The American Film Market (AFM) is a

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, ...

event held each year in early November. Historically, more than 7,000 people attend the eight-day annual event to network and to sell, finance and acquire films. Participants come from more than 70 countries and include acquisition and development executives, agents, attorneys, directors, distributors, festival directors, financiers, film commissioners, producers, writers, etc. Founded in 1981, the AFM is a marketplace for the film business, where unlike a film festival, production and distribution deals are the main focus of the participants. It was founded by the American Film Marketing Association, headed by film producer Andy Vajna. The AFM is held at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel (since 1991). The 2020 and 2021 editions were both online-only in the first week of November due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The American Film Market utilizes 29 movie theater screens on Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade and in the surrounding community to accommodate 700 screenings of over 400 films (often world or U.S. premieres). The films shown are ones seeking theatrical and television distribution. The AFM is produced by the

Independent Film & Television Alliance The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) is the trade association that represents companies that finance, produce and license independent film and television programming worldwide. The association is headquartered in Los Angeles, but has ...

(IFTA), the trade association representing the world's producers and distributors of independent motion pictures and television programs.

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* Trade shows in the United States Film distribution Film markets Film organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1981 1981 establishments in the United States {{film-org-stub