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Tag: American Film Market

  • American Film Market sets new records in 35th edition with footfall of over 7,900

    American Film Market sets new records in 35th edition with footfall of over 7,900

    NEW DELHI: The 2014 American Film Market (AFM) saw a footfall of 7,946 in its eight-day 35th edition that concluded at the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica.

    The AFM saw 1,670 buyers coming from over 70 different countries. Of the 794 registered buyer companies, 90 were new to the AFM. The market saw a 3 per cent increase and an uptick in overall buyers from last year, with a notable growth in buyers from Latin America (up 34 per cent) and Asia (up 8 per cent).

    Overall exhibitor attendance was up 1 per cent from last year with 2,825 executives from exhibiting companies from over 40 countries, with the largest number of exhibitors coming from the United Kingdom, France and Japan, after the United States.

    Overall industry attendees, the non-buyers and sellers that include Attorneys, Bankers, Festivals, Film Commissions, Filmmakers, Financiers, Post Production Facilities, Producers, Studio Facilities, and Writers finished at 2,624, up 1 per cent from last year’s numbers.

    The repetition of strong attendance reflects the AFM’s expanded programs for production community including the Conference Series, Roundtables, Conversations, and Producers Forums. The AFM screened 432 films with 352 Market Premieres, 85 World Premieres and a total of 654 screenings across the AFM Campus in Santa Monica.

    The five-day AFM Conference Series showcasing sessions on Financing, Pitching, Production, Marketing and Distribution featured global industry leaders including: Brett Ratner (producer), Cassian Elwes (Independent Producer), Tobin Ambrust (Exclusive), Mark Damon (Foresight Unlimited), Mark Gill (Millennium), Rena Ronson (UTA), Emanuel Nunez (Paradigm), Russell Schwartz (Relativity), John Sloss (Cinetic), and Nicolas Gonda (Tugg). The AFM Conference Series, which launched four years ago, hosted international audiences of more than 700 daily.

     

  • Carnaby finalises global ‘Heidi and the Magic Pool’ deal at AFM

    Carnaby finalises global ‘Heidi and the Magic Pool’ deal at AFM

    NEW DELHI: Carnaby International has cleared much of the world’s film sales territories for its new entry into the durable global Heidi franchise with the family adventure Heidi And The Magic Pool.

    In a deal with a major Hollywood Studio, the territories included in the one single deal are: the UK; Australia and New Zealand; France; Benelux; the Czech Republic; Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland; Greece; Portugal; Slovakia; Scandinavia; India, Israel, South Africa, Turkey; Hong Kong; Malaysia; Philippines; Singapore; Taiwan; Thailand; Vietnam; and all of Latin America. Sarra has also concluded deals with the Middle East (Gulf Film), Indonesia (PT Prima Cinema), Spain (Flins y Piniculas) and the countries of the former Yugoslavia (Discovery).

    Carnaby head of international sales Tania Sarra said at the American Film Market, “The robust response shows just how wide Heidi’s appeal is worldwide.”

    Written by Paul Watson, (IVCA Gold Award Winner, Assaulted Nuts, Puss In Boots), Heidi And The Magic Pool will be directed by BAFTA winner John Henderson (The Borrowers, Tales of the Riverbank, Loch Ness); and produced by Simon Wright (The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, Lucky Jim).  Executive producers are Sean O’Kelly, Kirsty Bell and Andrew Loveday.

    Carnaby has also announced an April 2015 start for the film, a UK-Hungarian co-production filming in both those countries.  Heidi stars Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean, Underworld, Love Actually) Golden Globe nominee Anna Friel (Good People, Limitless, You Will Meet A Dark Stranger) and Greg Wise (Effie Gray, Walking on Sunshine, Sense and Sensibility).  Carnaby are in discussions with Oscar winner Jim Broadbent (Iris, Moulin Rouge, Gangs of New York).

