AMERICAN FILM MARKET ANNOUNCES INITIAL EXHIBITORS, PROGRAMMING & SPONSORS FOR 2021 ONLINE EVENT NOVEMBER 1-5

AMERICAN FILM MARKET ANNOUNCES INITIAL EXHIBITORS, PROGRAMMING & SPONSORS FOR 2021 ONLINE EVENT NOVEMBER 1-5

Speakers To Include Executives From Arclight Films, Blackbear Pictures, Bleeker Street, Endeavor Content, Roku and XYZ Films

On Oct 5, the American Film Market  announced initial details for AFM 2021 Online which will commence on November 1 and run for five days through November 5.  AFM 2021 Online will take place on the proprietary interactive campus AFM built in 2020 – presenting an engaging and effective environment for discovery, education, deal making, networking and reconnecting.

More than 300 production and sales companies, as well as international trade organizations from 25+ countries have already registered as exhibitors for the market, including Altitude Film Sales, Anton, Arclight Films, Blue Fox Entertainment, China Film Promotion International, Cinema Management Group, Cornerstone, Dogwoof, The Exchange, Fabrication Films, Fantawild Animation Inc., GAGA Corporation, Gaumont, GFM, HanWay, Global Screen – a TELEPOOL brand, Highland Film Group, Lakeshore Entertainment, Lionsgate, Millennium Media, Myriad Pictures, Pathé International, Picture Tree International, Protagonist Pictures, Radiant Films International, Sierra/Affinity, Taiwan Cinema Presented by TAICCA, TF1 Studio, Toei Company, Ltd., UniFrance, WestEnd Films, and XYZ Films.  The United States currently has the largest exhibitor presence participating followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, Thailand, France, and Japan. 

AFM will also bring its distinguished Conferences and educational programming back online with two stages running simultaneously and featuring more than 50 live sessions exploring film topics from script to screen. The sessions will also be made available the same day on-demand for attendees to stream at their convenience.  

Over 150 industry professionals and decisionmakers will participate in AFM 2021 Online’s programming lineup.  Confirmed speakers to date include such names as:  

Brian Beckmann, Arclight Films; Daniel Bort, Fantawild Animation; Ryan Broussard, Media Services Payroll; JJ Caruth, The Avenue Entertainment; Milan Chakraborty, Marginal MediaWorks, Inc.; Cassian Elwes, Elevated Film Sales; Clay Epstein, Film Mode Entertainment; Patrick Ewald, Epic Pictures; Matt Grady, Factory 25; Michael Heimler, Black Bear Pictures; Kevin Iwashina, Endeavor Content; Brad Krevoy, Motion Picture Corporation of America; Edward Noeltner, Cinema Management Group; Tania Pinto Da Cunha, Pink Parrot Media; Gil Robertson, AAFCA; Kent Sanderson, Bleecker Street; James Emanuel Shapiro, XYZ Films; and Jennifer Vaux, Roku.

Session highlights new for 2021, include:

l  A Story Analyst’s Approach to Screenwriting

l  Animation: A Growing Territory for Independents

l  Black Filmmakers at the Crossroads to Success (presented in partnership with AAFCA)

l  Bridging the Production Insurance Gap

l  The Casting Effect: How Talent Choices Impact Every Phase of Production

l  International Film Market: Consumption of Black Culture, Rejection of Black Stories (presented in partnership with NAACP)

l  New Perspective on Horror

The lineup and schedule of sessions to date can be found at https://sessions.americanfilmmarket.com/.

In addition, AFM has announced its lineup of eight Premiere Sponsors.  The sponsors, each of which will present a dedicated location on the AFM 2021 Online campus, include Apojo Publications, Entertainment Partners, Filmhub, Honolulu Film Office, JAPAN/JETRO, Media Services Payroll, Polish Film Institute, and Whip Media.

AFM is the annual fund-raiser for the Independent Film & Television Alliance. On August 26th, IFTA announced the AFM’s move to online for 2021 due to travel regulations, increased concerns about coronavirus variants around the world, and government restrictions on the ground.  The pivot to online would allow for all stakeholders around the world to participate in the market.

About the American Film Market® (AFM®)

The AFM is the most efficient film acquisition, development and networking event in the world. More than US$1 billion in production and distribution deals are closed every year — on both completed films and those in every stage of development and production. Over five days in November, 7,000+ professionals from 70+ countries access the entire global catalogue of available films and projects, attend world class conferences, and connect with decision makers. The AFM is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance®.

About the Independent Film & Television Alliance® (IFTA®) 

IFTA is the global trade association for independent film and television production, finance, distribution, and sales companies. The organization represents the independent sector before governments and international bodies and provides significant entertainment industry services to independent companies from 22 countries.

Source: AFM