Chair Scarcity Being Monetized at Italy’s MIA

MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo returns to Rome from October 6 to 10, 2025. This year, nearly 500 projects from 81 countries were submitted to the Co-Production Market and Pitching Forum. Of these, 62 projects — spanning Animation, Documentary, Drama (TV series), and Film — will be showcased.

International film and TV executives who’ve attended the market (now in its 11th year and held at the Barberini Palace in Rome) in the past are well aware of the scarcity of available chairs to rest in or to sit in and talk with someone.

In the past, some resourceful participants (among the recorded 2,500 people) took chances sitting in empty booths or rushed to the Barberini Terrace before a sponsored event, or at the Barberini Garden Bar before the end of a sponsored conference. Another alternative has been to reserve (well in advance) a restaurant table for a lunch meeting at the only restaurant located on the second level of the Barberini Palace.

This year, the MIA organizers (the producers’ association APA and film association ANICA) decided to monetize this shortage by making tables available in four-hour slots during the core market days, Monday October 6 to Friday October 10.

The first slot will run from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and the second slot from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The cost for each four-hour block is 750 euro (U.S. $874) and includes a table with four chairs and a registration badge. Table holders can buy additional badges at a discount. The normal fee for a stand-alone badge is 350 euro or U.S. $408.

Among the main highlights of this edition is the Book Adaptation Forum — a program dedicated to fostering collaboration between book publishing and the audiovisual industry — and Apollo Series, a new training initiative developed in partnership with Series Mania Institute and  Goteborg Film Festival TV Drama Vision.

Further additions include UNBOX | Short Film Days, an industry event created in collaboration with Alice nella Città to spotlight emerging short-film talent; Vertical AI workshops curated by Largo.ai, a platform applying artificial intelligence to the audiovisual sector, organized with the support of Creative Europe MEDIA; and the Industry Insider Bootcamp, a unique training opportunity presented by United Talent Agency (UTA).