Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel will once again be transformed into the headquarters for the American Film Market Oct. 31 through Nov. 7. [Photo: smmirror.com]
This Halloween, Oct. 31, the 2012 American Film Market (AFM) returns to Santa Monica with organizers saying the event will screen more than 420 motion pictures, including 77 world premieres, and 306 market premieres, for thousands of film buyers and industry professionals.
Organizers say this year's AFM, which will run through Nov. 7, is experiencing a surge in buying companies that will be attending AFM for the first time with more than 120 companies from 23 countries making their market debut -- a record high.
More than 750 companies from 70 countries will send more than 1,500 representatives to the upcoming Market, according to Jonathan Wolf, AFM Managing Director and Executive Vice President of the Independent Film & Television Alliance.
“We are seeing a shift in the way sub distributors acquire film as they steadily rely less on local distributors and more on direct acquisitions," Wolf said. "We also expect a significant increase in buyers from China.”
Countries with the most new Buyers include Korea (25), China (13), United States (11), Japan (6), Turkey (6), and Russia (5), France (4), and Italy (4).
Films making their world premieres include:
A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, from writer/director Roman Coppola and starring Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and Charlie Sheen (Independent);
Cottage Country, starring Malin Akerman and Lucy Punch (VMI Worldwide);
The Frozen Ground, starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, and Vanessa Hudgens (Voltage Pictures);
Nous York, starring Leila Bekhti and Géraldine Nakache (Pathé International); The Numbers Station, starring John Cusack and Malin Akerman (Content);
Pawn, starring Nikki Reed and Ray Liotta (Red Sea Media) and Summer In February, starring Dominic Cooper and Emily Browning (Speranza13 Media).
Among the 306 films set to make their market premieres are:
The ABCs of Death, starring Ingrid Bolsø Berdal and Iván González (Magnolia Pictures);
Come Out and Play, starring Daniel Gimenez Cacho and Vinessa Shaw (Celsius Entertainment);
Ginger and Rosa, starring Christina Hendricks and Elle Fanning (The Match Factory); Here Comes the Devil, starring Francisco Barreiro and Laura Caro (MPI Media Group);
Kon-Tiki, starring Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen (HanWay Films); Quartet, starring Maggie Smith and Michael Gambon, and directed by Dustin Hoffman (HanWay Films); Simon Killer, starring Brady Corbet and Mati Diop (Fortissimo Film);
Zaytoun starring Stephen Dorff and Alice Taglioni (Pathé International).
The business of independent motion picture production and distribution reaches its peak every year at the American Film Market.
The global film industry converges in Santa Monica for eight days of deal-making at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel on films in every stage of development and production, as well as screenings, conferences, networking, and parties.
AFM is the pivotal destination for independent filmmakers, directors, distributors, financiers, industry executives, producers, talent, writers, the international media, and all those who provide services to the worldwide motion picture industry.
The AFM is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance, the global trade association of the independent motion picture and television industry and the voice and advocate for the Independents worldwide.