IFH 415: The American Film Market in the Times of COVID-19 with Jonathan Wolf

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The pandemic has upended the film industries in a way we will be feeling for years to come. Not only are film festivals in limbo and scrambling to figure out how to move forward but film markets like Cannes and Berlin are as well. Today on the show we welcome back to the show Jonathan Wolf, Executive Vice President of the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA®) and Managing Director of the American Film Market (AFM). The American Film Market is the most efficient film acquisition, development, and networking event in the world. Unlike a film festival, AFM is a marketplace where production and distribution deals are closed. More than US$1 billion in deals are sealed every year — on both completed films and those in every stage of development and production. Over 7,000 industry professionals from more than 70 countries converge in Santa Monica every November. They include acquisition and development executives, agents, attorneys, directors, distributors, festival directors, financiers, film commissioners, producers, writers, the world’s press, and all those who provide services to the motion picture industry. At AFM, participants can discover the entire global catalog of available films and projects, attend 50+ world-class conferences, roundtables, and presentations, and connect with the independent film community’s decision-makers, all in one convenient location without the distraction of a film festival. The American Film Market 2020 will go on during this crazy time but not how you might think. AFM will be conducted completely online. I'll also be speaking at this year's AFM with my good friend and film financing expert Franco Sama on November 10, 2021, at 2 pm PST. Jonathan and I discuss how the distribution landscape will change in the coming months and years, how the theatrical exhibition business will bounce back, the explosion of streaming services, and how the AFM will look in the future. Enjoy my conversation with Johnathan Wolf from the American Film Market.