MIA 23

The creative team behind Hot Spot were unable to attend MIA following the horrific outbreak of hostilities in Israel and Gaza and therefore pitched their coming-of-age project remotely. The project, produced by Tel Aviv-based Ananey Studio and set over the course of five years, comprises “an intimate coming-of-age journey featuring a remarkable group of international students, some from enemy nations.”

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.

At MIA, Luxembourg-based producer Alexandra Hoesdorff pitched Waiting for Frank, Désirée Nosbusch’s story of a Luxembourg Intelligence operative turned businessman, who is threatened with extradition to the United States over alleged involvement in a cryptocurrency scam worth $4 billion. Nosbusch’s main goal is to explore “the human side of the international scandal without passing judgement,” says Hoesdorff of a story that continues to evolve…

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 5-day Rome market closed October 13 having welcomed over 2600 participants from 66 countries, a 10% increase on 2022. “What made this edition unique, rich and wide-ranging in terms of content and curatorial research, were the new and interesting projects that represented the complex audiovisual ecosystem, enhancing the different requirements of all the players in the industry and anticipating the themes and spaces of the future," said Gaia Tridente, MIA Director.

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).

This week Rome’s MIA market hosted a talk with award-winning producer and president of Imagine Documentaries, Sara Bernstein. The conversation, moderated by MIA Director Gaia Tridente, covered a number of topics including the exec’s illustrious career, Imagine’s latest slate of productions and global trends concerning non-fiction consumption.

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.

On 13 October, the final day of MIA 2023, MIA Head of Doc Marco Spagnoli moderated hosted a panel that revolved around the reception of theatrical documentaries at the Italian box office and their untapped potential. In 2022, theatrical documentaries generated €6.6 million in box office revenues and recorded 995,000 admissions, the professional audience heard.

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.