Film
Market Hopes for Blockbuster
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By Ed Moosbrugger
October 11 -- The 28th edition
of the big American Film Market will
launch in Santa Monica on Halloween,
and organizers are preparing for a
treat.
“Let’s hope it’s
a good omen,’” said Jonathan
Wolf, executive vice president of
the Independent Film and Television
Alliance and managing director of
the AFM.
So far, the signs are good for the
eight-day trade show, which opens
October 31. The event draws more than
8,000 people to Santa Monica from
around the world.
“We’re running slightly
ahead of last year,” Wolf reported
in mid September.
The AFM announced in mid August that
all exhibition space has been taken.
“AFM sold out in record time
for the 2007 market, sparking high
expectations of the most successful
market to date,” said Misti
Kerns, president and CEO of the Santa
Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau
(SMCVB).
Although the AFM is primarily an independent
film industry trade event, there are
opportunities for people who live
or work in Santa Monica to attend
some free public screenings. There
are also conferences and seminars
at the Le Merigot and Fairmont Miramar
hotels open to the public for a fee.
Not to mention the sales opportunities
for local businesses. Downtown stores
and restaurants, in particular, have
big opportunities because most of
the screenings are held at the movie
theaters there, which leads to lots
of foot traffic.
Participants come from more than 65
countries for a round of deal making,
screenings, seminars, networking and
parties.
Attendees include acquisition and
development executives, agents, attorneys,
directors, distributors, festival
directors, financiers, film commissioners,
producers, writers, press representatives
and many others who provide services
to the film industry.
The AFM has grown steadily, pumping
millions of dollars into Santa Monica
each year since moving to the city
in 1991.
Don’t get the idea that the
AFM is limited to low budget films,
although those are part of the mix.
Since the AFM started, “more
than half of the Academy Awards winners
for best picture have been sold at
AFM, because more than half are independent
films,” Wolf said.
The AFM has been headquartered at
the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel
since the event came to Santa Monica.
It has overflowed into the adjacent
Le Merigot Hotel in recent years as
demand from exhibitors grew, adding
a floor a year there for the past
two years.
But the AFM decided not to add any
more exhibitor rooms this year, because
“as we grow with exhibit space
we have to take away sleeping rooms,”
which makes it harder for delegates
to find a place to stay, Wolf said.
Hotel space is already a problem because
of the loss of some mid-priced hotel
rooms in Santa Monica over the years
as some properties were converted
to higher priced accommodations, Wolf
said.
The SMCVB helps by monitoring daily
vacancies during the market and directing
attendees to available space.
For the fourth consecutive year, the
SMCVB will provide all AFM attendees
with a customized VIP (Visitors Incentive
Program) rewards card, which offers
discounts at more than 160 businesses.
Businesses can take other steps to
capitalize on the potential from the
AFM, Kerns said, including displaying
the AFM Welcome placard (provided
by the SMCVB).
Importantly, greet the AFM attendees
“with a smile and a show of
appreciation that they are returning
yet again,” Kerns said.
The AFM is committed to Santa Monica
through 2008. It has started discussions
with Loews for an extension, but Wolf
doesn’t expect any agreements
to be reached before the end of the
year. It’s a complicated process
because the AFM also has to negotiate
rates with many other hotels where
attendees stay.
Meanwhile, people who live or work
in Santa Monica or belong to film
industry organizations will have a
chance to see more than 40 of the
films being marketed at the AFM.
For information, go to www.americanfilmmarket.com,
click on “Attendee & Buyer
Resources” and then click on
“Public Previews.” Wolf
urged people not to delay in registering
online for Public Previews passes.
Information on conferences and seminars
can be found by going to the AFM web
site and clicking on “Conferences.”
Clicking on “Catalogue of Films”
will show what is being brought to
market at the AFM.
The AFM is being held in conjunction
with the AFI Fest in Hollywood, which
runs November 1 to 11, resulting in
the only concurrent film industry
festival-market in North America.
SANTA MONICA HOTELS posted an occupancy
rate of 85 percent in July, down 0.6
percent from a year earlier, according
to PKF Consulting. The average room
rate jumped 13.9 percent to $320.95
at hotels tracked by PKF.
For the first seven months of 2007,
occupancy dipped 0.2 percent to 82.6
percent and the average room rate
rose 9 percent to $273.32.
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