    In this family-friendly tale, 12 year-old Heidi lives an idyllic life with her Grandpa in his remote mountain cabin. When the townsmen declare Grandpa an unsuitable guardian, Heidi must go to live as a companion to Clara – the daughter of a wealthy professor in the city. Heidi and Clara become instant friends, but the cruel Governess, who Heidi discovers is slowly poisoning Clara in order to marry the professor, spoils their fun. The girls manage to escape and seek refuge in a remote, ancient and mysterious grotto called the Magic Pool. With the Governess hunting the girls down, Heidi promises Clara they are safe, but fate has other plans.

    With two world premieres, eight films in production, as well as its first-ever major television series, Carnaby International is attending its second American Film Market this November with a high profile, varied line-up of exciting titles—and a growing reputation for pulling in A-list talent.

    Joint Carnaby co-CEOs Andrew Loveday and Sean O’Kelly, along with director of international sales Tania Sarra and head of acquisitions Alex Tate, are in Santa Monica for AFM this November.

     

  • Around 400 exhibiting companies taking part in American Film Market this year

    Around 400 exhibiting companies taking part in American Film Market this year

    NEW DELHI: A total of 396 exhibiting companies are being represented in the 35th American Film Market (AFM) which opened this week, marking the highest level of participation since 2008.

    Being held from 5 to 12 November, the AFM will have more than 8,000 attendees from over 80 countries in Santa Monica over the course of the week.

    Growing from 2013, a total of 430 films are set to screen with 349 market premieres and 84 world premieres. Attendees can look forward to first-glimpse performances by the likes of: Samuel L.

    Jackson, John Travolta, Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Morgan Freeman, Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Adam Driver, Kate Beckinsale, Maggie Smith, Hailee Steinfeld, Kristin Scott Thomas, Al Pacino, James Franco, Elijah Wood and many others.

    More than 100 speakers from around the globe will participate in the AFM Conference Series, Producers Forum, Roundtables and Industry Conversations – with industry thought leaders and experts sharing their knowledge and insights with participants.

    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 on films in every stage of development and production, as well as screenings, conferences, networking and parties.

    With 8,000 industry leaders from more than 80 countries, 700 screenings and the industry’s largest Conference Series, AFM is the pivotal destination for filmmakers, producers, writers,  directors, distributors, financiers, industry executives, talent, 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.

    Director/producer Brett Ratner takes part in the Finance Conference and comedian/podcast king Adam Carolla will participate in an Industry Conversation. Millennium Films’ President Mark Gill, WME Partner Mark Ankner, and UTA’s Independent Film Group Co-Head Rena Ronson will impart wisdom and advice in the Production Conferences.

    Additional speakers include: Preferred Content’s Kevin Iwashina, Tugg, Inc CEO and independent producer Nicolas Gonda, Cinetic Media Founder John Sloss, Relativity Europa’s Russell Schwartz, Mister Smith’s Jill Jones, CineTel President & CEO Paul Hertzberg, UTA partner Rich Klubeck, Foresight Unlimited CEO & Chairman Mark Damon and independent producer Cassian Elwes.

    The independent film industry growth is evident as 126 buying companies from 41 countries and 112 exhibiting companies from 21 countries will participate in the market for the first time. Asian companies will once again be particularly well-represented, with the largest number of new buyers coming from South Korea.

     

  • American Film Market 2013 to screen 402 films from 51 countries

    American Film Market 2013 to screen 402 films from 51 countries

    NEW DELHI: American Film Market 2013 will screen 402 films, including 321 market premieres and 75 world premieres, from 51 countries.

     

    Films in 30 languages will be screened for more than 8,000 buyers and industry professionals from more than 70 countries, according to Independent Film & Television Alliance, AFM managing director and executive VP Jonathan Wolf.

    The market is being held from 6 to 13 November in Santa Monica in California by the Independent Film & Television Alliance.

     

    Films premiering include the works of Zach Braff, Abigail Breslin, Pierce Brosnan, James Caan, Nicolas Cage, Helena Bonham Carter, Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Judi Dench, Gerard Depardieu, Richard Dreyfuss, Jesse Eisenberg, Chiwetal Ejoifor, Idris Elba, Dakota Fanning, Jenna Fischer, James Franco, Bill Hader, Josh Hartnett, Val Kilmer, Ben Kingsley, Mila Kunis, Cory Monteith, Thandie Newton, Haley Joel Osment, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Roberts, Peter Sarsgaard, Amy Smart, Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci, Kanye West, Jay Z and many more.

