The 46th American Film Market was held for the very first time at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Century City (Photo by Dan Steinberg).
AFM’s Return to Los Angeles Deemed a Big Success by Show Organizers — and Many Attendees
November 20, 2025
LOS ANGELES — The American Film Market (AFM) concluded its 46th annual run Nov. 16 at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in Century City with high marks from organizers as well as attendees.
The annual event, back in L.A. after a much-criticized move last year to Las Vegas, brought together sales and production companies, buyers, financiers, film commissions, and representatives from the independent film world from 83 countries for a week of dealmaking, screenings, conferences, networking and events.
A total of 6,132 attendees visited the AFM, organizers said Nov. 20. Exhibition space at the Fairmont sold out and featured 285 registered companies from 35 countries, with the largest exhibitor presence after the United States (124) coming from the UK (23), France (20), Italy (17), Thailand (17) and Germany (11).
The market also saw participation from 500 buying companies from 61 countries, representing every major avenue of distribution. Buyer attendance was consistent with 2024, but U.S. representation was up 17% — the highest among all territories. The United States was followed by Germany, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, Japan, Turkey, Brazil, Australia, China, Mexico, India, Belgium, Hungary, Ukraine and the Netherlands.
A new initiative of the Market was the Innovation Hub, developed in collaboration with Marché du Film/Cannes Next. The hub featured nine companies and guided AFM’s first slate of AI-focused sessions. These conversations brought to the stage leading voices shaping technology and entertainment, including Darren Frankel (Adobe), Will French (Fallbrook), Scott Greenberg (Othelia Technologies), Peter Leeb (Veritone), Scott Martin (Aspen IP Consulting and the former deputy general counsel for Paramount Pictures), Lori McCreary (Revelations Entertainment), Bryn Mooser (Asteria/Moonvalley), Ted Schilowitz (futurist), and Todd Terrazas (FBRC.ai). Together, they explored how AI is reshaping creation, financing, legal frameworks, and production workflows across film and television.
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The AFM Sessions conference program, presented by Wrapbook and IMDbPro, delivered a record 35 sessions across two stages featuring 135 industry experts. This year’s programming provided attendees a wealth of timely film financing, production, sales, distribution/streaming, screenwriting, shooting locations and incentives information and opinions, as well as dedicated sessions on “The Evolving Relationship Between Filmmaking and Gaming,” “Latinos Navigating Hollywood,” “The Power Players Behind Modern Horror,” “The Producer’s Journey” and “The Rise of Short Drama Micro-Series.”
The 12th annual AFM Pitch Conference, held Nov. 15, reunited award-winning producer Cassian Elwes and screenwriting professor and coach Lee Jessup, who were joined this year by independent producer Loni Rodgers. From more than 150 video pitches submitted, 20 pre-selected participants were invited to pitch live on stage, where the judges provided constructive feedback and awarded director Paul Andersen of Australia top honors for his family comedy feature Disconnect (written by Joey Day Hargrove) — about a dysfunctional family that must learn to work together when aliens invade their town through their screens.