The AFM Conference Series gives attendees tremendous knowledge, insight, access, value and a rare opportunity to hear from the industry’s global thought leaders, decision makers and experts who all converge annually at the AFM.

The AFM Conference Series will take place Friday Nov. 8 – Tuesday Nov. 12, from 9:15am – 12:45pm daily and will include Conferences on Finance, Pitching, Production, Marketing and Distribution. From treatment to screen, it’s all covered!

Friday, November 8

Finance Conference

• First Session - Current Issues in Film Finance
  
  Leading CEOs, filmmakers, financiers and executives converge to explore the state of independent film financing, emerging trends, where the money is and what the future holds.

Moderator:
P. John Burke, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP

Panelists:
Mark Canton, Chairman & CEO, Atmosphere Entertainment MM, LLC
Ryan Kavanaugh, CEO, Relativity Media
Steve Ransohoff, Co-President, Film Finances, Inc.

• Second Session - Building Your Global Film Finance Strategy
  
  Where is the money and how quickly can you get it?  All you need to know about U.S. and international financing structures and sources of film finance, including incentives, subsidies and tax shelters.  Opportunities in Belgium, Germany, and Spain/Canary Islands, among others, will be explored.

Moderator:
Joseph Chianese, EVP of EP Financial Solutions, Entertainment Partners

Panelists:
Anthony Beaudoin, SVP, Entertainment Finance, Union Bank
Anne Marie Gillen, CEO, Gillen Group, LLC
David Hutkin, EVP, Strategic Initiatives, Investment and Banking, The Weinstein Company
Andrew Matthews, Chief Financial Officer, Relativity Media
Marsha Metz, Senior EVP, Business & Legal Affairs, Constantin Film
Adam V. Parr, Corporate Adviser, Global Film Finance
Lawrence J. Ulman, Manager, Coyote Media Advisors, LLC

IFTA will provide two (2) hours of MCLE credit to licensed attorneys and three (3) hours of CE credit to certified public accountants who attend this year’s Finance Conference.  

Saturday, November 9

Pitch Conference sponsored by ROSKINO

A good pitch can get a bad film made and a bad pitch can leave a terrific project languishing on the shelf. Pitching is part art (it’s creative), part science (it needs to follow a tight script) and part salesmanship. Conference attendees will first learn the essential rules and tools of pitching from the experts. Then, volunteers selected in advance (you?) will pitch to a panel of Hollywood decision makers. They will give unvarnished feedback on each pitch - explaining what worked, what didn't - and why.

Start preparing your AFM pitch now!  Read AFM's Pitching Essentials, prepared by Stephanie Palmer, AFM Pitch Conference Moderator and Founder, Good in a Room.  

To be considered to pitch on stage, you will need to submit a 2-minute video pitch.  For details on how to submit your pitch, read  AFM Pitch Conference Guide To Creating An Effective Video Pitch.

Presenter/ Moderator:
Stephanie Palmer, Good in a Room

Panelists: 
Tobin Armbrust, President of Worldwide Productions & Acquisitions, Exclusive Media Group
Cassian Elwes, Independent Producer/ Agent

Sunday, November 10

Production Conference sponsored by Mexican Film Commission

• Keynote Address: Adam Carolla, Writer, Producer, Actor, Carolla Digital

• First Session - High Concept, Low Budget

Big ideas don’t have to mean big budgets.  High concept doesn’t have to result in high costs.  Producers share their secrets for enhancing production values utilizing new (and old!) tools and techniques without blockbuster budgets or compromising vision.

Moderator:
Paul Hertzberg, President & CEO, CineTel Films, Inc.

Panelists: 
Paul Bales, Partner and COO, The Asylum
Eric Brenner, Partner, Informant Media
Lisa M. Hansen, President, CineTel Pictures, Inc.
Lynette Howell, Founding Producer, Electric City Entertainment
Braxton Pope, Producer, Sodium Fox

• Second Session - Crowd Funding

Established producers, directors and talent are joining the early adopters, bringing Crowd Funding closer to fulfilling its promise.  Industry trendsetters who have successfully funded their projects reveal key tactics, warn about pitfalls, and explain how they did it.