     

    Films making their market premiere include: Kiss Me (American Cinema International) starring Jenna Fischer, Emily Osment, Missi Pyle and John Corbett; Around the Block (Arclight Films) starring Christina Ricci, Hunter Page-Lochard and Mark Coles Smith; Le Grand Cahier (Beta Cinema) starring Laszlo Gyemant, Andras Gyemant, Piroska Molnar, Ulrich Thomsen, Ulrich Matthes and Sabin Tambrea; McCanick (Bleiberg Entertainment) starring David Morse, Cory Monteith, Mike Vogel, Ciaran Hinds, Tracie Thoms and Rachel Nichols; Cas and Dylan (Breakthrough Entertainment) directed by Jason Priestley, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Tatiana Maslany; The F Word (Entertainment One) starring Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Adam Driver and Rafe Spall; World Petank Tour (Europa Corp) starring Gerard Depardieu, Atmen Kelif, Edouard Baer, Daniel Prevost, Virginie Efira and Roschdy Zem; The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (Gaumont) starring Helena Bonham Carter, Kyle Catlett, Callum Keith Rennie and Judy Davis; Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (Huayi Brothers) starring Mark Zhao, Angelababy Yang and Carina Lau; The Sea (Independent) starring Ciaran Hinds, Charlotte Rampling and Rufus Sewell; Some Velvet Morning (International Film Trust) starring Stanley Tucci and Alice Eve; Walking with the Enemy (Koan Inc.) starring Ben Kingsley and Jonas Armstrong; Half of a Yellow Sun (Metro International Entertainment) starring Thandie Newton and Chiwetel Ejoifor; The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him & Her  (Myriad) starring Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, James McAvoy, William Hurt, Isabelle Huppert, Ciaran Hinds and Bill Hader; Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (Pathe International) starring Idris Elba and Naomie Harris; God Only Knows (Synchronicity Entertainment) starring Ben Barnes, Toby Jones, Leighton Meester and Harvey Keitel.

     

    Additional market premieres include Palo Alto (Pathe International) starring Emma Roberts, James Franco and Val Kilmer; Philomena (Pathe International) starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan; Love Punch (SND M6 Group) starring Pierce Brosnan and Emma Thompson; Tar (Spotlight Pictures) starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Zach Braff, Henry Hopper and  Bruce Campbell; Before the Winter Chill (TF1 International) starring Daniel Auteuil, Kristin Scott Thomas, Leila Bekhti and Richard Berry; C.O.G. (The Exchange) starring Jonathan Groff, Denis O’Hare and Corey Stoll; Made in America (The Exchange)directed by Ron Howard, starring Jay Z and Kanye West; Night Moves (The Match Factory) starring Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard; Two Night Stand (The Solution Entertainment Group) starring Miles Teller, Analeigh Lipton and Jessica Szohr; and Joe (West End Films) starring Nicolas Cage and Tye Sheridan.

  • American film bags best film award, Pakistani film is best documentary at Indian Queer Filmfest

    American film bags best film award, Pakistani film is best documentary at Indian Queer Filmfest

    NEW DELHI: Morgan directed by Michael Akers from the US has won the Best Narrative Feature Film at the 4th Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival.

    The award, which has a cash prize of Rs 30,000 sponsored by actor Anupam Kher, was handed out at the closing ceremony of the festival over the weekend.

    "We thank the festival for its amazing work in helping to bring film’s such as ours to the audiences who desperately need it," said Akers.

    Urmi directed by Jehangir Jani got the Best Indian Short Narrative film award given away by filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi.

    Actor Crystal Arnette won the first Kashish Best Actor award, instituted by Kher and his acting school Actor Prepares.

    Hide and Seek (Chuppan Chupai) from Pakistan won the Best Documentary Feature award. The film directed by Sadat Munir and Saad Khan is one of the first films that focus on the lives of the gay and transgender community in Pakistan. "Due to the subject matter I knew I will not be able to get much public screening of this film in Pakistan, but I am happy that it screened in India, especially Mumbai, where picture of LGBTIQ acceptance is not the same as elsewhere in South Asia," said Saadat Munir.

