This week, the 2022 edition of the American Film Market will be taking place in Santa Monica from November 1-6. For decades, the American Film Market (AFM) has been one of the largest and most important events for film industry professionals around the world to gather, conduct and close production and distribution deals, and discuss emerging trends and where the film industry is headed. AFM also stands apart from other film markets like the Marché du Film and the European Film Market; the latter two occur simultaneously with the Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals, respectively, whereas AFM is a stand-alone market. The Market is more than an annual event, but an institution where some of the biggest deals in the film and TV industry are made…in Hollywood’s backyard.
As we've discussed before, the film industry underwent dramatic changes with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing everyone into isolation in the spring of 2020. Film markets were enormously affected: their appeal to industry professionals from dozens of countries has not just been deal-making, but networking and engaging with each other in person. In the midst of the pandemic, digital film markets like Vuulr gained a great opportunity to connect filmmakers, producers, and distributors from around the world at any time of the year. For the last two years, AFM has taken place primarily online, and this year's edition of the market marks the first time it has taken place fully in person since the onset of the pandemic. Like Berlin and Cannes this year, the success or failure of the AFM in the week ahead could determine what kind of future it has in this transformed film and market landscape.
AFM Past and Present
The American Film Market was originally founded in 1981 by the American Film Marketing Association. It is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), a trade association that represents a global swath of independent film companies. Since its establishment, the Market has been an annual event taking place in early November. The market attracts thousands of industry professionals from different countries who also get the chance to convene in Los Angeles and meet with major players in Hollywood. The people attending the Market are not only distributors and filmmakers, but also agents, financiers, festival directors, film commissioners, attorneys, and industry press. The sheer amount and variety of attendees at AFM mean that dozens of deals are signed within a week, often totaling upwards of $1 billion.
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic forced virtually every in-person film festival and film market to either cancel events or attempt to shuffle them online. The Cannes Film Festival notably refused to go virtual, opting for a smaller festival in the late summer of 2021 as more and more people were getting vaccinated. Other venues like the South by Southwest Film Festival adapted tremendously, and have decided to continue as hybrid events with both in-person and online attendees. The American Film Market similarly opted for online events in both 2020 and 2021, creating an online interactive market where attendees could move from different virtual areas corresponding to different sections of the Market, thanks to the hosting by Filmocracy. This year, the Market announced it would be returning to in-person events, and will be held at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel (the traditional venue for AFM since 1991).
Market, Screenings & Sessions
The central part of AFM is naturally the market itself. Hundreds of production and distribution companies set up booths at Loews each year to meet with buyers; the films being bought and sold for distribution can be in any stage, from pre-production to in the middle of filming to near completion. Along with the market a number of theaters in the Santa Monica area host screenings of films for financiers and distributors to watch and evaluate. An attendee to the Market can request and schedule a screening of their films —either using a DCP or Blu-ray copy — in one of these theaters for a certain fee. (For more information, click here.) These attendees often also have to promote the screening to ensure certain distributors or financiers come to watch. For a lesser cost, filmmakers also have the option to put their work on demand for attendees to view during and after the Market takes place.
The Sessions section of the Market is arguably just as important: the panels and conferences that take place over the week-long event try to cover many of the emerging topics and trends in the global film industry. The Sessions are not only useful to listen to as someone working in the film industry, but can potentially influence the decisions distributors and buyers make with regards to the prospective films bought and sold. Some of the Sessions scheduled for this year’s event include a panel on the benefits of shooting films and series in Italy; how producers and creatives can work to adapt a wide range of IP to the screen; new ways for independent films to get financing in the changing movie landscape; and making the case for hair and makeup equity for black actors and other minority performers. Because the industry has been so affected recently by the rise of streaming services and Covid-19, these panels and conversations remain more vital than ever for attendees who want to stay engaged with the industry as it continually transforms.
The Challenge of Virtual Players
Launching in 2020, the digital film market platform Vuulr came at the perfect time when the global film industry was almost entirely ground to a halt and forced to adapt to virtual spaces. Not only could industry players from various countries connect and make deals wholly online, but they also could do it anytime in the year – something that major in-person markets like AFM and the Marché du Film lack. The American Film Market has its own digital platform The Film Catalogue, a database for attendees to look into what projects will be featured and screening at the Market. However, The Film Catalogue serves ultimately as a supplement to the Market itself rather than a digital space for producers, distributors, and buyers to make deals independently.
Another recent issue the AFM has been faced with is the rise of streaming services and how they have dramatically affected the theatrical marketplace over the last decade. The American Film Market prioritizes independent films, which have been increasingly crowded out by big-budget studio franchise films in theaters. Streaming platforms are now considered major players in independent film to rival theatrical distributors like A24, Sony Pictures Classics, and Neon. However, streamers like Netflix have also experienced financial difficulties in recent months, and have subsequently turned their focus toward big-budget original content rather than indie films. Many players in the industry think that the best hope for independent films in the future is still a theatrical release; therefore, the success of this year’s in-person AFM will be an indicator of where independent movies are headed.
“The challenge is to figure out how to monetize in this marketplace… I think there are really great distributors out there who are entrepreneurs, who are not going to sit back and let the pandemic or streamers put them out of business.”
– James Andrew Felts, CEO of Motion Picture Exchange (MPX) on making theatrical releases successful in the years ahead
Independent filmmakers who attend AFM are almost always looking to screen their film to an audience of prospective buyers and distributors in hopes of getting their work a theatrical release. However, the sheer amount of sales companies and distributors at the Market can be both an encouraging and daunting prospect. Equally dissuading can be the cost to attend and screen one’s film, as well as travel and hotel expenses if a filmmaker does not reside in the Los Angeles area. Filmmakers who attend the Market thereby need to thoroughly plan ahead and gauge which of the hundreds of companies would most likely be interested in their work.
If you’re a filmmaker or producer who wants more information on using your time at the AFM best, check out this online webinar “How to Work the AFM” with Jean Prewitt (president and CEO of IFTA), Clay Epstein (president of Film Mode Entertainment), and Walea Constantinau (film commissioner at Honolulu Film Office).
The Path Ahead for Film Markets
Though it has already been two and a half years since the initial onset of Covid, it’s still not clear how many of the once stalwart institutions of the film industry will adapt to changes – or be swept under the tide. Independent film is especially at risk, caught between a shrinking theatrical market and being unceremoniously dumped by streamers amidst a sea of other content. The American Film Market remains one of the key venues for the global film industry to interact and engage with each other, and its return to in-person events after two years of being forced online is hopeful. However the future turns out, the endurance of the Market over the last two years suggests the determination of the industry and its players to make independent film thrive and stay successful – no matter what the odds ahead.
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