Mifed future rides on Italy's film and TV reforms.

Video Age's Milan office received the express-mail registration form from Venice 20 days after the Venice Film Festival had ended. So Venice is disorganized. But it does have allure... and American stars. MIFED in Milan, on the other hand, offers only business, not a glamorous venue or a pleasant climate.

Although most distributors found this year's November market dates agreeable, next year MIFED moves back to October.

The international market calendar is now bursting at the seams and there is steep competition for distributors' presence, buyers' attendance and even for adequate calendar dates. In addition, more than that of any other market, MIFED's success is tied in to the fortunes of its domestic film and video markets, which are now in crisis. In Italy, television drives the whole entertainment industry; the focus, however, isn't Milan but Los Angeles and Cannes.

After a brief but intense debate, talks of film and TV reform in Italy have quieted down. The leftist parties have virtually abandoned the struggle toward reform and the political right isn't interested in repairing what to them ain't broken. Some feel that the responsibility of spearheading TV reforms rests with the political left, which is reluctant for two reasons: the status quo offers a tool with which to pound political adversary and main broadcaster Silvio Berlusconi and it leaves open a window of opportunity for gaining control of RAI, the state-owned broadcaster.