After the American Film Market was reborn last year in Century City, the world’s leading indie movie bazaar has signaled its upcoming November market will refocus on how content is increasingly financed, produced and embraced by consumers across screens big and small during its upcoming 47th edition.
With the theme, “The New Global Screen Economy,” the indie world’s biggest film market produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance aims to reflect emerging technologies and shifting audience trends in an increasingly splintered indie ecosystem. That’s as exhibitors and buyers do business, especially around pre-sales, from November 10 to 15 in and around the Fairmont Century Plaza and the nearby AMC Century City 15 multiplex.
Jackie Brenneman, IFTA’s president and CEO, in a statement said of AFM 2026: “Our business is at an inflection point, and we can’t move forward by looking backward. We need to take a more deliberate approach and focus on creating new opportunities. That is a central role AFM plays. The commitments we’re already seeing this year reflect the momentum building across the industry and points to what will be not only my first AFM, but also one of the most dynamic and defining in recent years.”
In all, 90 exhibitors have already been confirmed as AFM looks to retain its status as the preeminent dealmaking hub for the international film and TV business. Finance, production, sales and distribution companies already booked into AFM 2026 include Lionsgate, Neon, AGC Studios, Voltage Pictures, XYZ Films, A Higher Standard, Anton, Gaumont, Protagonist Pictures, Arclight Films, Beta Cinema and Blue Fox Entertainment, among others.
As the indie business increasingly shifts beyond traditional big-budget actioners to high-concept genre plays, star-driven TV dramas and now bite-sized microdramas aimed at global cel phone users, AFM is looking to shape the next iterations of the media business, rather than follow it, Brennerman insisted.
“With ‘The New Global Screen Economy,’ we are creating a framework for the full spectrum of the industry to come together, align, and shape what comes next,” she added in his statement.
Beyond the U.S. market, AFM is also looking to global players, especially from South Korea and European giants from Germany, Britain, France and Italy.
