MIA (Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo) unveiled May 17 “major new features” of its 2026 edition running October 19 to 23 in Rome. Core to documentary activities in Rome are the annual Doc Pitching Forum and Italians Do it Better pitch sessions.
“MIA is inaugurating a new phase of development, marking an important evolutionary step that redefines its editorial, international and institutional profile,” the organisation underlined. “The market is thus consolidating its position as an increasingly structured, dynamic and effective industry platform, capable of supporting the entire audiovisual value chain and responding concretely to the needs of the contemporary market. The editorial project is being renewed through a more organic and circular approach, oriented toward value creation, project development and the generation of new business opportunities.”
“This evolution is also reflected in a new configuration of spaces and activities, which will involve new venues in the heart of Rome, creating a distributed geography capable of strengthening the dialogue between the industry and the city,” organisers add. “MIA’s growth is also measured in terms of participation and international positioning, thanks to an increasingly qualified and attractive offering for international professionals, further consolidating Rome’s role as a strategic hub for the audiovisual sector.”
New features in the editorial and industry programmes
MIA Director Gaia Tridente highlighted new features in the editorial programme, “arising from the need to address in a structured way the profound transformation currently affecting the international audiovisual ecosystem.”
“In a context marked by continuous geopolitical and economic changes on a global scale, MIA is embarking on a transformation that will take it from a market built on highly distinctive vertical content segments to an integrated industry platform, capable of accompanying the entire audiovisual value chain in a circular way,” she says.
“The objective is to address the sector’s real needs, generate new economies and offer concrete tools for the development and sustainability of companies in the sector. From this perspective, MIA aims to make its programme increasingly effective and impact-oriented, focusing its energy on initiatives capable of fostering new partnerships, stimulating innovative development models and strengthening the economic sustainability of the companies involved. MIA 2026 presents itself as a place for value creation and exchange.”
Co-Production Market & Pitching Forum
The co-production market has also been “rethought and reorganized,” MIA stresses, offering producers more structured opportunities to meet financiers, buyers, distributors and international co-producers. “The market will offer projects in development a real opportunity to access the international market, positioning itself as a business and creative platform dedicated to the growth of projects selected in the following categories: narrative feature films; animated feature films; documentaries; scripted series; docuseries; animated series, with the introduction of a new tool dedicated to gap financing.
The selected works will be presented within “renewed” Pitching Forums, designed to foster the construction of a more targeted and effective distribution, co-production and acquisition ecosystem. The forum will be divided into the following sections:
- Film Pitching Forum (Narrative Feature Films and Animation Feature Films)
- Doc Pitching Forum (Documentary Feature Films and Docuseries)
- Drama Pitching Forum (Scripted series – all formats)
European Investment Hub
With the European Investment Hub (EIH), MIA will become “for two days a platform for dialogue and in-depth discussion dedicated to European and international financial instruments supporting the audiovisual industry,” organisers write.
“The project is created with the aim of facilitating access to structured financial solutions, which are increasingly central to the development, consolidation and competitiveness of creative companies<’ the organisation continues. “MIA intends to offer European and international operators a clear and concrete view of the available instruments and of the ways to access them.
“The EIH programme will focus on the analysis and in-depth examination of a broad spectrum of financial instruments including: co-production funds (regional, European, international and EU cooperation funds); equity funds dedicated to audiovisual and cultural and creative industries; guarantee funds and risk mitigation mechanisms, also in synergy with European and national institutions; completion bonds and insurance instruments supporting the completion of works; public-private co-investment models and local instruments supporting production; auteur brands as new financial partners.”
Activities will be structured into thematic round tables and informal networking moments, with the objective of fostering direct dialogue among operators, investors and institutions through a practical approach to understanding financial mechanisms and investment rationales.
CASA MIA – A new dimension of experiential networking
Among the main new features of MIA 2026 is CASA MIA, a project designed to redefine the market experience and strengthen its relational dimension. In this context, CASA MIA is configured as a large networking lounge, integrated with and located close to the main market areas, accessible to all accredited participants. It is a space conceived as a true “audiovisual hub,” where people can meet, work, exchange ideas and develop new opportunities in a welcoming, curated and functional environment in which professional relationships can develop spontaneously.
“It is an environment that not only facilitates networking, but also helps strengthen the sense of belonging to MIA’s international community,” organisers say.
ANICA President Alessandro Usai comments: “With the 2026 edition, MIA takes another step forward in strengthening its identity as an international platform serving the entire film and audiovisual industry. For ANICA, MIA represents a unique opportunity to create, in Rome, at the centre of the Italian film and audiovisual industry, a place where companies from every stage of the value chain and from all over the world can find opportunities for meeting and dialogue that would normally be impossible.”
“This year, after years of growth and a multiplication of events and activities, the effort has been to seek greater synthesis, rewarding the exceptional nature of the event and the standing of the speakers. We want MIA to be a place where all professionals can find ideas and opportunities to build relationships and international business that no other context offers in Italy and that is on a par with the few other major events worldwide. This work of refinement and pursuit of excellence will concern all stages in the life of projects, through an interconnected reading of the value chain that links development, production, financing, distribution and the international circulation of works.”
Chiara Sbarigia, President of the Audiovisual Producers Association (APA) adds: “The film and audiovisual sector is a strategic asset for the national economy, with a value exceeding 16.3 billion euros. Italian audiovisual production — ranging from series to entertainment, from documentaries to animation — is the beating heart of this system, accounting for more than two thirds of it. It is a solid and competitive industry that fuels the entire distribution chain, from television to global platforms, and one third of its strength does not draw on any public funding.”
“We are looking at a diverse and widespread entrepreneurial fabric that generates wealth and employment in key regions such as Lazio, Lombardy, Piedmont, Tuscany and Campania,” further explains Sbarigia, “acting as a driver for related sectors such as tourism, publishing and high-tech, real estate and hospitality. Audiovisual is not only about storytelling; it is an engine of development that showcases Italy to the world. APA has always been at the forefront of promoting this ecosystem.”
“Historically, we helped forge MIA’s identity, starting from the Industry experience of the Fiction Fest; today, after more than ten years,” Chiara Sbarigia concludes, “we felt it was necessary to request an evolution of its format. Our mission is to make the market increasingly aligned with the dynamics of a constantly transforming global context, guaranteeing the international stage our industry deserves.”
