Event Review: MIA

The ninth edition of MIA—International Audiovisual Market welcomed a growing number of participants, with more than 2,600 attendees from 66 countries across five continents. The event sold out the venues of the Cinema Barberini, which had seven screening rooms that hosted some 80 conferences, pitching forums, markets screenings and content showcases, and the two floors of Palazzo Barberini, where executives took part in international co-production meetings and international distributors met buyers. Also at Palazzo Barberini, MIA set up a Tech Pavilion, a new space dedicated to technological innovation with daily meetings and virtual production presentations and the conferences of the MIA XR program, creating immersive VR experiences.

“MIA’s audience is very demanding,” Gaia Tridente, director of MIA, tells World Screen Weekly. “It is a unique market event, composed of professionals from multiple ecosystems of diverse fields of activities. We need to ensure a variety of content ranging from documentaries, drama, factual entertainment, feature films, animation series and specials as well as docuseries, with this year’s also winking at immersive storytelling and the technological and creative potential of extended reality (XR).”

“This edition recorded some interesting phenomena that are currently at the heart of the dynamics of the audiovisual market,” she continues, noting “a revamp of international co-productions, completely redesigned in terms of financial and creative cooperation; an increasing openness to markets that are still little explored, we are talking about countries that are still considered emerging but that will soon arrive on the global market with fresh and innovative content; and, last but not least, the need for greater knowledge and penetration of new technologies and new mediums, which will broaden and enrich the creative, productive and distributive potential of audiovisual content.”

Created in 2015 by a joint venture between ANICA (Italian National Association of Film, Audiovisual and Digital Industries), chaired by Francesco Rutelli, and APA (Italian Audiovisual Producers Association), chaired by Chiara Sbarigia, MIA is supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, ITA (Italian Trade Agency), with the contribution of Creative Europe MEDIA, the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, and the Lazio Region.

While there were many highlights across the event, for Tridente, what stands out is “the great value of technological partnerships and a strong positioning of MIA throughout the agenda of international professionals.” She adds, “Today, MIA is one of the unmissable meeting hubs for audiovisual professionals. I strongly believe that MIA has the potential to grow further and enrich the program with more and more new and stimulating content for an audience of industry insiders to discuss the hot topics of the market, debate future scenarios and open up to new networks of cooperation and development.”

Tridente continues, “In this edition, we saw the participation of a diverse range of industry decision-makers coming from five continents to attend our co-production forums and B2B meetings, as well as top buyers from all over the world being at the center of creative, production and distribution strategies and top players empowering the value of the confab. This extraordinary combination is bringing MIA into the real heart of the global business for scouting, development, creative, production, postproduction and VFX processes.”

The MIA digital platform will be active until November 30, providing registered attendees access to panels, talks and content from the 2023 event.