Posted by Larry Gleeson

AFM 2021 ONLINE LAUNCHES NOVEMBER 1 WITH ‘THE INDEPENDENT FILM ECOSPHERE’ SESSION FEATURING PARTICIPANT’S LIESL COPLAND, UPGRADE PRODUCTIONS’ JONATHAN KIER, THE EXCHANGE’S BRIAN O’SHEA & TELEPOOL’S JULIA WEBER  

Full Programming Lineup Unveiled Highlighting Such Topics as VOD, Production Insurance, Documentaries, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Film

New Speakers Added from BRON, Campfire Studios, DogWoof, GLAAD, IFC Films, Lionsgate, Millennium Media, NAACP, NEON, Quiver, Warner Bros., and More

Market’s Soft Opening Kicked Off Today with the On Demand Theatre, Industry Offices, LocationEXPO,  and MyAFM Now Open 

Los Angeles, CA – October 27, 2021 – The American Film Market (AFM®) today announced new speakers and sessions along with its full programming lineup set for AFM 2021 Online, which will run for five days, November 1 to November 5.

AFM 2021 Online will commence with the opening session – The Independent Film Ecosphere – Present and Future, featuring Liesl Copland, EVP, Content and Platform Strategy, Participant, Jonathan Kier,

Co-President, Upgrade Productions, Brian O’Shea, CEO, The Exchange, Julia Weber, Head of International Sales & Acquisitions, Global Screen – A TELEPOOL Brand, and moderated by Stephen Galloway, Dean of Chapman University Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. The first Finance Conference of the market, Bridging the Production Insurance Gap, will follow with speakers Steve Hays, Founder and Managing Member, 120dB Films, Peter A. Marshall, Managing Principal, Media Insurance, Epic Insurance Brokers, Nick Spicer, Partner, XYZ Films, and moderator Jill Goldsmith, Co-Business Editor, Deadline.

While the AFM doesn’t officially start until Monday, November 1, four buildings on the AFM Campus – the On Demand Theatre, Industry Offices, LocationEXPO, and MyAFM – are now open for pre-market screenings, project previews and scheduling meetings.

AFM will feature over 150 speakers and again taking advantage of its online market to showcase voices from around the world that can’t always be present in Santa Monica. Additional sessions and speakers joining AFM’s two online stages and previously announced conferences, panels, workshops, podcasts and presentations, include:

• AFM’s Pitch Conference featuring Producer & Agent, Cassian Elwes (Mudbound, Dallas Buyers Club), Elevated Film Sales, Jeffrey Greenstein, President, Millennium Media, Monica Levinson, Independent Producer, (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Captain Fantastic, Brian Banks, Wander Darkly), and Lee Jessup, Screenwriting Career Consultant & Coach

• Black Filmmakers at the Crossroads to Success (presented in partnership with AAFCA) featuring Cassandra Butcher, CMO and Co-Creative Director, BRON Studios, Anikah McLaren, EVP, Narrative Film, Participant, Samantha Racanelli, SVP, Film Development & Production, Endeavor Content, and Gil L. Robertson IV, Co-Founder, African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA)
• Changing the Narrative: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Film (presented in partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Studies) with Iram Parveen Bilal, Filmmaker, Madeline Di Nonno, President & CEO, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, Christopher Kahunahana, Producer, Writer, Director, and Alysia Reiner, Actor, Creator, Producer
• Demystifying the SPLATAM Market (presented in partnership with NALIP) featuring Liliana Espinoza, Projects Director, NALIP, Sonia Gambaro, Vice President of Television, 3Pas Studios, Georgina Gonzalez, Director of Development in the SPLATAM team, Gaumont Television, and Frida Torresblanco, Braven Films 

• Global Streaming & the Future of Entertainment in Asia with Rick Ambros, International Media and Entertainment Consultant & Producer, Rohit Jain, Managing Director South Asia & Networks – Emerging Markets Asia, Lionsgate, Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause Entertainment India, William Pfeiffer, Executive Chairman, Globalgate Entertainment

