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By Ed Moosbrugger
October 9 -- Despite worldwide economic problems, the
American Film Market is on pace with last year’s record
attendance as it prepares for its eight-day run November 5 to
12 in Santa Monica.
As of mid September, exhibitor space was almost sold out and should
be fully booked before the show opens, said Jonathan Wolf, executive
vice president of the Independent Film and Television Alliance
and managing director of the AFM.
“Attendance is tracking almost identical to last year,”
he said.
In 2007, attendance at the AFM rose 1.6 percent to a record 8,343
people.
The big independent film market, which draws people from more
than 70 countries, has been held in Santa Monica since 1991.
That has meant big opportunities each year for local businesses.
“The direct spending impact within Santa Monica from AFM
is estimated to total between $13 million and $14 million,”
said Misti Kerns, president and CEO of the Santa Monica Convention
& Visitors Bureau (SMCVB).
“This spending will generate an estimated $650,000 in taxes
directly to the City of Santa Monica,” Kerns said.
There will be more to come. The AFM has agreed to a new four-year
commitment to hold the event in Santa Monica through 2012.
Many factors have gone into keeping the coveted film market in
Santa Monica.
The AFM needs three things to be successful, and Santa Monica
provides all of them, Wolf said. They include between 20 and 25
movie theater screens close by, about 250,000 square feet of exhibit
space and about 2,000 hotel rooms in close proximity.
Some other places have the exhibit space and hotel rooms, but
Santa Monica’s advantage is in also having the movie screens,
Wolf said.
In addition to the three required elements, organizers of the
AFM desire to hold it in a “fun, upscale place” where
people feel safe walking around and there is an abundance of restaurants
and shopping nearby, he said.
Santa Monica fills the bill with “the ocean, the pier, the
Promenade and restaurants for every budget,” Wolf said.
The attractions of the community are important because attendees
spend an average of 6.5 nights in town.
“Our attendees don’t want to get bored,” he
said.
Community support has played a role in retaining the AFM in Santa
Monica.
“Keeping AFM in Santa Monica has required great commitment
and cooperation from the entire community as each and every one
of us is an Ambassador for our destination,” Kerns said.
“AFM’s success is dependent on Santa Monica’s
businesses, restaurants and the hotels’ commitment to not
only provide all of the rooms needed for the delegates attending
the market, but to welcome the large international clientele that
may have different needs and customs.”
Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel has been headquarters for the AFM
since it came to Santa Monica, and the market has overflowed into
some floors of Le Merigot next door in recent years.
Kerns said the commitment of those hotels “despite the upheaval
involved in transforming their hotel rooms into conference and
screening venues” has been key.
The Fairmont Miramar Hotel also provides screening rooms, Kerns
said.
The SMCVB does a number of things to support the AFM, including
providing assistance with many group events that take place during
the eight days that the AFM is held.
For the fifth consecutive year, the bureau will provide all AFM
attendees with a customized “Visitors Incentive Program
(VIP) Rewards Card, which offers special discounts at local businesses.
Kerns urged local businesses to be prepared for the influx of
people attending the AFM and to warmly welcome them.
It’s helpful, she said, for restaurants to provide information
on U.S. tipping customs and for hotels to place international
dialing advice in their rooms. The SMCVB staff can offer wording
in several languages to use.
In addition to the trade show itself, there will be some AFM seminars
and conferences. For information, go to www.americanfilmmarket.com
and click on “Conferences.”
Missing from this year’s show will be the “Public
Previews,” which gave people who lived or worked in Santa
Monica a chance to see for free some of the films being sold at
the AFM.
There just weren’t enough films submitted by companies where
they requested public viewing to make it work this year, Wolf
said.
The AFM is an independent film industry trade event and more than
500 films will be screened there for potential buyers this year,
Wolf said.
Business deals at the AFM are made both before and after films
are made.
“At AFM about half the business is done before the film
is made,” Wolf said.
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