European Film Finance Evolves, Indie Films ‘Under Threat,’ A.I. Struggles to Make Inroads and Other Takeaways From Rome’s MIA Market

The 10th edition of Rome's MIA Market wrapped on Friday with organizers recording a 10% bump in attendance over the 2023 edition, welcoming more than 2,800 participants from 60 countries to the Eternal City for five days of pitching sessions, panel discussions and heated debates over the current state of and future prospects for the global film and TV industries.

"Thanks to its strong identity and credibility, MIA has now earned an important place in the agendas of international operators," said market director Gaia Tridente. "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."

More than 600 projects took part in this year's co-production market and pitching forum, a 20% spike from 2023, while greater geographical diversity was on display than ever before, with 90 countries represented — a 12.5% increase from the 80 nations represented last year.

Organizers also noted that across the event's 10 editions, more than 100 audiovisual works have been produced after their participation in the MIA co-production market, describing it as "a testament to the success of the selection capacity and the important opportunities that the market offers in terms of research for co-producers and international partners."

"[MIA] represents the needs of an entire ecosystem made up of the different industries and genres that make up the audiovisual sector, offering dedicated activities for the different formats, taking into account both distribution in theaters and consumption on TV and platforms," said Tridente. "It is a mirror of the transformation of the audiovisual sector, capable of capturing and anticipating changes with particular attention to technological innovation for the creative industries."

Here are Variety's takeaways from a busy week in Rome:

Italy's rebates have room for improvement

Italy's film and TV market almost doubled over the past five years with investment in original content production reaching more than €2 billion ($2.16 billion) in 2023, according to a report presented by Italy's TV producers' association APA at Rome's MIA Market. But a slowdown is underway in 2024 due to the fact that the government is making modifications to the country's tax rebates that have been driving this growth, and rebate allocations are being shrunk just as international competition is heating up. The APA report highlights how Italy's tax rebates supported roughly 40% of national production in 2022. But it also underlines how other European countries are doing even more. Both France and the U.K., which recently raised its rebate, supported more than three times as many projects as Italy in 2022. And, while the Italian rebate is capped at €9 million ($9.75 million) per project, the cap in France is €30 million ($32.4 million) while there is no cap in the U.K., the report noted. Nick Vivarelli

Buyers playing it safe with IP — but could a market shift be on the way?

When it comes to scripted drama, known properties are still the safer bet for buyers in a crowded marketplace. "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 that they can point to, whether it be a book, an , a person's life. There's just less original ideas right now getting made." For companies with deep libraries and global footprints, like Miramax, that could mean bringing a "new interpretation" of a known commodity to the market, according to the company's worldwide head of TV Marc Helwig. Still, breakout hits like Netflix's "Baby Reindeer" prove there's no "recipe for success," according to producer Emmanuelle Bouilhaguet of The Originals Productions. The French outfit behind "The Bureau," which develops its own IPs from scratch, just dropped the first season of "La Maison" on Apple TV+. While it might be more challenging to find an audience for an unknown property, "from our perspective, the main thing is retaining the rights," said Bouilhaguet. "That's the soul of our production company."

While the bulk of streaming commissions that are driving the market for high-end scripted in Europe have traditionally been hungry for IP, France Télévisions' Morad Koufane said streamers in France are increasingly looking for "long-running, recurring shows" based on original ideas. Sony's Stein, too, has seen the balance tipping toward originals in recent months. "I think the market is very volatile right now and everybody is a little scared," said Miramax's Helwig. "As things correct — whatever way they're going to — I do think original voices will always come through. And it's important to allow them to come through." Christopher Vourlias

Europe's indie film production still "under threat"

International co-productions have long been the lifeblood of independent film production in Europe, but even top producers are feeling the squeeze. "It's getting way more challenging to finance films," said Jonas Dornbach, CEO of Komplizen Films, the German outfit behind "Maria" and "Toni Erdmann." "I have the feeling that every country is getting more closed, and the rules are getting more strict. Everybody is looking after their own [country's interests]." "You have to put together more pieces than before," agreed Andrea Occhipinti, CEO of Italy's Lucky Red. "You have to be smarter. You have to have relationships. You have to have a project — if you want to make a co-production — that has possibility to travel abroad." Robust state-backed support mechanisms have traditionally bolstered the indie market, but across Europe, those systems are under threat, with Italy mulling contentious modifications to the country's crucial tax incentive scheme and the German industry "lobbying hard" for a new film law that would include investment obligations from streamers and broadcasters.

France, which was the first country to compel Netflix to invest in local production, continues to be a model for many European industries, thanks to its unique model of "cultural exception." But every victory there is the product of a hard-fought battle by the country's trade unions and industry players. "Every year we have to advocate for it vis à vis our government," said "Anatomy of a Fall" producer Marie Ange Luciani. "We are under threat." Dornbach, whose Komplizen is part of the alliance of independent production companies known as The Creatives, said it's been "empowering" to join forces with other like-minded producers who can both collaborate on individual projects and advocate for the industry as a whole. "It's really helping us to move forward in this crazy landscape." C.V.

