Rome’s Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo (MIA) has confirmed its 2026 Official Selection, drawn from 530 projects submitted from 82 countries, the market’s largest applicant pool to date. Sixty-seven titles made the final cut ahead of the market’s return to Rome from October 19–23, under market director Gaia Tridente and organising bodies ANICA (chaired by Alessandro Usai) and APA (chaired by Chiara Sbarigia).
The selection comprises 24 live-action features, 10 animated features, 11 feature documentaries, two docuseries, two TV one-offs, and 18 scripted series, alongside seven further documentaries in the newly launched Doc Connect: One-on-One strand.
The Doc Co-Production Market hosts world premieres of 11 features, two docuseries and two one-offs from 11 countries, selected by a 15-strong panel spanning ZDF/ARTE, Rai Documentari, the BBC’s Storyville and Al Jazeera Documentary, among others. Titles include Emmy-nominated director Sara Goldblatt’s Get The F**K Out, on American political emigration to the Netherlands; Mark Hammond’s Ukraine-set Aftershock; and Alex Kiehl’s Music of Chance, a portrait of physicist Fabiola Gianotti.
On the drama side, 18 series from 17 countries, including first-time participants Luxembourg and Panama, were evaluated by a 22-member committee that drew on Rai Fiction, ZDF, Sony Pictures Television, and Netflix veteran Kelly Luegenbiehl. Notable entries include Douglas Mackinnon’s Edinburgh-set thriller Burntime; Wanda, tracing Wanda Ferragamo’s rise at the helm of the fashion house; and Luxembourg’s debut submission, Ulysses Moore, adapted from Pierdomenico Baccalario’s novels.
The Film Co-Production Market presents 22 projects, 18 in the main strand and 4 in the Italy-focused Wanna Taste IT? section, from 15 countries, assessed by 16 professionals, including representatives of mk2, Cohen Media Group, and Les Films du Fleuve. Highlights include Mohamed Kordofani’s follow-up to Cannes title Goodbye Julia; Alain Parroni’s Blue Souvenir, scripted by the D’Innocenzo brothers; and a six-strong animation slate featuring Kim Nguyen’s The Time Bender and Signe Baumane’s Karmic Knot.
Twelve work-in-progress titles from 21 countries round out C EU Soon, competing for the Screen International Award; Krzysztof Zanussi’s From Dust to Dust is among them.
New for 2026 is the European Investment Hub, a two-day programme on financial instruments for the audiovisual sector — co-production and equity funds, guarantee mechanisms, completion bonds — with participants to be announced. UNBOX, MIA’s debut-feature initiative run with Alice nella Città, also expands its international footprint through new partnerships with European Short Pitch, Nordisk Panorama and MUBI, building on existing support from Rai Cinema.
Prizes at the closing ceremony will include the MIA Development Award, cash grants for standout Co-Production and Gap Financing Market projects; the Women in Film and Television Italia (WIFTMI) Award for gender equality and inclusion; and the Screen International Award for a C EU Soon title.
