American Film Market

Last updated
American Film Market
AFM18 Logotype(r) BlackOL.jpg
American Film Market Enterance.JPG
Entrance at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel
NicknameAFM
StatusActive
GenreFilm market
FrequencyAnnually
Venue

Previously:

  • Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel
  • Le Merigot Beach Hotel
Location(s)
CountryUnited States
InauguratedMarch 21, 1981 (1981-03-21)
Founder Andy Vajna
Participants>8,000
Organized by Independent Film & Television Alliance
Filing status Nonprofit
Website americanfilmmarket.com

The American Film Market (AFM) is a film industry event held annually in early November. Historically, more than 7,000 people [1] attend the eight-day annual event to network and to sell, finance and acquire films. [2] Participants come from more than 70 countries and include acquisition and development executives, agents, attorneys, directors, distributors, festival directors, financiers, film commissioners, producers, writers, etc. Founded in 1981, the AFM is a marketplace for the film business, where unlike a film festival, production and distribution deals are the main focus of the participants. [3]

Contents

History

American Film Market was founded by the American Film Marketing Association, headed by film producer Andy Vajna. [4] The American Film Market held its first event March 21–31, 1981. [3] The AFM is held at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel since 1991. [5] [6] The AFM is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), a trade association representing the world's producers and distributors of independent motion pictures and television programs. [7]

In 2024, the market was moved to the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the first time the market is held outside of Los Angeles. [8]

Screenings

The American Film Market utilizes 29 movie theater screens on Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade and in the surrounding community to accommodate 700 screenings of over 400 films (often world or U.S. premieres). The films shown are ones seeking theatrical and television distribution. In order to keep up with demand for screenings, in 2017 the American Film Market launched AFM Screening on Demand, a video-on-demand platform provided by Shift72 that allowed buyers to watch films outside of the limited screening times. [9] This also allowed the 2020 and 2021 editions to be held online-only in the first week of November due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

Orion Releasing, LLC is an American film production and distribution company co-owned by Amazon through Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films from 1978 until 1999 and was also involved in television production and syndication throughout the 1980s until the early 1990s. It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former senior executives at United Artists. From its founding until its buyout by MGM in the late 1990s, Orion was considered one of the largest mini-major studios.

A screener (SCR) is an advance or promotional copy of a film or television series sent to critics, awards voters, video stores, and other film industry professionals, including producers and distributors. It is similar to giving out a free advance copy of books before it is printed for mass distribution. Director John Boorman is credited with creating the first Oscar screeners to promote his film The Emerald Forest in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolco Pictures</span> Defunct US independent film production company

Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco hit its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, with blockbuster successes including the first three films of the Rambo franchise, Total Recall, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Basic Instinct, Universal Soldier, Cliffhanger and Stargate. Nevertheless, the company was losing money overall and required a corporate restructuring in 1992. The 1995 film Cutthroat Island, intended to be a comeback for the studio, instead lost $147 million and brought the company to an end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew G. Vajna</span> Hungarian film producer (1944–2019)

Andrew G. Vajna was a Hungarian-American film producer whose films include the first three entries in the Rambo series, Total Recall, Tombstone, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Evita, and Terminator 3. He founded the now-defunct production companies Carolco Pictures, Cinergi Pictures, and C2 Pictures, frequently in collaboration with Mario Kassar.

A film distributor is responsible for the marketing of a film. The distribution company may be the same with, or different from, the production company. Distribution deals are an important part of financing a film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MGM Television</span> Television studio arm of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, previously known as MGM/UA Television, is the television studio arm of American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) specializing in broadcast syndication and the production and distribution of television shows and miniseries.

MIPTV is an event which takes place annually in Cannes, France, using the facilities and infrastructure which the town has developed over the years to host other important events such as the Cannes Film Festival amongst other events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vestron Video</span> Defunct American home video company

Vestron Video was the main subsidiary of Vestron, Inc., a home video company based in Stamford, Connecticut, that was active from 1981 to 1993, and is considered to have been a pioneer in the home video market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Look Studios</span> American film distributor

First Look Studios was an American independent film distributor, that specialized in home video releases of films and television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marché du Film</span>

The Marché du Film is one of the largest and most important film markets in the world. Established in 1959, it is held annually in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival.

