More than 140 screenings and 80 worldwide and market previews, over 40 selected titles among feature films, TV series and documentaries at the the Co-Production Market and Pitching Forum.
From October 13 to 17, 2021, MIA|INTERNATIONAL AUDIOVISUAL MARKET, directed by Lucia Milazzotto, is back. The leading event of the entire Italian Film & Audiovisual system, a flywheel of product exports, co-productions and business networking at an international level unveils the lineup and events of its 7th edition varied program.
One of the few events to have taken place in attendance in 2020, MIA is once again this year an attraction for the industry’s top players, and participation is expected to be numerous. Hundreds of accredited buyers are a confirmation of the operators’ growing confidence in the territory and their intention to expand business in Italy, also thanks to MIA which has become crucial in the production of scripted and unscripted titles. 2021 features a +30% increase in the number of feature film screenings, 140+ screenings and 80+ worldwide and market previews – a clear proof of the desire to plunge back into the cinematic experience and meet face to face with distributors, directors and the international film community.
MIA was formed and continues to grow thanks to the consolidated joint venture between ANICA – l’Associazione Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche Audiovisive Multimediali presided by Francesco Rutelli and APA – Associazione Produttori Audiovisivi chaired by Giancarlo Leone, with the renovated support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, ICE (Agency for the promotion abroad and the internationalization of Italian companies), and with the support of MiC (Ministry of Culture), Ministry of Economic Development, Lazio Region, MEDIA program of the European Union. Also partnerships were confirmed with UniCredit, Fastweb, Fondazione Cinema per Roma, Alice nella Città.
The seventh edition takes place again in Rome, in the venues of Palazzo Barberini, Cinema Moderno and Cinema Quattro Fontane, where the domestic and international industry will be greeted in total safety. As for the previous edition, physical events will be enhanced and integrated virtually, through the custom-designed online platform, MIA DIGITAL.
MIA SCRIPTED: GREAT INTERNATIONAL GUEST STARS
Joe Russo and Alon Aranya
The opening keynote of the MIA Scripted section curated by Gaia Tridente will be held by award-winning and record-breaking director, writer and producer, JOE RUSSO, Co-Chairman of AGBO, the production company founded in 2017 with his brother, Co-Chairman Anthony Russo. The Russos are among Hollywood’s most famous siblings and have raised the bar for blockbuster filmmaking in artistry, scope, and box office returns, such as for the Marvel Cinematic Universe quartet franchise Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Their production company, AGBO, creates content based on explosive and innovative storytelling, always in search of new experimental models. Through AGBO, the Russos produced 21 Bridges, Mosul, Relic and Extraction. They also directed Cherry, released on Apple TV in 2021, and are currently in production to direct The Gray Man to be released in 2022. In addition to their Film&TV successes, the Russos are also co-founders – along with nearly twenty other directors and artists – of Bullitt, a creative collective directors studio focused on the creation of brand-integrated entertainment and advertising content, which exploits the most advanced technology to break down the barriers between advertisers and audience. Joe Russo will be interviewed exclusively at MIA by Sean Furst, Film & TV President of Skybound Entertainment.
Besides the Key guests of the seventh edition of MIA, producer and writer Alon Aranya, will be the subject of a Keynote Interview exploring his innovative Producing career. Alon is the Executive Producer of Your Honor (Showtime) the US remake of the Israeli series Kvodo, with Bryan Cranston, for which the second season has already been ordered. Alon is also the Executive Producer of Tehran. He was instrumental in developing and financing the show, helping it become a global success on Apple TV +. Alon’s production company, Paper Plane Productions is under a first look deal at Apple TV. Paper Plane Productions is currently in production on Best Seller Boy, an original new Dutch show, and a co-production with CBS Studios International, Willy nWaltz International and the NPO in Holland. The company is developing shows in the U.S., Israel, Holland, Germany, France and Ireland. Guest moderator of the Keynote will be Michael Gordon, Global Television Agent at CAA.
MIA SCRIPTED: CO – PRODUCTION MARKET E PITCHING FORUM
A preview of 28 feature film and TV series projects
The Film Co-Production Market & Pitching Forum includes a selection of 14 feature film projects from 8 countries that will be exhibited to domestic and international key players of the sector. As many as 5 of the 12 projects selected are by women directors, proof of the market’s commitment to women’s inclusive growth and working empowerment. Moreover, half the titles are by directors at their first or second work.
