MIA 2021

Lazio Frames Award goes to ‘Marina Cicogna, The Producer’ by Andrea Bettinetti and produced by Riccardo Biadene for Kama Productions. NAT GEO Award for Best Pitch goes to while Massimo Brega’s ‘Odyssey: Behind the Myth,’ produced by Camilla Tartaglione for Kepach Production. The seventh edition of MIA takes place in Rome October 13 to 17 2021.

Elisa Mereghetti’s new documentary project follows Valentina Petrillo, a 48-year-old visually-impaired Paralympic athlete whose dream is to compete at the Tokyo 2021 Paralympics as Italy’s first trans athlete in a women’s category. The film is co-produced by the Italian lobby and support organization Gruppo Trans. The director explains more to Business Doc Europe.

Drummers, like goalkeepers, are a totally different breed. They play by different rules, as evidenced by Topper Headon, who beat the sticks for The Clash in the first days of punk, and who is the subject of a new feature project by Lionel Guedj, who rocks (the casbah) with Business Doc Europe.

Acclaimed producer/director R.J. Cutler (The War Room, American High, Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry) came to MIA to assess the current state of the documentary landscape and to look forward to what the non-fiction filmmaking community has in store, all the time referring back to his ground-breaking body of work. “Neo-verité is the future and the future is now,” he maintained.

As one of the golden footballers of his generation Roni Kalderon had the world at his feet, playing for the mighty Ajax and impressing for the Israeli national team. But then he turned to the dark side, morphing into an international drug lord. He served time, and then he disappeared. Erez Laufer and Hilla Medalia tell BDE more about Kalderon’s life of two halves, and how they plan to document it.

Eight young people between the ages of 18 and 24, the self-named Troublemakers, seek to create a new form of sex education for presentation to their peers. The process is followed by the husband and wife team of Lucio Basadonne and is one that proves to be as revelatory for them as for the film’s subjects. Basadonne explains more to Business Doc Europe.

MIA 2021 opens October 13, running through October 17, with a wide-ranging doc and unscripted programme that presents a solid mix of new project pitches, screenings, key notes and panel discussions. Programme head Marco Spagnoli tells Business Doc Europe what to expect. “MIA is a market of ideas,” he underlines.

Why do Italians love the causes that the country’s Radical Party espouses, but pointedly refuse to vote for them during general elections. Massimo Brega’s new doc ponders this question as he assesses the history of political protest, centering on party leader Marco Pannella, considered by some a genius and a prophet, by others an impostor and a buffoon. Producer Matteo Pecorara gets radical with Business Doc Europe.

NFB’s Anita Lee discusses the new doc project charting Chinese Jessea Lu’s attempt to free dive 100 metres in one breath. “It's going to be a combination of compelling, thrilling, but at the same time deeply psychological,” she says. “Having a young, Asian female in this male dominated sport as a lead protagonist really brings another layer to the storytelling.”

Co-director Åsa Ekman talks to Business Doc Europe about Live Till I Die, set in a Swedish elderly home and telling of the deep and emotional relationship that develops between Monica, an activity coach still grieving for her grandmother, and Ella, a 99-year-old resident who is facing her final days.