MIA Co-Production Market Selections Revealed

MIA Co-Production Market (Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo) returns to Rome October 9-13 with 62 projects selected to participate in the Co-Production Market and Pitching Forum for Animation, Doc, Drama, and Film - projects were chosen from over 500 submissions representing 80 countries.

The MIA Digital platform will allow registered attendees, live and remote, to access all sessions (live and on-demand).

Co-Production Market & Pitching Forum

The market features audiovisual projects in animation, documentaries, series, and films destined for theatrical distribution, television, and streaming platforms. The 62 selected works will be presented in Pitching Forums in each of the four divisions to find co-production partners, buyers, and funding partners.

Animation Co-Production Market & Pitching Forum

This year’s selection committee included Cecilia Padula, VP Head Kids & Family Brands South Europe, Middle East & Africa at Paramount (Italy); David Levine, Founder & CEO, at Lightboat Media Ltd (UK); Matthieu Darras, Founder & CEO of Tatino Film (France); Mounia Aram, Founder & Distributor of MA Company (France/ Morocco); and Yago Fandiño Lousa, Head of Children's Content at RTVE and Director of Clan TV (Spain).

Selections include three TV specials (one-off), three feature films, and nine TV series, mixing projects debuting on the market with projects already disclosed.

Television Specials

• Motherhood from award-winning director, writer, and producer Anca Damian (Aparte Film)
• The Storm from director and animator Angela Conigliaro (Ddraunara Studio)
• Kizazi Moto: THE PREY from Egyptian studio Giraffics.

Animated Feature Films

• Drumland by creative team, Ama Adi-Dako, Ronaldo Cameron and Esther Ohrt (Ghana-based Afrootoon)
• RO from award-winning director and artist Magdalena Osińska (ANIMOON and Les Film du Cygne)
• The Last Wave by Karen Viajera

Television Series

• Taste Buddies by Finnish director Veronica Lassenius, produced by Pikkukala (Spain-Ireland-Finland)
• Mia Moké by the Béquer brothers, produced by French Special Touch.
• Rubharian developed by Copenhagen Bombay (Denmark)
• Miniraja, developed by MondoTV (Spain-India)
• The Odd Adventures of Ninja & Bibby by Polish filmmaker Piotr Różycki for Laniakea Pictures
• Toink! written by Bert Lesaffer and director An Vrombaut (Belgium, Netherlands)
• Troll Girl from creator and animator Kay Carmicheal
• Highly Gifted by Jeremy and Daniel Leher (The Leher Brothers) produced by Moonrise Pictures
• Doris & Betty adapted from Doris & Bettan Strikes by Ellen Ekman for Nordisk Film Production.

Doc Co-Production Market & Pitching Forum

This year’s selection committee included Sabine Bubeck-Paaz, Commissioning Editor of ZDF, Germany; Rudy Buttignol, Broadcast Strategy & Brand of NXT, Canada; Arianna Castoldi, Head of Doc Sales of Mediawan Rights, France; Silvia De Felice, Head of Progetto Arte Cultura ed Educational of Rai, Italy; Hedva Goldschmidt, Managing Director of Go2Films, Israel; Ken-ichi Imamura, Commissioning Editor of NHK Enterprise, Japan; Björn Jensen, Managing Director of Ginger Foot Films, Germany; Serge Lalou, Producer of Les Films d'Ici, France; Patrizia Mancini, Freelance Consultant, France; Fabio Mancini, Commissioning Editor of Rai, Italy.

