16 VIDEOAGE November 2023 As if strikes by Hollywood creatives haven’t been enough for industry insiders to be concerned with, attendees at the American Film Market’s (AFM) new venue, the Le Meridién Delfina Hotel in Santa Monica, had to contend with an extremely noisy strike protest at the entrance to the hotel by hotel workers. Members of Local 11, the union representing hotel workers (who have been on their picket lines longer than any of the current Hollywood strikers) kept up their barrage of drum-banging and shouting for several hours each of the first two days, while members of the Santa Monica police department did nothing but look on. For many of the AFM delegates it was the type of early morning wake-up call they neither expected nor wanted! Once inside, rooms and corridors in the new quarters seemed claustrophobic compared to the event’s previous venue, the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. But comparisons did eventually appear. Elevators had attendees packed like sardines just as in previous years, despite notices suggesting that use of the stairs would be quicker. More than a surprise for many attendees was the appearance of not just buyers but sellers from Russia, who, according to reporters from trade publication Screen, were allowed to attend because they, “are not subject to U.S. sanctions and are not affiliated with the government of Russia.” This did not go down well with many. Despite such distractions, VideoAge managed to get some time with a variety of execs in between their business meetings. Regular AFM-ers Multicom, led by chairman Irv Holender, introduced the company’s two new streaming channels — via the Multicom app — The Archive and The Grapevine, which VP of Content Development and Acquisitions, Jesse Baritz, outlined as true stories and biographies for the latter and old TV series for the former, including all 153 episodes of The Adventures of Robin Hood. For Sir Lancelot, they did a full 4k restoration from the 1956 original 35mm print. There’s also lots of classic television from the ’50s and ’60s. Additionally, the company had the film Desert Rose and a true crime doc series, Devilsdorp. They also have a new film, Cold Betrayal as well as Skate Face, about how the art associated with the world of skateboarding has broken out into the mainstream. It’s the first doc on this topic and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk is participating in the film. Romania was another new face in the film and TV industry, with nine different entities under the Romanian Creative Industries Business Federation banner, which was headed by Mihai Lupu, who recently attended MIPCOM. According to him, MIPCOM “was really good for us. Due to the strike in Hollywood the buyers are a little bit more open to new ideas and new producers. After that we went to TIFFCOM [in Tokyo]. We had a pavilion and it was good. It was their first in-person market after the pandemic, but it was a promising market, especially in terms of co-productions and new productions that could be done in Romania. I expect the buyers and distributors to be more open to our titles and propositions. We also came with several projects, some of them quite big. We are trying to get an American partner on board. The [Hollywood] studios are not going to be able to provide content to the viewing public, so we are very optimistic. The industry has been more about industry than it has about cinema [and TV]. We have seven screenings in the market. We have several projects in post-production and more in production and we also have an animation project. We also have several projects on Ukraine, as we should not lose focus on this matter and now the troubles in Gaza.” Lise Romanoff, CEO of Vision Films, saw that, “buyers are back, they need product, [and] some attended both MIPCOM and AFM, but for the most part it’s a different crowd. MIP Cancun is Latin America. NATPE is U.S. and Latin America so they don’t really cross over.” The new venue has caused some consternation? “My room is smaller”, said Romanoff, adding that “the corridors seem thinner, but it is what it is because a Chinese [company] took over the Loews. They’re making suites and renovating. This was the best in Santa Monica at the time [when the choice of a new venue had to be made]. AFM had to stay in Santa Monica because there are lots of screening venues, everything is really close. And anywhere else you just don’t really have that. Otherwise people would be all over the place.” As for what Vision Films is doing, Romanoff reminded, “We release two to four new films every month in the U.S. so we aggregate a lot of films for international in addition to licensing buyers in each country. We started to go direct on VoD in many countries — SkyStore in the U.K., Foxtel in Australia, Univision in Latin America, Viacom in India, and Starz Play in MENA, so we’re expanding our direct distribution around the world. AVoD has more than doubled [the revenue] compared to what we would have had from the likes of Netflix and Amazon.” As for the AFM (October 31-November 5), she suggested it was, “the same Day One as usual. We were packed and even busier Day Two, Three, and Four. The strikes [did not] affect anything to do with MIPCOM or AFM — not internationally or saleswise because buyers don’t buy that close to the date, some are booked a year out, and they’re not hurting for programming.” When it came to content on offer at the AFM, Romanoff suggested, “We have a little of everything — Forever Young, a drama, another about an influencer whose looks are going south. Lock and Load is a really good action film. Call to Duty is a female Top Gun with Joseph Baena, the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger, a really good Sci-Fi and we’ve got documentaries, including one on Harry Styles [the former One Direction member] and Tom Cruise.” Chevonne O’Shaughnessy, co-founder and president of American Cinema International, had a different take on the AFM, “All the trade publications were low on ads — seemingly because of so many markets on top of one another and companies don’t want to waste money on an ad in every publication for every market.” She continued: “MIPCOM was good for us. We were busy and the buyers who came, they came to buy! There was purpose in every one of them and the meetings on day one were the same thing. But [at AFM] we only had two meetings on Day One, though the rest of the week looked good. However, she added: “There’s no Germans, hardly any Spanish people, there’s no South Africans, there’s nobody from France!” While much has been made about the increase in FAST, O’Shaughnessy sees two sides to that coin. “FAST channels may be expanding, along with audience interest, but costs per minute for the content suppliers can mean content creators are losing out.” She warned others to watch and see as to whether some outlets are worth such a cost. By Mike Reynolds Market Reboots Amid Strikes, Russian Sellers, Narrow Corridors AFM Report From l. to r.: Multicom’s Josie Childs, Irv Holender, Darrin Holender, and Jesse Baritz
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