Roadshow Entertainment is an Australian home video, production and distribution company that is a division of Village Roadshow that distributes films in Australia and New Zealand. Their first release was Mad Max. Roadshow Entertainment is an independent video distributor in Australia and New Zealand.

Summit Entertainment is an American film production and distribution company. It is a label of Lionsgate Films, owned by Lionsgate Entertainment and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.

The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) is the trade association that represents companies that finance, produce and license independent film and television programming worldwide. The association is headquartered in Los Angeles, but has a global membership and wide scope of services and advocacy. Its roster of 150 member companies in 23 countries include independent production and distribution companies, sales agents, television companies, studio-affiliated companies and financial institutions. IFTA members create more than 500 independent films and countless hours of TV programming each year generating a revenue of $4 billion annually.

Association of Film Commissioners International(AFCI) is worldwide network of more than 360 commissions from 40 countries on every continent except Antarctica. The AFCI represents trained, experienced and professional Film Commissioners and their offices and staff, sets standards and provides professional education, offers training and business services in the field of Film Commissioning, and provides regular marketing and network opportunities in Hollywood and around the world for Film Commissions.

New Video is an American entertainment distributor and collector of independent digital content. The company works with independent producers, filmmakers and television networks to curate content for many types of distribution platforms, including digital, cable, video on demand, Blu-ray, DVD, and theatrical releases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Screen Awards</span> Canadian media awards

The Canadian Screen Awards are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media productions. Given annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, the awards recognize excellence in cinematic achievements, as assessed by the Academy's voting membership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harmon Kaslow</span> American film producer

Harmon Kaslow is a licensed attorney and motion picture producer. Along with John Aglialoro, Kaslow produced a trilogy of movies based on the Ayn Rand novel titled "Atlas Shrugged" including Atlas Shrugged: Part I and Atlas Shrugged: Part II and Atlas Shrugged: Part III. Prior to producing the Atlas Shrugged movies, Kaslow was an executive at A-Mark Entertainment, Kismet Entertainment Group and an associate at Shea & Gould, an international law firm.

Herman "Hy" Hollinger was an American trade journalist and studio publicist. He covered the entertainment industry for both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter (1992–2008) during a career which spanned seven decades. Hollinger helped to developed a new system for tracking the overseas box office while working for Variety's London bureau. He later served as the international editor at The Hollywood Reporter from 1992 until 2008, when he retired at the age of 90. Hollinger was considered an expert on the international box office and the sale independent productions directly to foreign film distributors.

Andre Morgan is an American film and movie producer and financial consultant.

The 9thannualCanadian Screen Awards were held in the week of May 17 to 20, 2021, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2020.

References

  1. "Indie Filmmakers Storm the Beach at American Film Market". HuffPost . November 7, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  2. sdsichero. "Toho's 'Shin Godzilla' Gets An English Title" . Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "American Film Market 1981". filmfestivalposters.com. 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  4. "Andy Vajna, 'Rambo' Producer, Dies at 74". Variety. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  5. "AFM: Download THR's Day 3 Daily". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  6. "American Film Market Staying Put In Santa Monica With New Deal Through 2017". Deadline Hollywood . December 8, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  7. "IFTA Renews Jean Prewitt, AFM Topper Jonathan Wolf". Variety . July 13, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  8. Ritman, Alex; Stephan, Katcy (March 8, 2024). "AFM Officially Moving to Las Vegas". Variety . Penske Media Corporation.
  9. White, David (March 1, 2021). "Revolutionizing Film Distribution at American Film Market". www.shift72.com. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  10. "American Film Market Pivots To Online Event For 2021". AFM 2021 ONLINE. 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  11. Moreau, Jordan (2021-08-26). "American Film Market Goes Virtual for Second Year in a Row". Variety. Retrieved 2021-08-27.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to American Film Market at Wikimedia Commons