European Short Pitch selects two projects for MIA'S UNBOX 2026
European Short Pitch is partnering with UNBOX, the training and co-production programme run by Alice nella città at MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo. Two of the eight directors in this year’s programme come from the ESP alums with a new feature-length in development, selected in cooperation with UNBOX.
The programme runs from 19 to 23 October 2026 in Rome, with an online day beforehand. Eight directors who’ve already made their name with short films are developing their debut fiction features through mentoring, workshops and pitching training, led by curator Francesco Giai Via. It ends with a pitching session at the MIA Co-Production Market on 22 October and one-to-one meetings with industry decision-makers.
The two chosen project:
HOUSES ARE SILENT by Roxana Stroe (Romania, Switzerland, Germany, Uruguay)
In a secluded Mennonite colony in Bolivia, a 16-year-old girl becomes pregnant after an assault she can’t remember. When other women report the same mysterious injuries, she uncovers a pattern of sexual violence and starts to question the faith and community that have shaped her whole life. The team is looking for sales agents, international co-producers and financiers, including gap financing.
MAR I O by Lili Koss (Germany, with France and Bulgaria)
Mar, 38, a classical saxophonist at the height of her career in Berlin, is preparing for the premiere of her own orchestra, dedicated to her first love, who tragically died when they were eighteen. Once a rising jazz star, Mar abandoned that world after the loss. A month before the premiere, a score written for her resurfaces, throwing her carefully constructed present off balance and bringing the life she might have lived back into view.
The other six UNBOX projects come from Sweden, Italy and Norway, two of them chosen with Nordisk Panorama. The programme also receives support from the European Film Academy and MUBI, and opens with a masterclass by producer Ada Solomon, Chair of the European Film Academy.
We wish Roxana, Lili and their teams a productive week in Rome. More on UNBOX 2026 is on the MIA website.
