Panels & Sessions Revealed for 2022 MIA

The 2022 MIA—International Audiovisual Market, set to take place October 11 to 15 in Rome, will feature a variety of panels and sessions, including one on local high-end drama production, as well as one featuring The Tinder Swindler’s director and producer.

“The Global Production Landscape. Time to Stop Saying ‘Foreign-Language’” session will feature an ensemble of international series producers, including Anne Thomopolous (Legendary Global), Matthew Brodlie (Upgrade Productions), Erik Barmack (Wild Sheep Content) and Francoise Guyonnet (STUDIOCANAL). They will discuss trends, experiences and plans for the future of high-end drama production and strategies based on local content.

A session featuring the creatives behind The Tinder Swindler, which tells the story of a serial liar who deceived a string of Northern European women, is also planned. Director Felicity Morris (also producer of Don’t Fuck with Cats) and producer Joel Zimmer (president of AGC Unwritten at AGC Studios) will talk about the challenges and potential of unprecedented and contemporary storytelling based on stock footage taken primarily from social media.

In the panel “Multinational co-production, future-proofing creative business models in the independent film business,” a group of producers, funds and financing agents will discuss the global ecosystem of independent film production, including private equity, government funds and tax incentives. Among the confirmed speakers are Carlo Cresto-Dina (producer and CEO of Tempesta; Italy), Frédéric Fiore (president and partner of Logical Pictures; France), Maren Olson (executive VP of 30West; U.S.), Roeg Sutherland (head of media finance at CAA; U.S.) and Julie Viez (producer at Cinenovo; France).

The “Defining the World Markets” panel will feature speakers such as Mounia Aram (MA Company), Sithembiso Mpehle (Tshimologong) and Francis Y.Brown (AnimaxFYB), animation producers from South Africa and Ghana who will talk about how to navigate the global animation industry.

MIA is also offering the Innovation for Creative Industries program, which it introduced last year, providing insight into the topic of technological innovation and digitalization. Through a collaboration with the Italian outfit OneExtra, all registered professionals at the event will have the chance to enter a real virtual production demo room inside Palazzo Barberini.

Additionally, MIA will host a meeting organized with the Ministry of Economic Development (MiSE) in which strategies related to the development of 5G technology in the field of production and distribution of audiovisual content will be discussed, as well as the protection of minors in the field of video games.

The Co-Production Market and Pitching Forum will feature 13 projects in the animation section, 18 in the documentary division, 15 in drama and 15 in film. The projects were selected out of more than 500 submissions.