...but new financial models are making inroads

If there's a bright side for independent producers in Europe, it's that new funding models are forging creative pathways to finance films, particularly from equity investors who already have an appetite for risk. "The more we show that films can perform, films can travel, films can have an international appeal, the risk component is not a scary part," said Andrea Scarso, of fund management company IPR.VC, whose roughly €100 million ($108 million) film and TV investment fund has partnerships with A24, XYZ Films and MK2. Two years ago, the European Commission launched a dedicated equity investment instrument to spur production and distribution on the continent — but spiraling costs threaten to torpedo such measures. "I think too often the price of talent, the price of crew these days, is making film a ridiculous prospect for investors. We have to get back to a stage...where they could see a return on their investment," said Mike Goodridge, of the U.K.'s Good Chaos. Logical Pictures president Frédéric Fiore agreed. "If the price tag is too expensive, we won't make it. And even if the film is a success, the upside is reduced," he said. "On a film that works well...we need to get the upside in order to mitigate the risk over the portfolio."

The good news for European producers is that "European subsidy systems are quite key to attracting investors. It really balances the risk profile of a film," according to Malte Grunert, founder and managing director at "All Quiet on the Western Front" producer Amusement Park. Elsewhere, brand partnerships are on the rise — think French fashion house Saint Laurent joining forces with Jacques Audiard's "Emilia Perez" — while niche distribution networks are opening up new ways to monetize content in a fractured media environment. "There isn't as much mass audience as there used to be. People find things in niches," said CAA Media Finance co-head Benjamin Kramer. He pointed to "Sound of Freedom" distributor Angel Studios as a successful example of a company creating a distinctive business model to tap into a niche, underserved market. "When it becomes very important to [a particular] audience, there's a business there. And there will be films and filmmakers and distributors who service them." C.V.

Europe "behind the game" on A.I.

It was hardly six months ago that Wild Sheep Content founder and CEO Erik Barmack looked around Hollywood and noticed a "reluctant acceptance that A.I. is here and a pivotal part of the creative process of production." In Europe, where the E.U. developed the world's first legal regulatory framework for artificial intelligence, that acceptance has been somewhat slower to catch on. "The broadcasters are a bit behind the game at the moment," said Miki Mistrati, executive producer at Denmark's Snowman Productions, who argued that industry reps "need to push" networks and regulatory bodies to recognize the technology's upside — even while ensuring enough safeguards are in place for "good practices" to take root.

Not everyone agrees on how many jobs will be lost to cost-cutting A.I. software — "I think that the work shifts but will not get replaced," said Christina Caspers-Roemer, of German VFX specialist TRIXTER — but fears around copyright protection loom large. Still, while there's much to fear from the rise of the machines, producer Ariens Damsi, of Italy's Eliofilm — whose Venice Critics' Week short "The Eggregores' Theory" was almost entirely produced using A.I. — noted that the technology still requires a human touch. "It's very easy to get something very banal from the A.I. It's very hard to get what you really want," he said. As the technology improves, however, A.I.'s applications and capabilities are only going to increase. "The A.I. that you see today is the worst A.I. that you're ever going to see," said Radek Wegrzyn, of Germany's Magical Realist. C.V.

Keep calm and carry on

It's only been a year since the industry gathered in Rome for the last MIA Market, but "we've seen some real shifts over the past 12 months," said Turning Point CEO Carlo Dusi. The emergence of new content-delivery technologies, the introduction of ad-supported tiers on streamers and "incredible downward pressures on production costs" are among the changes shaking up the old ways of doing business. "The most significant part of [my job] these days has been essentially arming our producers with the information that the market's telling us," said Fifth Season's head of scripted television strategy Arvand Khosravi. "What are the buyers specifically telling us is working and not working? Where can we prognosticate a buyer will be in one year, two years' time in this moment of corporate upheaval and constantly shifting tectonic plates?"

For European producers looking to forge trans-Atlantic ties with American partners groomed on the Hollywood system, "the biggest challenge has been to convince the U.S. that they are different," said Lars Blomgren, head of international at "Pachinko" and "The Morning Show" producer Media Res. But thanks to belt-tightening in Burbank, "they're slowly understanding this co-production model and embracing it." That's creating "a very interesting opportunity in helping commissioners by being the vehicle from the financial and business model position to assist them," according to Buendia Estudios exec Laura Avril. "We can help be the vehicle with the tax incentives, help with the talents and help with [finding] the best shows." Still, those relationships are built on trust, and "demonstrating production viability has become a big part of those conversations, and actually reassuring the commissioners that you can deliver on your creative promise," said Dusi.

Though MIA delegates woke up to rainy skies over Rome on Friday, the clouds eventually parted, and the blue skies perhaps also signaled a hint of optimism for an industry recently rattled by recession, a global pandemic, corporate restructuring and last year's Hollywood strikes.

"The business is fine. The business is growing. The business is not growing as fast as it has the past 10 years...but there's more money in television than ever," said "Fleabag" and "100 Foot Wave" producer Joe Lewis, who founded his L.A.-based Amplify Pictures in 2018. "Everything is going okay in the long term, and short term, it's about figuring out the opportunities." C.V.