12th MIA Market Scheduled in Rome This Autumn, New Upgraded Sections Empower Global Audiovisual Cooperation

The highly anticipated 12th MIA (Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo) Market has been officially unveiled at the Italian Pavilion during the Cannes Film Festival. Scheduled to take place from October 19 to 23, 2026, in Rome, Italy, the event is jointly promoted by ANICA (Italian Association of Film, Audiovisual and Digital Industries) and APA (Italian Audiovisual Producers Association), with Gaia Tridente serving as the artistic director. Committed to consolidating Rome’s position as a global audiovisual hub, MIA aims to build a full industrial chain covering international content creation, investment and financing, co-production and distribution.

The official launch ceremony gathered distinguished industry guests, including Lucia Borgonzoni, Undersecretary of State at the Italian Ministry of Culture, Alessandro Usai, President of ANICA, and Chiara Sbarigia, President of APA. The attendees jointly released the upgraded industrial plans and innovative programmes for MIA 2026, marking a new developmental phase for the influential market. Lucia Borgonzoni stated that the Italian government will continue to fully support the development of MIA. Boasting steady growth momentum, the event has become a benchmark gathering that underpins the development of Italy’s audiovisual ecosystem and boosts the industry’s international expansion.

Chiara Sbarigia pointed out that Italy’s film and audiovisual sector stands as a strategic national economic asset, with its overall industrial value exceeding 16.3 billion euros. Covering drama series, entertainment programmes, documentaries, animations and other diverse segments, over one-third of the industry’s revenue is generated without public funding support, demonstrating strong market competitiveness and global development potential while empowering cultural tourism, high-tech, cultural and creative industries. Alessandro Usai added that MIA 2026 will further expand industrial financing channels, introduce diversified private investment, and optimize the industrial capital system to support the long-term and stable development of the audiovisual sector.

Compared with previous editions, MIA 2026 features comprehensively upgraded content frameworks and industrial service systems with a host of new flagship initiatives to strengthen global industry connectivity. The newly launched Animation Series Gap Financing Market targets animation series projects that have secured broadcaster endorsements and partial funding. It precisely connects producers with international co-producers, co-financiers and distributors to fill project funding gaps, accelerate production progress, and facilitate the global outreach of high-quality European animation content.

Additionally, MIA 2026 debuts “CASA MIA”, an immersive experiential networking lounge exclusively for accredited global participants. Designed as a professional audiovisual industry salon, the space enables efficient and in-depth offline communication and cross-border business cooperation. The event has also revamped its core industrial modules and co-production pitching forums, setting up three specialized pitching sessions for feature films, documentaries and scripted series respectively. It retains four flagship content showcases — CE US SOON, GREENlit, Italian Series Animation Showcase, and Italians Doc It Better. Together with the upgraded Buyers Club, MIA builds a full-cycle service platform covering content development, production, distribution and acquisition.

As one of Europe’s most influential comprehensive audiovisual industry events, MIA 2026 will continue to collaborate with top local industry resources including the Rome Film Festival and Alice nella Città. With comprehensive industrial services, innovative diversified programmes and global professional resources, it gathers worldwide audiovisual practitioners to explore new industrial opportunities, drive in-depth cooperation in cross-border co-production, content innovation and investment, and continuously lead the high-quality development of Europe’s audiovisual industry.