Rome's MIA Market launches European Investment Hub for October edition

Rome's MIA Market is opening its doors wider to money people.

The market, whose full name is Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo or International Audiovisual Market, will launch a new strand called the European Investment Hub at its edition running Oct. 19-23, as reported by Variety.

The Hub is built for conversation about how films and series get paid for. MIA describes it as a platform for dialogue devoted to European and international financial instruments supporting the audiovisual industry, according to MIA.

It will run across the first two days of the five-day market. The programme mixes panels and roundtables with advisory one-to-one meetings and matchmaking sessions where producers can sit down with finance specialists.

The guest list leans heavily into film finance. Roeg Sutherland, co-head of CAA's media finance department and its international film group, is expected to attend, as reported by Variety.

He will be joined by Christopher Woodrow, founder and chairman of Media Capital Technologies, and Raj Singh, a principal of Media Capital Technologies. Steve Saltzman, who heads the International Entertainment Group at law firm Fieldfisher, is also expected.

The three — Singh, Sutherland and Saltzman — will appear together on a panel titled Unlocking Italy's Potential. The session puts the spotlight on Italy as a place to shoot, co-produce and invest.

The Hub was put together with public bodies and industry groups. Collaborators include the European Commission, the European Investment Fund, the CineRegio network and Eurimages, alongside private equity players, as reported by Variety.

MIA chief Gaia Tridente oversees the market as it adds the strand.

What makes this stand out is the timing. Markets such as MIA, Cannes and Toronto are where producers chase sales agents and buyers long before a film reaches cinemas. For newcomers, this means a dedicated space in Rome to ask basic but tricky questions: what loans, guarantees and funds exist in Europe, and who can use them.