MIA, the Italian Audiovisual Market, is back in Rome for its 10th edition, which is being held October 14-18 at Palazzo Barberini, which houses Cinema Barberini. However, it has been reported that MIA organizers are looking at a new, more accommodating venue in Rome for next year.
Last year, when the market had a record number of 2,600 participants, VideoAge pointed out some shortcomings — such as a shortage of meeting tables and chairs. However, during a Zoom press conference on October 10, MIA’s director, Gaia Tridente, assured listeners that this year’s event would have more tables and chairs — outdoors — so that participants who didn’t have stands could conduct meetings more comfortably. Unfortunately, the final results were not much different from last year.
Tridente also noted that this time around the press room would be open for journalists, but it was moved from the Barberini venue to the nearby Bernini Bristol Hotel.
MIA hosted 80 panels, five keynote speakers, and screenings for content buyers only. The event, billed as a conference, development, and co-production market, had 45 exhibitors on two floors.
For veteran Italian TV executive Giuseppe Proietti, now a production and co-production manager, “MIA is the most important TV event in Italy — perhaps the only one. It has to improve its logistics and organization. Nonetheless, it is still useful. It’s not a market per se, but more of a multi-functional event that could offer both advantages and disadvantages.”
Gary Marenzi of the Los Angeles-based Marenzi & Associates answered via e-mail that he didn’t go to MIA this year because “with so many co-production conferences showing up on the calendar, many independent producers/distributors have to be selective about where they spend their time and place their effort. MIA is still a great place to meet producers and commissioners in a collegial atmosphere, and its challenge is to attract more industry leaders and create compelling presentations to set them apart from the rest of the similar events.”
Another comment from an executive who didn’t want to be named was more direct: “After reviewing the attendees list, I didn’t think it was worth the extra expense. While I have enjoyed going to MIA in the past, I think they need to do a better job of attracting more ‘A-list’ panels/keynotes for it to flourish into the future.”
Ettore Botta of L.A.-based Spacewow said that he attended MIA last year and returned this year, if only for one day, but explained that “MIA is not really a market where content can be sold. It’s basically a congress for co-productions.”
Despite some of these criticisms, the event’s organizers took pride in listing many of the key participants at this year’s event, which included executives such as Cecilia Padula (Paramount), Andrea Scrosati (Fremantle), Tesha Crawford (Universal), Antonella Dominici (Paramount +), Ingrid Pittana (NBCUniversal), Katherine Pope (Sony), and Manuel Alduy (France Televisions).
But for some participants, the most agonizing parts of attending MIA were going through a dozen pages of documentation in order to register online, and finding a table where one could conduct meetings on the spot. Aside from those hiccups, the rest was smooth sailing. MIA is held at a venue close to a Metro station (Barberini) on a street lined with shops and restaurants (Via Veneto). Plus, with the market dates close to MIPCOM, it’s easier for participants from outside Europe to attend as they could conveniently go to both during the same trip.
As for the organization, MIA is a joint venture between ANICA (Associazione Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche Audiovisive e Digitali) and APA (Associazione Produttori Audiovisivi). During the event, APA announced that the Italian TV and film sector reached US$2.2 billion last year, up 11 percent from the previous year’s figure.
Pictured above from l. to r. (top to bottom): Giuseppe Proietti, International Co-production manager, Rome-based Cross; one of the rooms at the Bernini, which housed the exhibition stands; Francesco Rutelli, president of ANICA, the Italian Audiovisual Association, and former Rome mayor, addressing some of the 20 students who attended the ANICA Academy workshop; Rutelli and VideoAge‘s Dom Serafini.
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