The 2005 American Film Market gets underway in Santa Monica today, and runs through November 8. It’s already broken all its own records.
Approximately 7,000 film industry executives and filmmakers have gathered here, and will complete $500 million in deals before they leave. A record number of exhibitors from a record number of countries will screen a record number of new films, with a record number of film premieres scheduled.
Complimentary passes will be given to individuals in the entertainment industry, as well as Santa Monica residents, to screenings of 44 independent feature films, as part of AFM’s public previews program, according to Jonathan Wolf, Executive Vice President, Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) and Managing Director, AFM.
The previews run from today, November 2, through next Tuesday at the AMC Santa Monica 7, 1310 Third Street Promenade. People who want to attend them should register online for a badge that will grant them access to all 44 films, as well as the AFM shuttle buses.
Registrants can pick up their badges at the AFM at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, 1700 Ocean Avenue.
Registration applications and a complete schedule of the films, including screening information, film trailers and synopses are available at www.americanfilmmarket.com or http://www.ifta-online.org/afm/premiere.asp.
The AFM introduced the free screening program in 1999 to accommodate a broader cross section of people working in the film industry, as well as Santa Monica residents.
The 44 films to be shown are
All About Love-Life After 8:30, (Cantonese) – Romance Drama, Director Daniel Yu.
All for Love (Korean) – Romantic Comedy; Director, Kyu-dong Min.
Animal (English) – Psycho-Drama; Director,. Roselyne Bosch
Apartment 6 (English) – Horror; Director, John Petros.
Beat the Drum (English/Zulu) – Drama; Director. David Hickson
Birthday (The) (French) – Comedy; Director, Diane Kurys.
Black Cloud (English) – Action/Adventure; Director, Rick Schroder.
Chasing Ghosts (English) – Action/Suspense; Director, Kyle Dean Jackson.
Conversations With Other Women (English) – Drama; Director, Hans Canosa.
Cast: Helena Bonham Carter, Aaron Eckhart;
Day of Wrath (English) – Action/Suspense; Director, Adrian Rudomin.
Disaster! (English) – Animated; Director, Roy Wood; Cast: Motley Crue.
El Cortez (English) – Thriller; Director, Stephen Purvis.
Empire of the Wolves (The) (French) – Action/Suspense; Director, Chris Nahon.
From Other Worlds (English) – Science Fiction; Director, Barry Strugatz.
Gabrielle (French) – Drama; Director, Patrice Chereau.
Hating Alison Ashley (English) – Comedy; Director, Geoff Bennett.
Headspace (English) – Horror; Director. Andrew van den Houten.
Hellbent (English) – Horror; Director, Paul Etheredge-Ouzts.
Hoboken Hollow (English) – Horror; Director,. Glen Stephens; Cast: C. Thomas Howell, Dennis Hopper, Michael Madsen, Robert Carradine.
Jack-Fruit Thorn Kiss (Vietnamese) – Drama; Director, Nghiem Dang Tuan Nguyen.
Joni’s Promise (Indonesian) – Comedy/Adventure; Director, Joko Anwar.
La Visa Loca (Filipino) – Comedy; Director, Mark Meily.
Last Drop (The) (English) – Action/Adventure; Director, Colin Teague.
Le Petit Lieutenant (French) – Psychological Thriller; Director, Xavier Beauvois.
Mama Jack (English) – Comedy; Director, Gray Hofmey.
Murder, Take One (Korean) – Mystery; Director, Jin Jang.
Once Upon a Time in the Oued (French) – Comedy; Director, Djamel Bensalah.
Papa (French) – Drama; Director, Maurice Barthelemy.
Princess Aurora (Korean) Thriller; Director, Eun-jin Bang.
Reeker (English) – Horror; Director, Dave Payne.
Rules of Dating (Korean) – Romantic Comedy; Director, Jae-rim Han.
Shoe Fairy (The) (Mandarin) – Fantasy; Director, Robin Lee.
Standing Still (English) – Comedy; Director, Matthew Cole Weiss.
Thing About My Folks (The) (English) – Comedy; Director, Raymond De Felitta; Cast: Peter Falk, Paul Reiser, Olympia Dukakis, Elizabeth Perkins.
Trespassers (English) – Horror; Director, Ian McCrudden.
Tsotsi (Tsotsi-Taal) – Drama; Director, Gavin Hood.
Typhoon (Trailer) (Korean) – Action/Adventure; Director, Kwak Kyong-taek.
Vegas Baby (English) – Comedy; Director, Eric Bernt.
Virgil (French) – Comedy; Director, Marbrouk El Mechri.
Voice (Korean) – Horror; Director, Equan Choe;
Wig (The) (Korean) – Horror; Director, Shin-yun Won.
You Are My Sunshine (Korean) – Drama; Director, Jin-pyo Park.
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.
Last year, it established a strategic alliance with AFI FEST, to create the only festival-market combination in North America, resulting in a unique combination of commerce and culture. AFI FEST runs November 3-13, 2005.
