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!

EXPERIENCED PRODUCERS:For information on the new AFM Producers Forum, please click here.

Friday, November 8

Finance Conference

Leading CEOs, filmmakers, financiers and studio executives converge to explore the state of independent film financing, new opportunities and incentives, emerging trends, where the money is, and what the future promises.

• First Session - TBA

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

• Second Session - TBA

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

Initial Panelists:
Anne Marie Gillen, CEO, The Gillen Group, LLC

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 Production and Acquisitions, Exclusive Media Group
Cassian Elwes, Independent Producer/ Agent

Sunday, November 10

Production Conference sponsored by Mexican Film Commission

Keynote:
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, directors and creative department heads 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.

Initial Panelists: 
Paul Bales, Partner, The Asylum
Eric Brenner, Partner, Informant Media
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:
TBA

Initial Panelists:
Marina Zenovich, Producer, "Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out"

Monday, November 11

Marketing Conference sponsored by O'Higgins Film Commission

• 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, Stage 32

• 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.

Festival programmers, PR specialists, sales agents and acquisition executives 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

Tuesday, November 12

Distribution Conference

• 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

• 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, Writer, Variety

Initial Panelists:
Susan Jackson, Co-President, Freestyle Releasing, LLC

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.