MIA—International Audiovisual Market Wraps in Rome

The 2021 MIA—International Audiovisual Market in Rome has concluded after welcoming 2,000 industry executives from 56 countries.

Among the participants were more than 600 international top players, 450 producers and 800 product and project buyers. There were 59 panels within the venues of Cinema Moderno and Palazzo Barberini and 40,000 B2B meetings. There were also 150 market screenings (80 of which were premieres) and 150 projects and works-in-progress.

ANICA President Francesco Rutelli said during a conference with Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio: “We inaugurated MIA with the Minister of Culture [Dario] Franceschini, Undersecretary [Anna] Ascani representing the Ministry of Economic Development, the President of the Lazio Region Nicola Zingaretti—given that the audiovisual industry is strongly rooted in this territory while undergoing intense development throughout the country, also thanks to the activity of the Film Commissions—and with ICE President Carlo Ferro. Institutionally speaking, this is the most remarkable and valuable aspect of this year’s edition. Minister Di Maio’s speech marks a turning point for the Italian theatrical and audiovisual industry: acquiring the country’s economic promotion from the inside by supporting export and internationalization through ICE, the Farnesina has also become the promoter of the audiovisual industry’s growth. All this is part of a framework that the Minister has indicated as ‘soft power,’ meaning a set of tools aiming to promote the Italian identity, language, economic interests and cultural diplomacy. MIA is a system event, and this shift in direction is truly innovative.”

APA President Giancarlo Leone stated: “In the last years, the world of theatrical and audiovisual has certainly undergone a profound evolution, even net of the pandemic. In Italy, the government has worked intensely and seriously to sow the best conditions for this success. More specifically, through a series of decisions that include the tax credit, the Minister of Culture has made a decisive contribution during the pandemic toward the resumption and success of cinema. Until recently, the government and institutions lacked a real strategy to support the internationalization of our product. The presence of general directorates in the new structure that deals with integrated promotion and public and general diplomacy is extraordinary news because, for the first time, institutions and cultural and productive associations such as ANICA and APA were bridged into a system. Without the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ICE, MIA would not exist: it is fundamental support, and today is a memorable day for the entire supply chain.”

MIA Director Lucia Milazzotto commented: “The figures of 2021 MIA are proof of the growing centrality and rediscovered renewal spirit leading Italy and our creativity and productive capacity to becoming a protagonist of the international landscape. The International Audiovisual Market is the result of a collective effort, of a systematic project in a moment of great resumption of the entire theatrical and audiovisual supply chain, including its creativity and global positioning. MIA is once again an unmissable event for the domestic and international industry and an efficient and authoritative voice in the global ecosystem of the sector. MIA also intercepts and welcomes the need for a European hub and the growing competitiveness of our industries, bringing Italy back to the center of the negotiating tables for major continental film, drama, documentary, factual, and animation projects. The 600-plus operators that took part in the event in Rome confirm this positive and important trend and at the same time are proof of the great trust of international operators towards the entire country system, from the point of view of health security and investments, relying on our tradition of worldwide famed talents, arts, crafts and professionals, our solid production capacity, and our extraordinary territory, along with cutting-edge services, innovation, and more and more high-quality products.”

The MIA—International Audiovisual Market award ceremony was held on Sunday, the last day of the seventh edition of the event.

The Lazio Region conferred the Lazio Frames Award to Marina Cicogna, The Producer, directed by Andrea Bettinetti and produced by Riccardo Biadene for Kama Productions, with the following motivation.

The Paramount+ Award was given to the best project presented at the 2021 Drama Pitching Forum by a jury of experts nominated by ViacomCBS International Studios. The following received the awards for their projects: Teodora Markova, writer/creator, Martichka Bozhilova, lead producer AGITPROP (Gold War), Laura Buffoni producer Fandango, Costanza Coldagelli producer Matrioska and Paula Alvarez Vaccaro, producer, creator, writer Pinball London (Fireworks).

National Geographic once again sponsored the Nat Geo Award for Best Pitch. The winning project this year was Odyssey: Behind the Myth by Massimo Brega and produced by Camilla Tartaglione for Kepach Production.

Māsas (Sisters) by Linda Olte, produced by Fenixfilm and Albolina, won the Screen International Buyers’ Choice Award.

The Carlo Bixio Award for Best Screenplay was won by Knives by Giuseppe Caceffo and Marco Colombo, while The Carlo Bixio Award for Best Serial Concept was won by Piante Grasse by Elisa Pulcini, Alessandro Logli and Francesca Nozzolillo.

The winners, respectively, have been award 10,000 and 5,000 euros against a contract with RTI.

The banking company Cordusio conferred 1,000 euros and the Cordusio per i Giovani plaque on the project Conigli Neri by Domenico Davide Angiuli.