Rome

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures Television (SPT) will introduce a drama award at this week’s MIA Market in Rome.

The Sony Pictures Television Award will be presented for the first time at the Italian industry confab. This will go to the winner of the annual MIA Drama Coproduction Market & Pitching Forum, with a jury from Sony Pictures Television making the choice from the 15 in contention.

Projects in contention include 1980s Parisian skinheads drama Rage, which will be directed by Xavier Dolan, and Dutch art theft drama Hitler’s Horses: An Arthur Brand Story, produced by Femke Wolting from Submarine and written by Ed McCardie. There are also projects from Palestine, the UK, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Switzerland, Ireland, Norway and, of course, Italy.

SPT has been a big supporter of MIA over the years, with the President of Sony Pictures Television Studios, Katherine Pope, speaking on stage last year. She’ll be in town again this week to present the award, as SPT becomes the official sponsor of the Drama Coproduction Market for the first time.

The launch of the Sony Pictures Television Award “underscores a shared commitment to fostering innovative new voices, promoting international coproductions, and telling stories with the potential to transcend borders,” SPT and MIA jointly said.

“We’re thrilled to partner with MIA and Gaia Tridente’s incredible team and establish the Sony Pictures Television Award for Best Drama Project 2025,” said Pope. “The Drama Coproduction Market at MIA brings together creators from around the world who are pushing boundaries and thinking globally. We’re excited to support these kinds of bold projects that can travel across cultures while maintaining their unique voice. It is important to champion these stories and the talented teams behind them.”

MIA boss Tridente has repeatedly positioned her market as one where stand-out projects truly begin their journeys to screen.

“This recognition, through the new Sony Pictures Television Award, seals an important partnership with a global major and highlights the value of the MIA Co-Production Market,” she said today. “I am especially grateful to Kathrine Pope and Sony Pictures Television for their trust and vision, which confirms the strategic role of MIA as a platform for international co-production.

“This award celebrates the drama projects and talents that emerge from our market, reinforcing our mission to connect creativity and business on a global scale. Together, we aim to foster stories with worldwide resonance and provide producers with concrete opportunities to grow and succeed.” 

MIA begins today (October 6) and runs through the week, gently warming up participants for next week’s MIPCOM. Now in its eleventh year, and fourth with Tridente at the helm, the event is heavily focused on its pitching competitions for drama, documentaries and animation.

This year, there will also be a Book Adaptation Forum and training initiative Apollo Series, which has been developed in partnership with Series Mania Institute and Goteborg Film TV’s Drama Vision track. There will also be a short-film showcase, ‘Vertical’ AI workshops curated by Largo.ai, and an Industry Insider Bootcamp, which is presented by UTA.

As usual, there will also be panel sessions, content showcases, the MIA Buyers’ Club, the C EU Soon work-in-progress program, market screenings, networking sessions, workshops, roundtables and conferences. The 2024 edition attracted 2,800 participants, up 10% year-on-year.