The 10th edition of Rome’s MIA film and TV market unfolded last week against the backdrop of the 17th-century Barberini Palace in the heart of the Italian capital.
A co-production and sales market as well as a conference programme and content showcase, MIA attracted 2,800 executives from 60 countries for this year’s edition.
Screen captures the interesting talking points among delegates here, including a desire for international distributors to move with the times, appreciation of how US filmmakers are finding niche audiences, and a call for production budgets to come down to attract those elusive investors.
Buyers looking for feelgood factor
Sales companies are struggling to sell dramas and say buyers want stories where the protagonists overcome the challenges by the end of the film. Robert Aaronson, EVP at US distributor Cohen Media Group, said he’s on the lookout for films that have “a slightly more positive upbeat theme to them – something a little bit more feelgood.” In TV, commissioners are favouring safer renewals and long-running series over first-run commissions, according to Ampere Analysis’s Guy Bisson. “Risk-taking leaves the market when times are hard,” said Bisson.
He said the streamers’ embrace of advertising means they are becoming more broadcast-like, favouring keeping subscribers over customer acquisition. One consequence is the death of the boxset drop in preference of maintaining engagement over many weeks. Crime is by far the biggest genre now, followed by comedy and drama in third place. Lower-cost scripted is also more in demand instead of the big-budget series of the peak-TV era. Licensing has also re-emerged as a serious force with streamers saving money by picking up quality shows that have performed well on smaller outlets.
“The bulk of what is selling right now is based on IP,” said Sony Pictures Television head of creative Lauren Stein. “There is a security for buyers they can point to, whether it be a book, an article, a person’s life. There’s just less original ideas right now getting made.”
On the plus side, Bisson reckoned sentiment in the industry is beginning to swing to the positive, the worst of the staff and spend cut-backs are over and the studio-owned streaming platforms are beginning to reach profitability.
Budgets must come down
“Too often these days, the price of talent and crew is just making film a ridiculous prospect for investors. We have to get back to a stage where they could see a return,” said Mike Goodridge, founder of UK producer Good Chaos. “I’m all about trying to get a right budget number.”
Frederic Fiore, president of film investor Logical Pictures, said his company analysed 800-1,000 projects a year to select around 20 to invest in. “The budget a movie is made for is key to the success for investors.” His company has a slate deal with Pathe to co-finance and co-produce their movies. “One of the drivers is that if a price tag is too expensive, we won’t take it. Even if it might be a success, the upside will be reduced.”
Market turns back to English-language
Echoing talk about lack of risk, many delegates said that film investors and TV commissioners are now favouring ‘safe’ global languages such as English and Spanish. Bisson showed stats that streamer commissioning of Italian, Scandinavian, German and French-language shows had all fallen back in the past year. Two significant Amazon shows coming out of Italy, for example, are being made in English: action drama Costiera and young-adult romance Love Me, Love Me.
Sonia Rovai, the CEO of Italian producer Wildside, said that in the recent past strong Italian language IP – such as My Brilliant Friend – travelled well. “The model has changed. There is a lack of interest in the international market for what is not in the English language.”
Finding niche US audiences
Execs said that the US film market had arguably been more disrupted in recent years than that of Europe, with the latter’s industry better protected by government support and soft money. Without this, many US producers are innovating by making films aimed specifically at underserved, passionate, niche audiences. “There are so many choices out there, especially on streamers, that there isn’t as much mass audience as there used to be,” explained Benjamin Kramer, co-head of media finance at CAA. “And so people find things in niches.”
He cited the success of Angel Studios with religious films, the strong box office for horror like Terrifier 3, and the popularity of movies aimed at conservative audiences, or of animation. “The films that are the most important for that smaller audience can do very well. If you are trying to make a movie that’s generally appealing, you’ve got to do an excellent job. Because then you’re competing with studio movies which usually have more resources, more money, more planning, big stars, more P&A.”
Changes ahead for Germany
There was plenty of talk about the importance of Europe’s film subsidies for making international and US films. “European subsidy systems are key to attracting investors, because it balances the risk profile of a film, and it greatly reduces the need the gap you need to make the film,” said Malte Grunert, founder and managing director at Germany’s Amusement Park and a producer of All Quiet On The Western Front.
Planned revisions to Germany’s film subsidies were a notable talking point. Birthe Klinge, a funding executive at the German Federal Film Board, outlined the three key changes expected next year: the creation of a largely automatic subsidy system, a tax rebate of 30% and the introduction of investment obligations on streamers. She reckoned the new tax incentives and investment obligations combined would generate an additional €600m for German film and TV production per year, making Germany a much more attractive destination for both local and international producers.
The changes come at a time when other European production centres such as Hungary are attracting large numbers of productions and the UK has introduced its 40% Indie Film Tax Credit. “Germany is not in a position to compete with countries around us, which is why we need to adjust,” said Jonas Dornbach, CEO of Maria producer Komplizen Film.
Distributors must “move with the times”
“There is a real crisis in distribution,” said Good Chaos’ Goodridge. “A lot of the traditional independent distributors around the world have been doing it for so many decades that they’re not moving with the times. I think the younger audience, or the younger generation, is consuming things in different ways – they are on TikTok or BookTok and we need to embrace these ways of reaching audiences.”
Logical Pictures Frederic Fiore pointed to a recent example of a film being able to draw in younger audiences in France: documentary feature Kaizen: 1 Year To Climb Everest! about 22-year-old social media star Inoxtag’s ascent of the world’s highest peak. The film became an event film box-office phenomenon in France last month with 368,000 tickets sold in 24 hours. The figures are all the more impressive since Kaizen was then released on YouTube for free the following day where it was viewed more than 11 million times in its first 24 hours. “So kids were spending 10 or 15 bucks to go to a theatre to see a documentary about one guy they love, which was on YouTube the day after,” noted Fiore.
Popular co-production event
Overall there was a feeling MIA has carved out a strong industry offer in the busy month of October. Its conference programme featured some of Europe’s top film producers as well as plenty of senior European and US TV execs, making it a good place to get up to speed on key industry issues. Many film delegates rate MIA particularly as an effective place to meet with potential European co-production partners; the terraces of the Barberini Palace were filled with meetings by producers and potential partners. In fact, MIA is now best known as a co-production rather than a sales market. Italian and a handful of French sellers had stands in the main hall of the Barberini, situated underneath a vast, glorious ceiling fresco by Pietro Berrettini da Cortona.
Italian sellers told Screen they had focused meetings with European buyers, particularly those not going to AFM. MIA’s pitching, works in progress and showcase sessions are highly rated by delegates and viewed as useful for keeping track of up-and-coming European projects. “It is a unique curatorial market, a strategic player in the co-production market and a fundamental engine for the financing, distribution and circulation of works and talents,” said MIA director Gaia Tridente.
The Italian industry is also out in force, making MIA arguably the best event in the country to meet the local industry – cheaper to attend than Venice, and compact enough to allow delegates to meet many colleagues easily. Notable by their absence were many British executives; MIA takes place the same week as the London Film Festival which may explain this in part.
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