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The upcoming edition of Rome’s MIA (6–10 October) is set to reinforce its role as a key meeting point for the non-fiction industry. Speaking to Business Doc Europe, MIA’s Head of Doc & Factual and Deputy Director, Marco Spagnoli, and Head of the Doc Co-Production Market, Ben Pace, outlined an event focused on coproduction and internationalisation, fostering connections that bring documentary and factual stories to global audiences.

“We are out to make an eclectic, kaleidoscopic film that positions itself as a documentary, an essay film, a fictitious reconstruction of memories, with several animations to serve as the glue keeping it all together,” Valk tells BDE of his fully funded project, which will be ready for delivery in May 2026. After losing irreplaceable moments stored on a hard disk, filmmaker Robert-Jonathan Koeyers returns with his family members to the locations they visited in 2018 to fill in the collective gaps in their lives and memories.

For most of us, the Moon is the beautiful heavenly body that illuminates the night sky, but for Big Industry it is hot property, a place to be colonised for its assets. “Our film about the Moon turned out to be a mirror for what is happening on Earth,” co-director Luuk Bouwman tells Business Doc Europe. “It digs into bigger themes like power and ownership, trust and distrust, distribution of resources, the commons and the private. That makes it a universal story relevant for international audiences.”

The first edition of NLWave kicks off Sept 24, offering a selection of international execs and festival programmers an exclusive first look at the latest cinematic output from the Netherlands. In terms of documentary, eight projects either at early stage or as works-in-progress, will be presented. Additionally, three recently completed feature docs will be screened. Docmakers in the frame include IDFA winners Luuk Bouwman and Tom Fassaert, as well as powerhouse production houses such as Submarine, Baldr Film, 100% and Mint Film Office.

In Taliban‑ruled Afghanistan, a small circle of young women risks everything to meet in secret and read banned books – from Anne Frank’s Diary to Michelle Obama’s Becoming. “Thanks to the directors’ persistence and the rare access they secured, we now have a Finnish-Norwegian co-production with clear space for further international partners to join what is truly a one-of-a-kind film,” Finnish producer Marko Talli tells BDE of his FFA project.

Northern rap comes to Helsinki in Miina Alajärvi’s Rapland, pitched at FFA by producer Oona Saari. “This film is an important project in Finland and internationally, since it will shed light on the vibrant culture of the north that is not so well known even in South Finland. It will offer the audiences a window to rap culture thriving in the north,” Saari tells BDE. “For Finns and Sámi it is important to hear our own languages cherished in rap music.”

The brain of Nikke, who has Down’s Syndrome, sees and expresses the world differently, much of the time via the medium of drawing. In Sanna Liinamaa’s hybrid doc, Nikke’s brain leaps from his skull and undertakes an adventure through an animated world. “His Down’s syndrome is not at the centre of the film, but it is part of his background and influences the way he sees and expresses the world,” Finnish producer Jorma Kaulanen tells BDE. “[The film] is a visual, emotional and playful journey into the human mind.”

Finnish producer Outi Rousu discusses her new feature doc, about humankind’s relationship with the blood-sucking mosquito. “Extreme situations illustrate how difficult it is to control nature,” Rousu tells Business Doc Europe. “Human faith in its abilities is tested when [we encounter] the chaos and uncontrollability created by mosquitos. But the illusion of control over nature still lives deep within us humans.”

Fifty years after the birth of punk, legendary Finnish hardcore outfit Terveet Kädet will be celebrated, loud and proud, in Jukka Kärkkäinen’s eponymously-titled feature doc, scheduled for delivery in 2027. “Even though the film has a bit of stardust sprinkled on top of it, the main storyline revolves around the individuals of the band and what being part of the band means to them. The film will be a character-driven tribute to punk music,” producer Juha Löppönen tells Business Doc Europe.

Identity and belonging are at the heart of Finnish Einari Paakkanen’s feature doc in which two women fight to prove that Kven culture – a Norwegian minority culture with Finnish roots – is alive and kicking, even as everybody tries to convince them otherwise. “Director Einari has a unique cabability to get close to his characters, and he has a very warm-hearted approach. His films are both emotional and humouristic. This is definitely a strength for the production.” says producer Marianne Mäkelä (napafilms).