MIA 23

Ilona is the story of the life of Cicciolina, the only porn star in the world – to date – who has gained a seat in a Parliament. The new biographic documentary, directed by Alessandro Galluzzi and produced by Chiara Salvo of Italian outfit Scarlet, “aims to “highlight the link between sex and politics, and the relationship of porn with the counterculture in the years of protest,” the filmmakers say.

At MIA 2023, award winning Armenian producer and frontline filmmaker Vardan Hovhannisyan pitched his new doc about famed archaeologist Khaled Al-Asaad who was brutally murdered by ISIS in the historical site of Palmyra, after dedicating his life to preserving its ancient ruins. The creative team labels the doc as “a story of hope and rebirth in a war-torn land, where the spirit of Palmyra lives on.”

At MIA 2023, the creative team behind Italian outfit B&B Film are pitching their new non-fiction project, titled Achille Lauro – The Terror Cruise. The docuseries explores “one of the most tragic operations of international terrorism,” through “the direct testimonies of the protagonists who lived through the hours of the 1985 Achille Lauro hijacking, and the subsequent Sigonella diplomatic crisis.”

Luca Rea’s new documentary tells a tale of mischief that may just have led to murder, all set within the high-end art world and along the canals of Livorno. “The Modigliani Affaire is an investigative documentary, a cold case that tells the incredible story of a prank that got out of hand,” the Fandango team behind the film tell Business Doc Europe.

As a film subject, there’s nobody quite like Jesus, and Norbert Busè’s new doc project suggests that each new generation needs a new cinematic Messiah. “Famous directors such as Pier Paulo Pasolini, Jean-Luc Godard and Martin Scorsese have brought him before the camera. No life has been filmed as often as his. The Jesus film adaptations are very diverse and always a reflection of their time,” the director tells BDE.

Three brothers wish to honour their dying father by fulfilling his dream. But there’s one major snag, the dream is insane, and entails crossing the Atlantic Ocean on two floating cars without any sailing experience. This is the premise of Jesus Garcès Lambert’s new documentary feature project Ocean Drive, pitched at MIA 2023 and produced by industry veteran Alessandro Lostia for Rome-based Indigo Stories.

The Rome-based 5-day market opens its doors October 9, promising a feast of doc activities, at the core of which is the presentation of new Italian and international projects and a celebration of new local output (Italians Doc It Better). Panels will assess the fertile ground for high level collaboration between Italian and European docmakers, while speakers include Sara Bernstein, president of Imagine Documentaries, in conversation with MIA director Gaia Tridente. Marco Spagnoli talks to BDE.

The Rome-based event has selected 18 documentary and factual projects from 8 countries. Nine of the projects are from Italy and a further four are Italy-themed. The majority of projects will be market debutants. Across all sectors, 62 projects were selected from 36 countries. In 2022, MIA hosted more than 2400 participants from 60 countries (+20% increase on the previous year).

Among the first confirmed speakers are Sara Bernstein of Imagine Documentaries; award-winning docmaker and animator Ari Folman (Waltz With Bashir) and James Townley, Chief Content Officer Development at Banijay. Directed by Gaia Tridente, MIA will run October 9-13 in Rome and is again focused on co-production, financing strategies and models, sales and distribution, works-in-progress, nurturing talent and project circulation.

The ninth edition of the MIA International Audiovisual Market (Rome) will run 9-13 October 2023. In 2022 the event registered over 2400 participants from 60 countries, which represented a 20%+ increase on 2021 figures. “MIA is a destination for the global audiovisual ecosystem, conceived as a curated market, a physical and digital space for animation, documentary, drama and film professionals,” write organisers.