2018 American Film Market® to Welcome 150+ Speakers to its Stages
Los Angeles, CA – October 3, 2018 – The American Film Market (AFM®) has announced today initial speakers confirmed for its expanded programming of Conferences, Roundtables, Workshops, and Spotlight Events which run alongside the AFM’s marketplace and industry screenings. This year’s market is taking place October 31 – November 7 in Santa Monica.
More than 150 speakers will take the AFM stages to participate in 40+ sessions across three venues. An initial list of highlights includes:
Producers: Caryn Capotosto, Cassian Elwes, Basil Iwanyk, Khaliah Neal, Ben Stillman, Gary Michael Walters, and Janet Yang.
Industry Executives: Lisa Gutberlet, EVP, International Sales & Acquisitions, Blue Fox Entertainment; Alison Thompson, Co-President, Cornerstone Films; Janet Brown, EVP, Distribution, Gunpowder & Sky; Jeffrey Greenstein, Co-President, Millennium Media; Krista Wegener, SVP, Sales and Distribution, Participant Media; John Orlando, Head of Content, Sony Crackle; Ryan Suffern, Head of Documentary Division, The Kennedy/Marshall Company; Paul Broucek, President, Music, Warner Bros. Pictures; and Kirsten Schaffer, Executive Director, Women In Film, Los Angeles.
As previously announced, President/CEO of the Independent Film & Television Alliance®, Jean Prewitt, and Chairman/CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America®, Charles Rivkin, will kick off the Conference series with The Global Perspective, on Friday, November 2.
The 2018 speakers announced to date are:
Alan R. Milligan, White Rabbit
Marguerite Pigott, CMPA (Canadian Media Producers Association)
Alison Thompson, Cornerstone Films
Andrea Iervolino, AMBI Media Group and TaTaTu
Anthony Beaudoin, Union Bank
Barry Landis, Ribbow Media Group
Basil Iwanyk, Thunder Road Pictures
Ben Stillman, Black Bear Pictures
Billy Mernit, UCLA and Universal Pictures
Bradley M. Gallo, Amasia Entertainment
Bruce Eisen, Digital Advisors
Caryn Capotosto, Tremolo Productions
Cassian Elwes, Producer (Mudbound)
Chris Bueno, Ocean Avenue Entertainment
Clay Epstein, Film Mode Entertainment
Cody Zwieg, Gunpowder & Sky
Cynthia Tollett, Directors Guild of America
Dana Nachman, KTF Films
Darrien Michele Gipson, SAGindie
Dave McIntosh, Shout! Factory
David Kennedy, Saboteur Media
David Offenberg, Loyola Marymount
David White, SHIFT72
Dennis Dreith, Transparence Entertainment Group
Derek Doneen, Filmmaker, Kailash
Florian Glatz, Cinemarket
Gary Michael Walters, Bold Films
Germaine Franco, Composer and Music Producer
Irina Albita, Big Couch UK and FilmChain
Janet Brown, Gunpowder & Sky
Janet Yang, Producer
Jeffrey Greenstein, Millennium Media
John Orlando, Sony Crackle
John Sloss, Sloss Eckhouse LawCo and Cinetic Media
Jonathan Barkan, DreadCentral.com
JP Sarni, Stampede Ventures
Juliana Da Cunha Jacobsen, BF Distribution
Karl Hur, Mofac Creative Works
Kay S. Wolf, Writers Guild of America West
Khaliah Neal, Independent Producer, The Rachel Divide
Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund
Kirsten Schaffer, Women In Film, Los Angeles
Ko Eun Jung, Digitalidea VFX
Krista Wegener, Participant Media
Lisa Gutberlet, Blue Fox Entertainment
Lucy Mukerjee, Outfest & Newfest
Mathew Joubert, SHIFT72
Matt Holzman, KCRW’s “The Document”
Michael Berman, iN Demand
Min Sun Hye, WYSIWYG Studios
Dr. Nelson Granados, Pepperdine Graziadio Business School and Forbes Contributor
Paul Bales, The Asylum
Paul Broucek, Warner Bros. Pictures
Paul Hertzberg, CineTel Films, Inc.
Peter Baxter, Slamdance Film Festival and Producer
Peter Broderick, Paradigm Consulting
Pilar Alessandra, On the Page
Raymond C. Nutt, Fathom Events
Richard Botto, Stage 32
Robert Binning, StreamSpace
Robert Menzies, Zed Filmworks
Ruzanna Kegeyan, Arclight Films
Ryan Broussard, Media Services
Ryan Suffern, The Kennedy/Marshall Company
Ryan Turek, Blumhouse Productions
Sam Klebanov, Cinezen Blockchained Entertainment AB
Shaked Berenson, Producer
Shawn Williamson, Brightlight Pictures
Stephen Hwang, Studio Macrograph
Steven Wolfson, UCLA
Sunwoo Nam, W2 Studios
Tamara Birkemoe, Foresight Unlimited
Tobin Ambrust, Virgin Produced
View the full programming lineup for AFM 2018. For badge and ticket information, please visit the AFM website.
About the American Film Market®
The American Film Market (AFM®) is the world’s largest motion picture business event. Over 7,000 industry leaders from more than 80 countries converge in Santa Monica for eight days of deal-making, screenings, conferences, networking and parties. Participants include acquisition and development executives, agents, attorneys, directors, distributors, festival directors, financiers, film commissioners, producers, writers, the world’s press and all those who provide services to the motion picture industry.
Unlike a film festival, the AFM is a marketplace – with over 200,000 square feet of exhibition space – where production and distribution deals are closed. In just eight days, more than US$1 billion in deals will be sealed – on both completed films and those in every stage of development and production.
Participants may view more than 500 screenings of 300+ films – 29 new films every two hours – the majority world or U.S. premieres. Titles range from big budget blockbusters that will be released by the major studios to lower budget art and genre films recognized at international film festivals.
About the Independent Film & Television Alliance®
The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA®) is the global trade association of the independent motion picture and television programming industry. Headquartered in Los Angeles, IFTA represents and provides significant entertainment industry services to more than 140 Member companies in 21 countries, consisting of independent production and distribution companies, sales agents, and financial institutions engaged in production finance. Collectively, IFTA Members produce more than 400 independent films and countless hours of television programming each year, generating more than $4.5 billion in distribution revenues annually. For more information on IFTA, please visit www.IFTA-online.org.
Media Contact
Jennifer Garnick
VP, Communications
jgarnick@ifta-online.org
+310.446.1006
