MIA, the Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo promoted by ANICA (chaired by Alessandro Usai) and APA (chaired by Chiara Sbarigia) under the direction of Gaia Tridente, has announced its first international guests for the 2026 edition, alongside a new format that reshapes the market’s Rome venues into a dedicated audiovisual district.
Confirmed for MIA’s fireside chats are Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti and director-producer Edward Berger, known for Conclave and All Quiet on the Western Front. CANAL+ deputy chief executive Anna Marsh also joins the guest list, holding two further posts as STUDIOCANAL’s CEO and CANAL+’s chief content officer. Rounding out the group is Bad Wolf CEO and co-founder Jane Tranter, the producer behind Industry and Succession. Tranter’s credits also include The Other Bennet Sister.
Raj Singh, co-founder and CEO of Media Capital Technologies, is a further confirmed guest. A prominent figure in international media financing, Singh features among those attending the European Investment Hub, a new platform for exploring financial tools that support the audiovisual industry across Europe and internationally.
The new format, promoted jointly by ANICA and APA, transforms the historic Via Veneto and Piazza Barberini into an urban district dedicated to the international film and audiovisual industry. The goal is closer contact between the industry’s creative and financial sides.
Palazzo Barberini remains MIA’s institutional headquarters, designed to serve as a meeting ground for the audiovisual sector and reinforcing Rome and Italy’s status as a European hub for the industry. The palazzo’s halls will host the programme’s main institutional and strategic conferences, with the European Investment Hub taking a central role there. The hub is dedicated to financial instruments and investment, and to the European policies that support the industry’s growth. European institutions and investment funds are expected to attend, alongside international operators. Within this context, ANICA will present a study on the evolution of film consumption, while APA unveils its annual report on the audiovisual industry.
New venues join the circuit, each with a distinct focus. The Hotel Westin Excelsior joins the official MIA circuit for the first time, opening as the new Film & Drama Hub. Its meeting rooms will host pitching forums and showcases for film and series, alongside meetings for sales and buyers. The InterContinental Rome Ambasciatori Palace becomes MIA’s new documentary hub, its first dedicated space for the sector. The venue offers a dedicated conference room alongside pitching and showcase spaces, plus a doc meeting lounge for professional networking.
The Hotel Sina Bernini Bristol strengthens its role as the market’s animation venue. New programming there includes Animation Next and the newly introduced Gap Financing tool, alongside specialist conferences and B2B sessions for the sector. The hotel also serves as a venue for closed-door activity, hosting strategic meetings among MIA’s international partners as well as advisory and matchmaking sessions for the European Investment Hub, plus its one-to-one meetings.
The Grand Hotel Palace hosts closed-door business meetings and training programmes for the market, alongside private pitching sessions and discussions between international partners. Spaces Via Veneto, a new satellite partner venue, is dedicated to talent development and the promotion of intellectual property, alongside professional training. Central to that training is Unbox, a programme for emerging filmmakers who, having completed a short film, are aiming toward a feature or series debut. Unbox is produced in partnership with Alice nella Città.
W Rome joins MIA’s hotel partners for the first time, hosting CASA MIA each evening from 6pm to 8pm. The gathering is designed as an informal networking point for the market’s international community, offering space for casual conversation and new connections outside the official programme.
MIA 2026 is supported by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, alongside ICE, the agency responsible for promoting Italian companies abroad. Further backing comes from Creative Europe MEDIA and the Ministry of Culture. The Rome Lazio Film Commission Foundation and the Lazio Region contribute additional support, and the market runs in collaboration with Roma Capitale’s Department for Major Events, Sport, Tourism and Fashion. The event is held under the patronage of Eurimages, the Council of Europe’s fund for the co-production, distribution, exhibition and digitisation of European cinematographic works.
