Italy‘s MIA will this year include tracks on animation series and an international financing hub.

The Rome market and conference, held this year on October 19-23, unveiled its highlights today at a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival, where minister Lucia Borgonzoni was among those speaking to delegates and press.

New for this year’s event will be the Animation Series Gap Financing Market and the European Investment Hub, which will aim to facilitate access to international production financing. There will also be a focus on experiential networking, along with the regular conference talks and the annual Co-Production Market & Pitching Forum for film, docs and drama series. Various content showcases will also take place.

The Animation Series Gap Financing Market will seek to connect partners on projects, accelerate financing on animated series and stimulate production of animated content with international potential.

The European Investment Hub will be a two-day platform for talks around European and international financial instruments that support production. MIA said it would “offer European and international operators a clear and concrete view of the available instruments such as co-production funds and equity investors, and of the ways to access them.

A pair of industry bodies, ANICA (Association of Film, Audiovisual and Digital Industries) and APA (Audiovisual Producers Association), promote MIA, which is led by Gaia Tridente.

“We want MIA to be a place where all professionals can find ideas and opportunities to build relationships and international business that no other context offers in Italy and that is on a par with the few other major events worldwide,” said ANICA President Alessandro Usai.

“Our mission is to make the market increasingly aligned with the dynamics of a constantly transforming global context, guaranteeing the international stage our industry deserves,” added Chiara Sbarigia, APA’s chair.