Book Adaptation Forum and Shoot The Book
MIA is set to launch an exciting new initiative: the Book Adaptation Forum (BAF), a program designed to connect publishers, producers, literary agents, and audiovisual professionals with the goal of exploring and enhancing the fast-growing market for literary adaptations. BAF will bring to Rome a curated selection of unpublished novels for adaptation, while also creating opportunities for networking and international collaboration, with a forward-looking vision on the future of the global audiovisual market. Positioned within a highly relevant context for the cultural and creative industries, BAF aims to foster a new industrial initiative that promotes greater synergy between the publishing and audiovisual worlds. The project is made possible thanks to the key support of the Fondazione Roma Lazio Film Commission, one of the official sponsors of the event.
The Book Adaptation Forum (BAF) will showcase preview titles and include different targets and readerships. The international jury—composed of Raffaella De Angelis, Head of Literary Acquisitions, Global Drama & Film, Fremantle (United Kingdom); Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli, director, screenwriter, producer, and founder of Cinedora, producer of Vermiglio (Italy); Luke Franklin, Executive Producer, See Saw Films (United Kingdom); Nathanaël Poupin, Agent and Founder, 360 Talent Management (Italy); and Lorenza Lei, CEO, Fondazione Roma Lazio Film Commission (Italy) — has selected 10 unpublished books, which will be presented in a pitch session.
The selection ranges from a feel-good tale set in the mountains about rebirth—La volta giusta by Lorenza Gentile (Feltrinelli)—to a preview spy story centered on a conspiracy involving Hitler’s lover, Riparare i torti by Pino Cacucci (Mondadori); from a disquieting, visionary narrative revolving around a wealthy sex influencer who must reconnect with her family of origin, L’era dell’acquario by Fabio Bacà (Adelphi), to an international preview thriller set along the railway route between the Dolomites and Austria—The Engineer by Pierre Chevalier (Alban Editions).
Also featured are a sophisticated, slow-burning story centered on a woman grappling with her desire, Un animale innocente by Letizia Pezzali (Einaudi); and a light, engaging children’s tale about a “magic whistle,” Super-Sdentata by Lisa Riccardi (Il Battello a Vapore). There is space as well for a crime novel set in Turin with an unexpectedly drawn protagonist, Il suono dell’anima by Monica Manganelli (IR Indipendent R-Evolution); a legal serial in which a former police officer turned lawyer fights for the truth in a trial for uxoricide—L’inganno di Magritte by Alessandro Perissinotto and Piero D’Ettorre (Mondadori); an international debut exploring the wounds within the family of a tennis player accused of sexual assault, Implosion by Laurance Florisca Rivard (Heliotrope Editions); and finally, a noir that exposes the clandestine trafficking of young African footballers, La colpa è di chi muore by Marco Bellinazzo (Fandango).
Under the umbrella of the Book Adaptation Forum, MIA offers a market platform curated by the Société civile des éditeurs de langue française (SCELF) and the Institut français. A delegation of French publishers will present a selection of titles from the year’s most important new releases, whose audiovisual rights are available for the international market.
The jury composed of Luke Franklin, Executive Producer, See Saw Films (United Kingdom), Giulia Achilli (Dugong Film), and Beatrice Gulino (Teodora Film) has selected the eight (8) French titles to be presented at MIA: A HAIR’S BREADTH by Claire Berest (Albin Michel); 31 DAYS TO LOVE YOU by Sophie Jomain (Auzou Editions); 21 BENDS by Fred Poulet (Media Participations – En Exergue); THE FIERY AND SECRETIVE MILES FRANKLIN by Alexandra Lapierre (Flammarion); TOMORROW’S SHADOWS by Noëlle Michel (Editis – Le Bruit du monde); SPAGHETTI ATTACK! by Stéphane Nicolet (Media Participations – Little Urban); SMUGGLERS by Michèle Pedinielli, Valerio Varesi (Media Participations – Points); THE BALANCE OF BODIES by Jérémie Guez (Media Participations – Seuil).
Thanks to the Book Adaptation Forum and Shoot the Book! MIA Edition, and through the engagement of audiovisual producers from around the world, MIA aims to stimulate the adaptations market by strengthening collaboration between the literary and audiovisual sectors. The initiative creates a platform to facilitate the acquisition of intellectual property rights and the global distribution of works, contributing to sustainable and innovative development for the future of cultural creation and consumption, while offering new opportunities for both authors and the international audiovisual industry.
BAF Activities:
Pitching Session #1
Tuesday, October 7th, 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm, Palazzo Barberini, Conference Room
Pitching Session #2
Wednesday, October 8th, 10:00 am – 11:30 am, Palazzo Barberini, Conference Room
One-On-One Meetings:
- Monday, October 6th – Afternoon Meetings – Palazzo Barberini
- Tuesday, October 7th – Throughout the day Meetings – Palazzo Barberini
- Wednesday, October 8th – Throughout the day Meetings– Palazzo Barberini
