Opens with record number of exhibitors, screenings and market premieres

26TH AMERICAN FILM MARKET

OPENS WITH RECORD NUMBER OF EXHIBITORS, SCREENINGS AND MARKET PREMIERES

Santa Monica, CA, November 2, 2005 – The 26^th American Film Market (AFM) opened this morning with a record number of exhibitors, buyers, screenings and market premieres, it was jointly announced at a press briefing by Jean M. Prewitt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), Jonathan Wolf, Executive Vice President, IFTA and Managing Director, AFM and Michael Ryan, Chairman, IFTA.

A record 419 companies from 33 countries will be exhibiting at the world’s largest motion picture trade event, including film and television companies, financial institutions, sponsoring organizations and trade media.
Total attendance is projected to be more than 7,000. Final attendance figures will be announced later in the market.
In addition, a record 534 films in 35 languages, up from 459 films in 2004, are slated for screening, including 382 market premieres, also a record.
45 films represented at the AFM are Official Selections at AFI FEST 2005 presented by Audi.
“AFM continues to be the most significant worldwide film and television marketplace,” said Ms. Prewitt. “The independent film business is global in its scope and the AFM is the premiere event for companies to do business together on every level.”
"The AFM's record growth reflects the strength and diversity of the global independent film industry," commented Mr. Wolf.
Michael Ryan commented, “The future of our business is very bright and the AFM is an ideal venue for anyone involved in the global independent industry to better understand the roadmap to success. The AFM will continue to be responsive to the needs of the industry and help reflect the rapidly changing realities of production and distribution.”
For only the third time in the AFM’s 16-year residence at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, organizers have taken additional office space outside the Loews at Le Merigot in order to satisfy the overwhelming exhibitor response.
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A selection of notable titles screening at the AFM include:
American Gun with Donald Sutherland and Marcia Gay Harden (Pathé Pictures International) (U.S.); An American Haunting with Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek (The Little Film Company) (U.S.)**; Ask the Dust with Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek (Capitol Films) (U.K.); Brooklyn Rules with Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Mena Suvari (KMI) (U.S.); Conversations with Other Women with Helena Bonham Carter and Aaron Eckhart (Fabrication Films) (U.S.); Duelist with Jiwon Ha and Sungki Ahn (The Core Studio) (KOREA); Ellie Parker with Naomi Watts and Chevy Chase (Dream Entertainment) (U.S.); Entre Ses Mains with Benoît Poelvoorde and Isabelle Carré (Pathé Distribution) (FRANCE); Familia with Sylvie Moreau and Macha Grenon (Christal Films Distribution Inc.) (CANADA); I giorni dell'abbandono with Margherita Buy and Luca Zingaretti (Adriana Chiesa Enterprises) (ITALY); Jack-Fruit Thorn Kiss with Tran Hoi Anh Nguyen and Yen Ngoc Duong (Vietnam Media Corp.) (VIETNAM); The Libertine with Johnny Depp and John Malkovich (Odyssey Entertainment Limited) (U.S.)**; New York Doll with Arthur “Killer” Kane and Bob Geldof; (Moviehouse Entertainment) (U.S.); October 17, 1961 with Clotilde Courau and Jean-Michel Portal (BAC Films) (FRANCE); Perhaps Love with Takeshi Kaneshiro and Xun Zhou (Celestial Pictures Ltd) (HONG KONG); Saint Martyrs of the Damned with François Chénier and Isabelle Blais (Max Films International) (CANADA); Sud Express with Gerald Morales and Tino Guimaraes (Sogepaq) (SPAIN); The Lost City with Andy Garcia (Lions Gate Films) (U.S.)**; Tsotsi with Presley Chweneyagae and Terry Pheto (The Little Film Company) (SOUTH AFRICA)**; Twelve and Holding with Conor Donovan and Jeremy Renner (Fortissimo Films) (NETHERLANDS); Unknown with Jim Caviezel and Greg Kinnear (GreeneStreet Films) (U.S.); The White Masai with Nina Hoss and Jacky Ido (Beta Cinema) (GERMANY).
** Official selections at AFI FEST 2005 presented by Audi.
The full list of films being screened along with production, cast information and synopses appears on the AFM web site www.americanfilmmarket.com.
While the AFM screenings are limited to acquisition and distribution executives, AFM will again offer The AFM Public Previews of more than 40 independent films – most world or U.S. premieres – to industry professionals and Santa Monica residents at no charge. Free registration is available on the AFM website.

About the AFM

The American Film Market (AFM) is the world’s largest motion picture trade event. The AFM is a global marketplace where more than $500 million in motion picture and television production and distribution deals are closed annually. Each year, over 7,000 industry professionals converge in Santa Monica for eight days of deal making, screenings, seminars, networking and hospitality. Participants come from more than 70 countries, and include leaders in motion picture and television production and distribution, directors, agents, writers, lawyers, bankers, festival directors, film commissioners and trade groups. For more information of the AFM, please visit www.americanfilmmarket.com.

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The AFM is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), the trade association representing the world’s producers and distributors of independent motion pictures and television programs.
In 2004, the AFM moved to November and established a strategic alliance with AFI FEST, creating the only festival-market combination in North America.  This alliance has successfully resulted in a unique combination of commerce and culture. AFI FEST presented by Audi runs November 3-13, 2005. 
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Contact: Paul Nichols/Jennifer Garnick Debbie Lawrence

The Lippin Group The Lippin Group/London

AFM Press Room – Arcadia D [e-mail] [e-mail] 44-207-745-7189

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