    The Best Documentary Short Film award went to the Cambodian film Two Girls against the Rain directed by Sopheak Sao. The Best International Short Narrative Film Award was given to Polaroid Girl directed by April Maxey from the USA.

    The international jury panel comprising filmmaker Aruna Raje Patil, Bollywood actor and model Simone Singh, theatre director Quasar Thakore Padamsee, author and poet Jerry Pinto and Iris Prize director Berwyn Rowlands judged the films.

    The Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker was shared by two young directors Manva Naik for her film Dopehri and Rohan Kanawade for The Lonely Walls (EktyaBhinti).

    More than 130 films from forty countries were screened at the fourth edition of the Festival which commenced from 22 May in Mumbai.

    While China was the Country in focus with more than 12 films, there were LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) films from Iran, Serbia, Slovakia, Pakistan and Morocco. The Filmmaker in focus was American filmmaker and activist Jim Hubbard.

    The Parade from Serbia opened the festival while the late Rituparno Ghosh’s Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish was the closing film.

    The festival was held at Cinemax Versova in Andheri and at Alliance Française de Bombay.
    KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is the first and only gay and lesbian film festival in India to be held in a mainstream theatre and one of the first queer festivals to receive clearance from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

    Saagar Gupta, festival programmer said: "This year KASHISH programmed the biggest collection of films and from countries that were very diverse, including countries where making films on LGBT themes is challenging. Also keeping in tune with this year‘s themes of ‘Towards Change‘ there were several outstanding documentaries including Vito, United in Anger, Call Me Kuchu, Hide & Seek, Invisible Men, Not A man in Sight and …And The Unclaimed. These films showcased stories of struggle, trauma and happiness of LGBT persons across the world."

  • American Film Market sees 6% growth

    American Film Market sees 6% growth

    MUMBAI: The 2012 American Film Market (AFM) has seen an increase in buyers of six per cent to 1,616 versus 1,523 a year ago and 35 more buying companies than 2011, an increase of five per cent.
    AFM saw 753 buying companies from more than 60 countries this year. The conferences, which launched in 2011, spoke to large audiences of more than 700 in attendance each day. Exhibiting companies at AFM were on par with last year at 357.

    AFM MD Jonathan Wolf said, “The healthy growth in new buying companies is the most important metric for us. It shows that the global marketplace for independent film is continuing to expand.”
    Regions with more buyers at the market included Asia (up 14 per cent) and Latin/South America (up 17 per cent). Among individual countries, Japan and Korea had the largest increase for buying companies, with Korea (up 26 per cent) and Japan up (23 per cent).

    Attendance among exhibitor-affiliated participants (including their executives, producers, talent and guests) concluded at 3,069.
    Industry attendees, the non-buyers/sellers that include Attorneys, Bankers, Directors, Festival Programmers, Film Commissioners, Filmmakers, Financiers, Government Officials, Post Production Facilities, Press, Producers, Studio Facilities, Trade Associations, Writers and IFTA Guests finished at 3,063. Overall, the market drew more than 7,749 people in attendance to date.
    Additional AFM highlights included:

    • 442 films screened

    • 82 world premieres

    • 327 market premieres

    • Films from more than 30 countries

    • More than 650 screenings

    The five-day AFM Conference Series showcasing sessions on financing, production, marketing, distribution and pitching, featured global industry leaders including Nigel Sinclair, Bahman Naraghi, Alison Thompson, Michael Werner, Roger Corman, Lloyd Kaufman, Tatiana Kelly, Ry Russo-Young and many others.

    Additionally, the Industry Conversations Series – intimate, interactive and informative discussions with visionaries, trendsetters and experts in the film industry – delivered many prominent speakers, including Directors Sacha Gervasi, Victor Levin and Josh Stolberg; Producer Bonnie Curtis, Jonathan Silverman, Pamela Adlon, “Harry Potter” franchise Executive Producer Michael Barnathan, Participant Media’s Courtney Sexton and Filmmaker Eddie Schmidt.