Mifa Report

The Mifa 2014: authority confirmed

The Mifa has recorded another successful year, with a rise in accreditations and a 13% increase in the number of exhibiting companies despite the still unstable economic climate. Although the number of countries represented remained steady at approximately sixty, we noted the arrival of new countries like Malaysia and more and more companies coming from South America. This upward trend was also confirmed at the Festival by the Cristal being awarded to a Brazilian film for the second year in a row.

Overall, each event organised within the Mifa found its audience. The Mifa Pitch sessions were jam packed and the Creation, Production Organisation and Business conferences drew in large audiences of professionals. There was also a strong presence of major French broadcasters at the press conferences and although they've only existed for two years, the Share With sessions have earned quite the reputation as being highly coveted networking opportunities.

It's also worth noting that the presence of major American studios is also continually on the rise. Nickelodeon chose to sponsor the Mifa's opening party, and Cartoon Network, Disney and Pixar all showed up to play their part in the Mifa events, which greatly pleased the delegates, made up of producers, young creatives, buyers and broadcasters.

Mifa 2014 brought signs of change into light. At first, the Market was primarily for co-productions, but is now increasingly becoming a destination for buying and selling as well. The challenge in the upcoming years will be to represent all the steps involved in bringing a project to life, by finding a balance between launching projects and negotiating.

In 2015, the Mifa will celebrate its 30^th anniversary, and our teams are already hard at work planning for it. This milestone will be the opportunity to celebrate the animation industry's evolution from an international perspective while continuing to focus on the future.

The next Mifa will take place from 17^th to 19^th June 2015, and we expect to see even more of you there.

Mickaël Marin, Head of Mifa