Home Events - American Film Market YouTube as a Distribution Powerhouse

YouTube as a Distribution Powerhouse

Moderator:
Lise Romanoff, Managing Director / CEO of Worldwide Distribution, Vision Films, Inc.

Speakers:
Amrita Punjabi, Network Director, VA Media
Luiz Bannitz, Director, Encripta
Romeo Duchene, VP Strategic Content Partnerships, Box Office
Linda Nelson, CEO, Indie Rights

Date
Nov 12 2026
Time
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Stage
Santa Monica

Speakers

  • Amrita Punjabi
    Amrita Punjabi
    Network Director, VA Media

    Amrita Punjabi is a digital media and YouTube industry leader with over a decade of experience in the YouTube ecosystem. As Network Director at VA Media, a global leader in YouTube AVOD monetisation, Amrita leads network strategy, operations and growth across a diverse portfolio of content and channels.

    With deep expertise in YouTube analytics, content distribution, audience development and monetisation, she has built and scaled teams while working at the intersection of content, technology and digital audiences. Her experience spans developing distribution strategies, optimising channel performance and unlocking new opportunities for content owners in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.

    Amrita is passionate about the evolving role of YouTube beyond traditional social video, particularly its emergence as a powerful global distribution platform for premium and long-form content. She brings a practical, data-driven perspective on how creators, studios and rights holders can leverage YouTube to reach audiences, build sustainable businesses and maximise the value of their content.

  • Linda Nelson
    Linda Nelson
    CEO, Indie Rights

    Entrepreneur, film producer, and technology strategist with 25+ years of experience at the intersection of entertainment, finance, and digital innovation. Co-founder and CEO of Indie Rights, a leading independent film distribution company with a catalog of 2.000+ films distributed to 100+ territories worldwide. She brings deep expertise in international investment banking, IT systems, digital distribution strategy, and business development. Pioneer in digital film distribution and early adopter of cloud and AI technologies in the entertainment industry.

  • Lise Romanoff
    Lise Romanoff
    Managing Director / CEO of Worldwide Distribution, Vision Films, Inc.

    Lise Romanoff has been in the distribution business for nearly 30 years. Under Lise’s leadership, today, Vision Films is a worldwide Distribution company and a direct VOD Aggregator with a library of over 800 independent feature films and documentaries. The company has deep relationships across all of the premium Cable VOD services and Digital Streaming Platforms around the world and releases 2-4 New Release titles each month, for which it manages all windows.

    Lise is a long-time IFTA member who has served on its Executive Committee. She is currently active on the Legal Committee and is especially helpful on the definitions of TVOD, SVOD, AVOD/FAST, Content ID, etc. in this fast-pasted changing landscape. 

  • Luiz Bannitz
    Luiz Bannitz
    Director, Encripta

    Luiz Bannitz is Director at Encripta, a Brazilian content distribution and media company based in São Paulo. Encripta manages a catalog of more than ten thousand titles and reaches audiences in Latin America through its own platforms, including Looke (SVOD) and Netmovies (AVOD), FAST channels, and a network of more than one hundred YouTube channels with an estimated twenty-four to thirty million subscribers. The company also offers localization, with an in-house dubbing studio, and is a Netflix Preferred Fulfillment Partner. Luiz is responsible for Encripta’s content acquisitions and partnerships with international distributors and rights holders.

  • Romeo Duchene
    Romeo Duchene
    VP Strategic Content Partnerships, Boxoffice

    Romeo Duchene is VP Strategic Content Partnerships at Boxoffice, the film industry brand founded in 1920 and the official publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners. More than a century after its first issue, Boxoffice also runs Hollywood’s largest network of movie channels, with 30 billion views a year across YouTube, Snapchat and Facebook. Romeo leads the partnerships behind that network. He works with Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate and Universal to put their films in front of new audiences, and launched MovieSphere, Lionsgate’s full-length movie channels on YouTube. He licenses feature films from independent distributors and builds trailer and branded content campaigns that reach millions of moviegoers before opening weekend. At AFM, he will talk about YouTube as a real distribution window for films, from catalog revenue to audience building.