Selected lineup includes: AFTER THE HURRICANE by Julian Jarrold, former director of several episodes of The Crown for Netflix; ARTURO’S VOICE, second work of director Irene Dionisio, winner of numerous film awards (including the Silver Ribbon and Solinas;) FOROUGH: A LONELY WOMAN by Tina Gharavi; LAST CHORD IN THESSALONIKI by Eran Riklis, one of the most important representatives of Israeli cinema; LES ITALIENS by Silvio Muccino with fixed co-screenwriter Carla Vangelista; TODAY… TOMORROW… by Ray Yeung director of Suk Suk, successfully screened at the Berlinale.
In addition to the international selection, for the second year the Film Co-Production Market & Pitching Forum presents WANNA TASTE IT?, a section dedicated exclusively to Italian film projects in development, a true flywheel for the Italian film industry and its talents, thanks to targeted networking with potential buyers and financers, meetings with experts and representatives of institutions and funds.
This year, 14 international TV series projects will be showcased at the Drama Co-production Market & Pitching Forum. On stage, producers from 12 different nationalities: Italy, United Kingdom, Canada, Cyprus, France, Finland, Belgium, Ukraine, Germany, Iceland, Spain and Bulgaria.
Highlights include: COVERDALE produced by Pinball London and created by Paula A. Vaccaro e Aaron Brookner; FARPOINT co-produced by Caretta Films, Three River Fiction and distributed by ZDF Enterprises; D’ARTAGNAN AND CO, created by Yann Le Gal and produced by AT-Production; NEST OF SNAKES, produced by Film.UA Group and created by Anastasiia Lodkina; the TV series 177 DAYS. THE KIDNAPPING OF FAROUK KASSAM, produced by Bim Produzione and written by Vincenzo Marra, Lea Tafuri and Antonio Manca; again from Italy, GANGS OF ROME produced by Minerva Pictures Group and written by Peppe Fiore based on an idea by Gianluca Curti,; and then FIREWORKS co-produced by Fandango and Matrioska, directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli and written with Marianna Cappi; THE RECRUITER, produced by Sienna Films and created by David Vainola and Allan MacDougall; THE TRIP, produced by Glassriver and written by Andri Ottarsson and Baldvin Z.
MIA SCRIPTED: PANEL & TALKS
The busy program of the Scripted section includes events dedicated to cinema, television and digital platforms. The panel New Business Models in Television turns a spotlight on the new landscape of AD-supported TV, with an overview analysis on AVOD and FAST platforms all the way to SVOD / AVOD hybrid models. The speakers will also focus on the role of content analysis based on artificial intelligence for films and TV series and how investigating the origins of television can provide a key to understand the future of the medium. Featuring Stuart McLean, CEO, Fast Studios; Cristina Sala, Senior Business Development Italy, TV Plus ESBO Samsung; Tobias Queisser, Co-founder & CEO, Cinelytic. Moderator: Rick Jacobs, CEO, Skybound Galactic, also the session co-curator.
In the course of the panel Film Financing Bundles, key industry players will analyze film financing options and the evolution of film funding in recent years. Speakers: Carolyn Steinmetz, EVP, Head of Content Finance, STX Entertainment; Alexandra Hoesdorff Co-Founder and CEO, Deal Productions; Maxime Cottray, VP Finance, and Production, XYZ Films; Matteo Perale, Co-Founder, WIIP and Andrea Scrosati, COO, Fremantle. Moderator: Andrea Scarso, Director of Investments for Ingenious Media and panel co-producer.
We are pleased to announce that our Scripted division has partnered with TorinoFilmLab resulting in a Hosted Pitch session of the 9 projects realized at the 5th edition of SeriesLab, a high-level training program dedicated to prestigious and innovative European TV series projects. Under the guidance of the Head of Studies Nicola Lusuardi and international distinguished tutors, the 2021 participants developed pilot treatments and concept pitches to be exhibited during the MIA days.
