Mitch Mallon, CEO of Stadium Media, at AFM2023, the film market’s last stand in Santa Monica, Calif. (Media Play News staff photo).
November 4, 2024
LAS VEGAS — The 45th American Film Market opens today in Las Vegas, its first appearance here after a long run in the beachy Los Angeles suburb of Santa Monica.
All activities at the six-day event take place at the Palms Casino Resort — including exhibits, more than 200 film screenings (at the Palms’ Brenden Theatres), and the AFM Sessions conference program.
AFM2024 has confirmed participants from 80 countries, and exhibition space has been sold out since last week. Exhibitors include 286 sales, production, and distribution companies, along with international trade organizations and film commissions. There will also be national umbrella stands from 34 countries.
Exhibitors include A24, AGC Studios, Altitude Film Sales, Anton, Arclight Films, Bankside Films, Beta Cinema, Black Bear Pictures, Blue Fox Entertainment, Capstone Global, Charades, CJ ENM, Cornerstone, Embankment Films Limited, FILMAX, Film Mode Entertainment, FilmNation, Gaumont, GOODFELLAS/Wild Bunch International, Gravitas Ventures, HanWay Films, Lakeshore, Lionsgate, Mister Smith, NEON, Odin’s Eye Entertainment, Pathé Films, STUDIOCANAL, , Toei Company, Trust Nordisk, The Veterans, Voltage Pictures, WME Independent, and XYZ Films, among others.
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The AFM Sessions conference program will present 100 leaders, experts and influencers on 30 panels and presentations across two stages. Key events include The Innovators, featuring one-on-one interviews with Stuart Ford, chairman and CEO of AGC Studios, and Sébastien Raybaud, founder and CEO of Anton; a look at the stunning box office success of Terrifier 3 with Cineverse CEO Chris McGurk; and an interview with iconic indie filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman, of Toxic Avenger fame, conducted by Media Play News publisher Thomas K. Arnold.
Mitch Mallon, CEO of Stadium Media, is among the returning attendees. He said he’s going primarily “to continue to grow and nurture relationships with current and potential future Stadium Media suppliers.”
“I have gone to AFM for the past 10 years,” Mallon said. “We have built relationships that have lasted with multiple suppliers, and these all began at AFM. Those are our best success stories.”
In terms of acquiring films, Mallon said, “We have no specific genre or films that we are looking for — we’re just looking for films that can complement our offerings.”
He applauds the decision by the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) and its Board of Directors to move the show to Las Vegas.
“I think, and hope, it was a smart move,” he said. “AFM needed a change, and this should bring a new interest this market during the day and evenings that wasn’t happening in the past — as well as attract other companies that may not have been attending the past few years.”
Matt Kennedy, label manager with the MVD Entertainment Group, is another attendee.
“I won’t be on the convention floor, but I’ll be setting up meetings with visiting colleagues and checking in personally with a lot of clients and vendors who I mostly only see on Zoom,” he said. “It’s always good to put a face and a handshake to a name, but I am also a strong believer that it’s good to share time outside the office.”
Like Mallon, this isn’t Kennedy’s first AFM.
“Back when I was in acquisitions I attended quite regularly, and new deals were frequently struck,” he said. “But even without new business, it was always a good opportunity to catch up with licensors and friends otherwise separated by great physical distance. This year I’m representing my team as a Vegas local.”
What are his thoughts about the move to Las Vegas?
“For me, it’s incredibly convenient because I live in Las Vegas,” he said. “I don’t lose as much travel time driving in town as I would boarding a plane. The greater availability of relatively cheap hotel rooms, dining options and heightened entertainment value here must be nice for out-of-towners. And flying in and out of Las Vegas is much less stressful than LAX in my experience —especially for international travelers.”
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