidebar, which is set aside for the press and industry.
Buyers who register for MIA get their morning screenings accredited automatically, which removes the need to jump between separate dates.
The market runs Oct. 19-23, with the festival running Oct. 13-25. For buyers who register for MIA, the morning screenings at the Rome Film Fest and its Alice in the City sidebar are included.
MIA is betting on density through its new format. The market will be housed in hotels along Via Veneto, overlapping with the festival itself, so buyers can view projects, meet filmmakers, and take in screenings all within the city without having to leave it.
The roster looks solid. It pairs known directors with studio figures and animation projects, opening the market up across a wide range of interests. How well it lands will depend entirely on how buyers respond to the new arrangement.
Source material: “Rome MIA Market to Kick Off New Format With Rich Roster of Projects and Guests Including Edward Berger, Asif Kapadia, Kim Longinotto,” Variety.
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