The sixth edition of the MIA Audiovisual International Market will unspool between 14 and 18 October 2020, within the familiar setting of Rome’s Barberini district and within a safe, COVID-proof environment, thanks to specific protocols allowing for full national and international participation in all scheduled events, with all the necessary sanitary precautions in place. On-site activity will be further enhanced by way of online activities, made possible by a new tool: MIA Digital, an online platform which will provide live and exclusive access to thousands of users, across all devices and operating systems, allowing online participation in all Market activities, as well as access to all Market services and a vast catalogue of hitherto unseen multimedia content.

The platform will be further expanded over the next few months, while the official MIA Market website - fully renovated and upgraded - is already up and running and ready to host the first activities of the 2020 event. Indeed, on 14 and 18 May, the site will host two webinars sponsored by the MIA and analysing new production and distribution prospects for audiovisual works (click here to register).

The 14 May webinar will open with a panel discussion, organised in collaboration with EAVE and EPC -The European Producers Club and intitled: "Back to the Future: Post-lockdown scenarios for audiovisual production". Several European producers will share potential ideas for getting the sector back on its feet and for producing and filming in safe surrounds. These include Marta Donzelli (Vivo Film, Italy); Jonas Dornbach (Komplizen Film, Germany); Alexandra Lebret (European Producers Club); Alvaro Longoria (Morena Films, Spain); Giannandrea Pecorelli (Aurora TV, Italy) and Carole Scotta (Haut et Court, France). Topics set to be covered include insurance, availability of talent, COVID-safe protocols on-set and the most urgent support measures requested by producers wishing to return to work. Journalist Nick Vivarelli (Variety) will moderate the talk.

May 15, meanwhile, will see the opening of registration for the Pitching Forum and Co-Production Market’s Film, Drama and Doc sections, which will once again select approximately 50 projects from around the world. The chosen projects will then be presented, over the course of the Market, to an audience composed of key national and international players hailing from the biggest European and American broadcasters and OTT platforms, with a view to securing co-production, funding and distribution support for the most interesting, upcoming premium content on offer.

The MIA is the product of a joint venture between ANICA and APA – the Association of Audiovisual Producers, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italy Trade Agency ICE, Mibact, the Lazio region and Creative Europe, and backed by the Apulia Film Commission, Unicredit, Fondazione Cinema per Roma and Eurimages, among various others. Since its first edition, the MIA has almost doubled in size in terms of attendance figures and the number of works presented (up 84% since 2015). Compared to 2017, the number of professionals registering for the event has increased by 35%, and by 20% compared to 2018. In the 2019 edition of the event, 2,600 attendees were recorded in Palazzo Barberini over the course of the 4-day Market, 44% of whom were international, while 4,295 individuals attended the panels, screenings, pitching forums and content showcases, of whom 44% were also international.