• How Streamers Approach Independent Content with Adam Koehler, Manager of Acquisitions, IFC Films, Brent Lang, Executive Editor Film & Media, New York Bureau Chief, Variety, Berry Meyerowitz, President, Quiver, Brian Stevenson, CEO and Founder, The Chromata Consulting Group, and Jennifer Vaux, Head of Content Acquisition, Roku

• How to Profit with Micro-Budget Features featuring Tim Molloy, Editor-in-Chief, MovieMaker Magazine, Matt Grady, Founder, Factory 25, Matt Miller, President, Vanishing Angle, and Deon Taylor, Founder, Hidden Empire Film Group

• In the Market for Authentic Transgender Films (presented in partnership with GLAAD) with Alex Schmider, Associate Director of Transgender Representation, GLAAD and Tre’vell Anderson, Journalist
• International Film Market: Consumption of Black Culture, Rejection of Black Stories (presented in partnership with the NAACP) featuring Mo Abudu, CEO, EbonyLife Group, Kyle Bowser, SVP Hollywood Bureau, NAACP, Dr. Darnell Hunt, Dean of the Division of Social Sciences and Professor of Sociology and African American Studies, UCLA, Johnny Jones, Executive Director of Worldwide Marketing Content, Warner Bros. Pictures, Gabriel Lerman, Board Member, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and Tirrell Whittley, CEO, Liquid Soul
• Limited Budget Features with Huge Profit Potential featuring Brian Beckmann, CFO, Arclight Films, Luane Gauer, Head of Acquisitions, Protagonist Pictures, Michael Heimler, Head of Production and Finance, Black Bear Pictures, Jeremy Kay, Americas Editor, Screen Daily, and Kent Sanderson, Acquisitions and Ancillary Distribution, Bleecker Street
   
• New Perspectives on Horror featuring Darren Lynn Bousman, Director, (Spiral, Death of Me, Saw II/III/IV), Patrick Ewald, CEO, Epic Pictures, Jordan Fields, Vice President of Acquisitions, Shout! Factory, Jasmine Johnson, SVP, Development, Crypt TV, and Annick Mahnert, Manager, Acquisitions, Raven Banner Entertainment

• Producing Movies for Networks and Platforms featuring Charles Cooper, President/Producer, Front Street Pictures, Gene George, President, Tesera Entertainment, Larry Grimaldi, SVP, Development and Production, MarVista Entertainment, Brad Krevoy, CEO, Motion Picture Corporation of America, and Chevonne O’Shaughnessy, President, American Cinema International
• Producing Standout Documentary Features featuring Kevin Iwashina, Head of Documentary, Endeavor Content, Anna Godas, CEO, DogWoof, Ross Dinerstein, Founder and CEO, Campfire Studios, Dan O’Meara, EVP of Nonfiction, NEON and Co-Head, Super LTD, and Helen Huang, Acquisitions Consultant

• The Casting Effect: How Talent Choices Impact Every Phase of Production featuring Milan Chakraborty, Head of Film, Marginal MediaWorks, Jennifer Kawaja, President, English Scripted, Sienna Films – a Sphere Media Company, Nat McCormick, EVP, Worldwide Distribution, The Exchange, Renee Tab, Founder and President, Sentient Entertainment, and Richard Botto, Founder and CEO, Stage 32
• The Export Success of Black Cast Films from Africa featuring Pascal Schmitz, Head of Development, AAA Entertainment, Tracey-Lee Rainers, Story Consultant, Stiletto Entertainment, Sunni Faba, Script Writer, Nnegest Likké, Writer/Director, Mayenzeke Baza, Head of Distribution, AAA Entertainment*The full lineup and schedule of sessions to date can be found at https://sessions.americanfilmmarket.com/.

  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 catalog 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. 

***Media Contact:
Jennifer Garnick | VP, Communications
       jgarnick@ifta-online.org | 1+310.446.1006