, dedicated to international TV series, feature films and documentaries, has secured a rich roster of fresh international product in various stages and announced a clutch of prominent U.S. and European execs set to make the trek for the mostly in-person Oct. 13-17 event.
While companies such as ITV Studios, Banijay and Fremantle are either bowing out or reducing their presence at the Oct. 11-14 Mipcom market in Cannes — and the AFM has gone entirely online — MIA seems to be succeeding in luring a robust group of international industry heavyweights. They are also boasting a 30% increase in completed films screening on its film market side while some 80 new European film, TV and doc projects will be pitched to prospective partners.
Feature film projects being pitched at MIA’s Co-Production Market and Pitching Forum comprise “After The Hurricane” by British director Julian Jarrold ; “Last Chord in Thessaloniki” by Israeli director Eran Riklis; and “Arturo’s Voice” by Italy’s Irene Dionisio . Standout TV series projects at the forum see Italy’s Susanna Nicchiarelli make her first venture into television with her own project, a show titled “Fireworks”; while London-based producers Paula A. Vaccaro will be pitching a series titled “Coverdale” produced by her Pinball London shingle; the U.K.’s Three Rivers Fiction and Cyprus-based Caretta Films have “Farpoint,” for which Germanys ZDF Enterprises is on board as distributor; and “D’Artagnan and Co.
Among high-profile docs being pitched is “Queen of Chess,” the real story of Hungary’s Judit Polgar, considered the greatest female chess player of all time, and her antagonism with Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who before being beat by her was a male chauvinist. The five-episode doc series is being directed by Hungarys Bernadett Tuza-Ritter .MIA panels will zero-in on the rise of ad-supported TV in new forms in a session moderated by Skybound Galactic CEO Rick Jacobs.