C EU SOON
A program dedicated to first and seconds works of European directors
Five films were selected for C EU Soon, a special work-in-progress program curated by Francesca Palleschi and dedicated to European first and second feature films in post-production. Among the projects, NASIM, by directors Ole Jacobs and Arne Büttner; TEMPS MORT (Time Out) produced by Belgian company Kwassa Films and co-produced with Les Films de l’Autre Cougar, by French director Eve Duchemin; the debuting film by Slovakian director Michal Blaško, OBEŤ (Victim); MĀSAS (Sisters,) the feature debut by promising Latvian director Linda Olte; BERDREYMI (Beautiful Beings), directed by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson, whose first feature film Hjartasteinn (Heartstone) premiered at the Giornate degli Autori and was awarded the Queer Lion at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival, eventually screened at the European Film Awards and the Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival.
MIA UNSCRIPTED
R.J. Cutler, Cosima Spender and Valerio Bonelli
The MIA Unscripted section, curated by Marco Spagnoli, will host several international events at the utmost level, held by prestigious personalities of the industry. These include a keynote by acclaimed producer and director R.J. CUTLER, at the forefront of the US documentary production for the past thirty years. From the Oscar-nominated documentary The War Room to the groundbreaking Emmy-winning primetime series American High; from the Sundance Award winner The September Issue to this year’s global hit Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, Cutler’s work is a validation of the broad appeal and vitality of the nonfiction market long before the golden age of documentaries ever began. In the keynote R.J. Cutler. Dispatches from The Golden Age, the director will delve into the current landscape of documentaries, at a time when films and non-fiction series dominate the cultural scene.
Among the protagonists of the seventh edition, highlights include COSIMA SPENDER and VALERIO BONELLI, respectively director and editorial team of Palio and SANPA – Peccati del Salvatore, at the center of the keynote Documentary Storytelling. Drawing on their twenty-year collaboration and experience, the pair will explore different approaches in developing documentary characters and storytelling, whether feature film or serial docs, from beginning to delivery, with a special focus on the delicate stage of editing, where the director’s vision is crucial.
MIA UNSCRIPTED: DOC PITCHING FORUM
13 feature doc e docuseries projects in worldwide preview
With 13 projects ranging from sport to music, from environment issues to politics, this year’s Doc Pitching Forum showcases a great variety of content, centered on strong, controversial and intriguing characters.
For the “Feature Doc” category: LIVE TILL I DIE directed by Anders Teigen, Oscar Hedin, Gustav Ågerstrand and Åsa Ekman, produced by Film and Tell; TOPPER HEADON, I FOUGHT THE LAW by Lionel Guedj, produced by To Be Continued; SLAVE ISLAND, produced by Harald House Belgium BV, and directed by Jimmy Hendrickx and Jeremy Kewuan; THE MAYOR – ME, MUSSOLINI AND THE MUSEUM, by Piergiorgio Curzi and Sabika Shah Povia, produced by Maurizio Carta for Road Television; STONEBREAKERS by Valerio Ciriaci, produced by Awen Films and set during the pandemic. Among the selected projects also SUNKEN MEMORIES, produced by Leonardo Baraldi for Schicchera Production and directed by Luca Manes; 5 NANOMOLES – THE OLYMPIC DREAM OF A TRANS WOMAN by Elisa Mereghetti; I DON’T FORGIVE by Simone Spampinato and Elisa Faccioni, produced by Manuel Grieco for Jumping Flea; WANTED: RONI KALDERON, directed by Erez Laufer and Hilla Medalia. A relevant part of the section is dedicated to the “Docuseries category”, starting from QUEEN OF CHESS by Bernadett Tuza Ritter, a five-episode project on the story of the true Queen of Chess, produced by Queenside Pictures and selected in collaboration with Docs Barcelona. RADICALS directed by Matteo Ferrarini and produced by Matteo Pecorara for Small Boss; ODYSSEY: BEHIND THE MYTH by Massimo Brega, produced by Camilla Tartaglione for Kepach; REMAKING OF LOVE, produced by Zenit Arti Audiovisive, and directed by Lucio Basadonne and Anna Pollio.
There are many new highlights at MIA 2021, with its increasingly rich schedule, including a new program dedicated to the latest technologies applied to the audiovisual sector, “Innovation for Creative Industries”, thanks to an agreement with the Ministry of Economic Development. The section “Next Generation EU” in collaboration with the Lazio Region, is once again accessible as a market incubator for young professionals and talents of the future, thanks to its program related to innovation and young screenwriters. There will also be in-depth studies related to business models, to the industry and to Italian products, including content showcases of films, drama, doc and factual. This and much more in the extremely rich program of MIA 2021, which will be released in full in the upcoming weeks.