Moderator:
David Straus, Managing Partner, Reason Ventures, LLC; Co-Founder and Former CEO, Withoutabox

Panelists:
Sean Keegan, Producer, "Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie" (Indiegogo)
Stacey Sher, Producer, "Wish I Was Here" (Zach Braff's Kickstarter film)
Marina Zenovich, Producer, "Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out"  (Slated)
Marc Zicree, Writer, Producer, Director, Magic Time Company, "Space Command" (Kickstarter)

Monday, November 11Unlink

Marketing Conference sponsored by O'Higgins Film Commission

• Keynote Address: Nicolas Gonda, CEO & Co-Founder, Tugg, Inc.; Producer, "Knight of Cups" and Co-Producer,"The Tree of Life"
   
• First Session - Crowd Sourcing Your Audience

“Who is your audience?”  This is one of the first questions financiers and distributors ask producers when considering a new project.  Today, producers of modestly budgeted films must not only know who their audience is but they have to know how to help deliver that audience.

Successful producers are using social media to aggregate potential audiences - before and during production.  Discover the latest tools for independent filmmakers and new ways to find, build and activate your audience.

Moderator:
Richard Botto, Founder & CEO, Stage 32

Panelists:
Rikk  Galvan, Principal, RGM / BIG Games
Susan Johnston, Founder & Director, New Media Film Festival
Christian McGuigan, Producer, REZ (Director, Social Action Film Campaigns, Participant Media)
Jonathan Reiss, Founder, Hybrid Cinema 
Andrea Sisson, Filmmaker, "I Send You This Place"

• Second Session - Film Festivals: Demystified

Once considered the Holy Grail, getting a film into one of the world’s 4,000+ festivals is now a fairly common sales, promotion or launch strategy.  The challenge for today’s filmmakers is matching their film with the right festival at the right time in a rapidly evolving landscape.  Distributors and Producers reveal how to select a festival, avoid the pitfalls and ensure that a festival acceptance really does achieve your goals.

Moderator:
Dana Harris, Editor-in-Chief & General Manager, IndieWire

Panelists:
Robert Ogden Barnum, Producer, e2b Capital
Mike Goodridge, CEO, Protagonist Pictures
Kevin Iwashina, Managing Partner, Preferred Content
Ryan Kampe, President, Visit Films
Charlotte Mickie, EVP, International Sales, Entertainment One

Tuesday, November 12

Distribution Conference sponsored by South Carolina Film Office

• First Session - Video on Demand 2014

Video On Demand will soon be the primary source of revenue for independent filmmakers.  Like the excitement of the gold rush, many envision a future when all films are available worldwide and every film finds its audience.

Distributors, producers and platforms will come together and share who the players are, how shifting windows are creating opportunities, and where the audience discovery process is headed.  They will separate fact from fiction - disclosing who is making money, how they are doing it and what the future holds.

Moderator:
Amy Friedlander Hoffman, Founder, Priority Digital Media

Panelists:
Andy Bohn, Co-Founder & Partner, The Film Arcade
Kyle Kaczmarek, Co-Founder, Kaczmarek Digital Media Group
Lise Romanoff, Managing Director & CEO Worldwide Distribution, Vision Films
David White, Founder & CEO, IndieReign
Richard Wellerstein, VP, Content Acquisition, Programming & Planning, AT&T

• Second Session - Limited & Specialty Releases

What are niche distributors really looking for in independent films?  How can you enhance those elements in your films to increase your chance of a theatrical release?  A full spectrum of acquisition priorities and release strategies will be explored.

Moderator:
Andrew Stewart, Entertainment Journalist, Variety

Panelists:
Matt Brodlie, Head of US Distribution & Acquisitions, Exclusive Media
Jon Gerrans, Co-Founder & Co-President, Strand Releasing
Susan Jackson, Co-Founder & Co-President, Freestyle Releasing, LLC
Tristen Tuckfield, VP of Acquisitions, Millennium Entertainment

Speakers are announced as confirmed on this page, AFM’s Facebook page, and MyAFM.

The AFM Conference Series will be held at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, 101 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica.
Doors & Will Call Open at 8:00am – Conference Hours: 9:15am - 12:45pm daily

Conference tickets may be ordered with or without an AFM pass. See Attendee Packages & Pricing for more information.