• Letizia Battaglia. L'indomabile/Her Name Is Battle, (TV one-off, directed by Cécile Allegra and produced by Massimo Arvat, Zenit Arti Audiovisive and Patricia Boutinard Rouelle, Nilaya Productions
• Non Ho Ucciso Borsellino/I Didn't Kill Borsellino (docuseries, directed by Simone Manetti, produced by David Perluigi and Luca Motta, Loft Produzioni Srl with Cosetta Lagani, Salice Production);
• Achille Lauro-La Crociera Del Terrore/Achille Lauro-The Terror Cruise (docuseries, directed and produced by Raffaele Brunetti, B&B Film)
• NEAR LIGHT (docuseries, directed by Niccolò Salvato, produced by Mara Cracaleanu, Melancholia Pictures
• MIA (feature doc, directed by Enrico Maisto, produced by Riccardo Annoni, Start)
• LONA (feature doc, directed by Alessandro Galluzzi, produced by Chiara Salvo, Scarlett Produzioni
• The Dreamers (feature doc, directed and produced by Alessandro Galassi with Claudia Leon, Anamei Films),
• Cean Drive (feature doc, directed by Jesus Garcés Lambert, produced by Alessandro Lostia, Indigo Stories Srl)
• L'affaire Modigliani/The Modigliani Affaire (feature doc, directed by Luca Rea, produced by Domenico Procacci, Fandango)
• Rome Underground (TV one-off, directed by Laurent Portes, produced by Olivier Mille, Artline Films)
• Il Paese Che Amo/The Country I Love (feature doc, directed by Fabio Lucchini, produced by Davide Morandini, Khora Film Productions)
• Jesus Goes to Hollywood (TV one-off, directed by Norbert Busè, produced by Corinna Dästnr, DokLab GmbH)
• French GEN (TV one-off, directed by Gianluca Matarrese, produced by Dominique Barneaud, Bellota Films)
• Waiting For Fränk (feature doc, directed by Désirée Nosbusch, produced by Alexandra Hoesdorff)
• The Track (feature doc, directed and produced by Ryan Sidhoo, Spirit of 84 Films)
• Desperately Seeking Rainbows (feature doc, directed by Kenny Png and produced by Stefano Centini, Volos Films)
• Price Of History (feature doc, directed and produced by Vardan Hovhannisyan, Bars Media) deals with themes of contemporary archaeology.
• Hot Spot (feature doc, directed by Karin Kainer and produced by Osnat Saraga, Ananey Studios)

Drama Co-Production Market & Pitching Forum

The projects were evaluated and selected by the Drama Selection Committee, consisting of Manuel Alduy, Head of Cinema and Digital & International Fiction at France Télévisions; Erik Barmack, CEO and Founder of the US company Wild Sheep Content; Sasha Breslau, Head of Content Acquisitions at ITV Studios UK; Tesha Crawford, Senior Vice President Global Scripted Series at Universal International Studios UK; Anna Croneman, Head of Drama at SVT Sweden; Kathryn Fink, Director of Television at SBS, Australia;  Robert Franke, Vice President Drama of the German pubcaster ZDF Studios; Kriszitina Gallo, Head of International Co-productions at Paprika Studios, Hungary (part of VIAPLAY Group); Helene Goujet, VP of Acquisitions and Editorial, HBO Max-Warner Bros Discovery Streaming Europe, Sweden; Françoise Guyonnet, Executive Managing Director TV Series at Studiocanal, France; Marc Lorber, Studio Executive, Producer and International Advisor; Meghan Lyvers, Director Original Series at Sky Studios UK and Ireland; Marike Muselaers, Head of International Financing and Co-productions at Nordisk Film, Sweden; Neerja Narayanan, Producer and Studio Executive; and Kateryna Vyshnevska, Producer and Head of Development and Co-productions at Ukrainian FILM.UA Group.

• Mille Volte All’alba/A Thousand Times At Dawn produced by Domenico Procacci and Laura Paolucci for Fandango and based on the novel by Alessandro Baricco Tre volte all’alba  (Three Times at Dawn).
• KANUN, from Italo-Albanian producer Ariens Damsi of ElioFilm
• Due Ore Da Adesso/Two Hours From Now, an action series produced by Nicola De Angelis for Fabula Pictures
• Sergio Marchionne-Confessions of A Capital Junkie produced by Maria Theresia Braun and Roberto Amoroso for Alfred Film.
• Hallyu-Onda Coreana/Hallyu-Korean Wave produced by Stefano Centini (Volos Films Italia), Farid Rezkallah (24images Production), and Paolo Maria Spina (Revolver).
• The Ridge co-production between New Zealand (Great Southern Television) and France (Oble TV)
• The Golden Egg Hotel produced by Maria Ishak for Asacha Media Group (France) and Sandrine Zeynoun for The Big Picture Studios (Lebanon).
• Costa Armonia, produced by Amanda Livanou for Neda Film
• Loom produced by Nicholaos Alavanos for Filmiki SA
• Factory Girl by Ailish McElmeel for Deadpan
• Heart Of A Killer by Noa Gavish and Adi Bar Yosef for Endemol Shine Israel
• Non Issue, produced by Efrat Dror for Herzelia Studios.
• Lucio’s Treasure, by producer Alberto Rull
• Ale Mary produced by Arnauld de Battice and Marianne Chénet for AT-Production.

