Video Age International November-December 2015

AFM Changed Over The Years December 2015 V I D E O A G E 22 actually listed the AFM on its calendar page as a February 25-March 4 market. The publication only began to report on the market in its April 1990 Issue. In his 2000 book “Inside Variety ,” Peter Besas reported that in the beginning, Variety too “showed only a token interest in [AFM].” Since its 1990 Issue, VideoAge has continuously covered the AFM, even when a controversy between the market organizers and the trade publication erupted in 1993. The controversy actually began in 1991, when the 11 th annual AFM moved west of L.A. to the coastal town of Santa Monica, using the Loews Hotel as its headquarters. That year also marked a direct confrontation with the fall-held MIFED, when AFM added a second market from October 21-26, in addition to its traditional February 28-March 8 dates. MIFED proved to be a superior market, and the following year, AFM scrapped its October event, holding only its established February-March dates. The confrontation, however, created rumblings among some exhibitors who had to face three AFM markets in the space of 11 months, and especially from European companies that did not want MIFED undermined. Indeed, the ‘90s were a turbulent period for AFM. Before Michael Goldman was elected chairman from 1991-93, he argued in the VideoAge September 1991 Issue that, “The AFM should put members’ interests before its own.” With MIFED winning the first confrontation, the winter AFM dates remained in place for the following 12 years. However, with MIFED getting weaker due to Italian political interferences, in 2004, AFM once again tried another decisive frontal assault by staging, in addition to their usual February-March event, one that overlapped with MIFED’s November dates. After the demise of MIFED in 2005, the AFM kept only the fall dates, which now compete with a much more powerful MIPCOM market in Cannes. Today, more that 37 percent of the 385 AFMcontent exhibitors (2014 figures) go to MIPCOM. The irony was that the AFM was created in order to compete with another Cannes market, the Cannes Film Festival, which had become too expensive for American independents. An added irony was that many earlier AFM officials and co-founders were in some way related to the Italian film industry, like Robbie Little, who went to L.A. from Rome in 1980; Mark Damon, who became a successful actor in Italy in the 60s; Italian-American Rocco Vigliotti; Michael Goldman, who in VideoAge Daily at AFM 1991 stated, “I’m married to Giulia Gagliani, an Italian from Rome,” and AFM president Jonas and Kittleson left in 1998. Rosenfield died in 2000 at the age of 84. Reviewing the changes over the AFM’s 35-year run, L.A.-based Multicom’s Irv Holender said, “[AFM] has become more of a general store, covering every aspect of the entertainment industry, includingproducersandwriterswalking into the suites pitching their projects. Also, as the digital streaming industry is growing, more attendees are trying to capture a slice of the market, as it was in the 80s with cable TV.” Argentina’s Pedro Leda of Ledafilms started attending AFM in 1985. “In those days,” he said, “the main focus was Made-For-TV and Made-For- Videomovies fromindependent producers;movies were very much in demand. [Subsequently], AFM evolved into mainly a theatrical pictures market for independent producers. “Some new projects at AFM could also be Made-For-VoD, a growing trend. In the past at the AFM, you continued discussions and negotiations started at MIPCOM. Now, it’s more a follow up to the Toronto Film market with new projects to be available at AFM.”  Bobby Meyers recalled, “we started with only English-speaking theatrical film sellers. Later, we included foreign-language films sold by U.S. sellers, then international sellers of all language theatrical films. Eventually, it came to include television sellers and the many sellers of video product, who then in due course began to sell theatrical films as well.” Film veteran Ken DuBow started attending AFM in 1985, and for him, the major change has been the “switch from February to November, which has deprived the market of high-end movies that now [flock] to Berlin and Toronto.” As far as the business is concerned, DuBow sells all-rights, therefore the emergence and disappearance of windows did not affect his revenue flow. Chevonne O’Shaughnessy’s first AFM was with Quest Entertainment in 1991, and not being familiar with the Loews Hotel, she “ended up with a suite on the third floor, which was below the lobby level.” Her subsequent AFMs were first with PM and, since 2000, with ACI, “always above the lobby level.” In those early years, recalled O’Shaughnessy, “You could sell almost anything to video stores. Then Blockbuster Video came in and ruined our business model, and after them came the majors undercutting prices. Today, we sell all rights driven by VoD and streaming.” DS Rosenfield, a former executive with the Italian Film Exports (IFE), who joined the AFM in 1983 and became its first paid president in 1985. The IFE was created in 1951 to promote and distribute Italian films in the U.S., and it was partially financed by 12.5 percent of all American film earnings in Italy. Plus, Bobby Meyers pointed out, at the very first AFM, “Italy was the country selected to have special meetings with.” Contrary to the general belief that the AFM undermined MIFED, the actuality is that the Milan market was killed by Italian leftist politician Walter Vetroni, as documented in the 2015 book by this writer, L’uomo del MIFED ( The MIFED Man ). Veltroni, as head of the Democratic Party and mayorofRome,wanteda filmmarket inthe Italian Capital. In 2006, he was able to create “Festa del Cinema” with a budget of approximately eight million euro. This move proved unsuccessful from the start. Meanwhile, trying to replicate the success of its market dailies at MIFED, VideoAge began publishing dailies at AFM’s two 1991 editions. As opposed to other resilient daily market publications, VideoAge Daily lasted only four years at AFM, due to a combination of factors, including some fierce undermining from that era’s AFM management. At the time, it was suspected that AFM’s management team did not want competition for the other market dailies — clear favorites Variety and The Hollywood Reporter . In previous years, both trades had tried unsuccessfully to compete with VideoAge Daily at MIFED and NATPE, and surely did not want VideoAge on what they saw as their home turf. In addition, VideoAge Daily , published by this Italian expat, was seen by the AFM management as a MIFED supporter. Meanwhile Variety in particular, was conveniently very critical of MIFED. At that point, the strategy against VideoAge was two-pronged: The AFM demanded $15,000 ($26,281 in today’s dollars) to allow the circulation of VideoAge Daily , and Variety began selling pages at $500 each, clearly below cost (the breakeven page rate should have been $1,500) in order to successfully drive the competition out. Meanwhile, the confrontation enraged some AFM board members — in particular Lloyd Kaufman, president of Troma Films, who, in early 1994, wrote an open letter to his fellow board members decrying AFM’s management strategy against VideoAge . The frictionwith VideoAge that resulted in the scrapping of its Daily at AFM and the ongoing confrontation with MIFED contributed to a change of the AFM management four years later. This allowed for the return of open access for all media to the market. Leading the confrontations with both MIFED and VideoAge were AFM president Jonas Rosenfield, and Tim Kittleson, who had been with the AFM from the start and became its executive director in 1983 after Buddy Goldberg, the PR agent who became the market’s first director, left. Rosenfield retired from the AFM in 1997, (Continued From Page 20) The Beverly Hilton was AFM’s fourth venue, from 1986 to 1990 Michael Goldman, AFMA president from 1991-1993, giving an interview poolside at the Loews during AFM 1991