Event Preview: American Film Market

The American Film Market (AFM), the leading gathering for the independent film community, will take place in Santa Monica from November 5 to 12. Filmmakers, producers, writers, directors, distributors, financiers, industry executives, talent and international press will gather for eight days of deals, screenings, conferences and networking.

Every year, the AFM assembles some 8,000 attendees, including around 400 distributors, 1,000 production companies and industry professionals from 80 countries around the world.

This year, 90 new buyers and 70 new exhibitors are expected. “The evolving marketplace is creating opportunities for new distributors and entrepreneurs in Asia and around the world,” says Jonathan Wolf, the managing director of the AFM. “We look forward to welcoming this diverse group of first-time participants to Santa Monica.”

And the marketplace is indeed evolving, with digital platforms disrupting traditional distribution and business models but also creating new opportunities. The AFM puts together a series of conferences that focus on the key aspects of independent filmmaking: finance, pitch, production, marketing and distribution.

“We have some great speakers from around the world talking about the future of film, where it’s headed for marketing and distribution and finance, [with] about 30 sessions with 100 speakers,” says Wolf.

“This is really a place where the world comes together and we are able to hear perspectives from Nigeria, Australia, Germany, France and the U.S., and we see how all those perspectives meld,” he continues. “As we do, we are able to get an idea of where the industry is headed in the coming year. It’s what differentiates the AFM from other film markets—we really have an active program to bring the points of view of leaders from around the world onto a stage.”

As for trends in the marketplace, Wolf identifies what he calls a continued bifurcation of the industry. “There is an increase in the number of companies that are making bigger pictures and there is an increase in the number of companies that are making smaller films. I’ll define small films, at least for the purpose of this discussion, as [films with a budget of] $1 million to $2 million and under. There is a slow decrease in the number of companies that are making films [with budgets] in between. Not everybody produces at every level and there are exceptions to every rule, but we are seeing a continued trend in that direction and we adapt the show accordingly. We’ve got more bigger companies with bigger space and we’ve got a lot more smaller companies with what we call mini booths, where companies doing one or two $500,000 pictures a year can come to the market and have an efficient experience.”

Because movies can be made less expensively and they can still reach a broad audience, there are more people participating in the filmmaking process.

“There are a lot of people who are producing in the under-$1-million range who are very successful and understand their niche,” explains Wolf. “There are a lot of people who are making $500,000 films where the total revenue is $1 million. There are a lot of us that, if we could make three of those a year, we’d be very happy! Social media has given these distributors a tremendously efficient way to reach the audience. SVOD is giving them a more efficient way to reach the audience, and they are becoming very adept at finding these niches and building small businesses that every once in a while turn into a Sharknado.

“On the other side, we are seeing companies like Relativity International and FilmNation Entertainment, and we are seeing continued growth in companies that are really doing large films, whether they are award-contending films or broad audience films, so the AFM is serving all of them,” continues Wolf. “We will see next year’s The Hunger Games and Sharknado and everything in between.”

Besides its Conference Series and Producers Forum, specially designed educational sessions on co-productions, working with sales agents, sourcing production incentives and other topics, the AFM is also holding a number of roundtables with topics ranging from African co-productions, Hong Kong as Asia’s co-production center and gateway to China, to films targeting the faith community and distributing and monetizing documentaries.

The AFM will take place at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, with conferences held at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, The Producers Forum at Le Merigot Hotel and screenings at various locations in Santa Monica. The AFM is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance, the global trade association of the independent motion picture and television industry.