Film Co-Production Market & Pitching Forum

MIA’s Film Co-Production Market and Pitching Forum will present the international industry with a selection of 15 feature film projects from 13 countries.

The selection committee included Naima Abed, CEO & Co-Founder of Paradise City, UK; Eva Åkergren; Producer of Nordisk Film Production, Sweden; Claudia Bluemhuber, CEO & Managing Partner of Silver Reel, Switzerland; Kevin Chan, Global Co-Head of Acquisitions of MUBI, UK/USA; Céline Dornier, Head of Film Investments and International Coproductions of Logical Pictures, France;  Eva Esseen Arndorff, CEO of TriArt Distribution, Sweden; Mike Goodridge, CEO & Founder of Good Chaos, UK; Alexis Hofmann, Head of Acquisitions of Bac Films, France; Phil Hunt, CEO of Head Gear Films, UK; Carla Quarto di Palo, Head of International Sales of Cornerstone Films Limited, UK; Bastien Sirodot, CEO & Producer of Umedia, Belgium; Margrit Stärk, Director Acquisitions & Coproductions Feature Films of ZDF Studios, Germany.

• A Story of Three Girls by Nursen Çetin Köreken
• Consuelo by Tatianna Kantorowicz
• Far From the Trees by Meritxell Colell Aparicio
• Ruby by Silvana Santamaria
• The Woman I Love by Céline Dondénaz
• Anthology by Nicolas Saada
• A Gift to My Mother by Aaron Brookner
• Children Of The Monkey by Tommaso Landucci
• I Will Find You by György Kristóf
• Il Cileno by Sergio Castro San Martìn
• The Ferryman by Juraj Nvota
• The Rabbi by Uriya Hertz

In addition to the international selection, the Film Co-Production Market & Pitching Forum presents “WANNA TASTE IT?” a section dedicated to Italian film projects in development:

• Angiolina And the Captain by Costanza Quatriglio
• Beyond The Smoking Earth by Gianluca Granocchia
• Jazz Suite For a Dysfunctional Family by Tommaso Pitta.

C EU SOON

Eight films were selected for C EU SOON - the work-in-progress program for European films in post-production in search of international sellers.

The selection committee included Aranka Matits, founder of Featurette; Jaume Ripoll, co-founder and editorial director of Filmin; and Pape Boye, founder of Black Mic Mac.

Selections are presented to an audience of sales agents, distributors, and professionals and will then be the subject of one-to-one sessions.

The selection shows the vitality of European cinema, balanced between more established and renowned directors and producers and new talents at their debut or second feature.

• Persona Non Grata, directed by Antonin Svoboda (founder Austrian collective Coop99 filmproduktion) and fellow directors and producers Jessica Hausner and Barbara Albert
• Per Amore Di Una Donna/For The Love Of A Woman directed by Guido Chiesa
• En Vigilia/The Imminent Age by Clara Serrano Llorens and Gerard Simó Gimeno
• Emalovi/ Lioness, produced by Allfilm (Estonia) and directed by Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo
•  Sob A Chama Da Candeia/The Flame of A Candle directed by André Gil Mata
• Pietinia Kronikas/Southern Chronicles by Ignas Miskinis
• Bluish by Lilith Kraxner and Milena Czernovsky
• The Answer to All Questions, produced and directed by Dimitar Kotzev

Films selected for C EU SOON compete for the Screen International Award, which consists of dedicated press coverage in Screen International.

Hosted Program: Spanish Screenings on Tour

The MIA 2023 hosted Spanish Screenings on Tour, an initiative of Spanish Screenings XXL that aims to boost opportunities for the Spanish audiovisual industry. Support is provided by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan promoted by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sports through the Instituto de la Cinematografia y las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA); the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation through ICEX España Exportación and Inversiones, the Malaga Festival and the San Sebastian Festival.

At MIA, Spanish Screenings on Tour 2023 will present 31 titles at different stages of their life cycle: five in development, four in post-production, four feature films in market preview, 12 trailers of upcoming films, and eight titles with remake potential.

A complete rundown of the selected titles is available on the Spanish Screenings Tour 2023 website.

Visit the MIA International Audiovisual Market website for additional information.

Source: MIA Co-Production Market

Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.