Adds Speakers, Partners, Films and Staff As it Marches Through Summer
www.americanfilmconvention.com
Los Angeles, CA —The American Film Convention, Inc.’s inaugural
eponymous film industry event—The American Film Convention (AFC)—has secured
numerous developments today regarding speakers and panels, industry partners, and
exhibitors/vendors, and the film auction, CEO and founder Mitesh Patel announced.
They’ve additionally named several key staff integral to the operations and
programming of the event. AFC will take place October 15-17, 2024, at Magic Box in
Downtown Los Angeles.
First, Director of Workshops and Conferences Jon Fitzgerald has confirmed a baker’s
dozen speakers and panelists for the AFC, including:
Paul Jun – former CEO of virtual events and streaming entity Filmocracy
Evan Saxon – President & Head of International Distribution for specialty
distributor Abramorama
Bob Aaronson – Executive Vice President of distributor Cohen Media Group
Peter Broderick – President of Paradigm Consulting
Scott Glosserman – writer, director, producer and CEO of GATHR
Dan Mirvish – indie filmmaker, producer, author and Slamdance co-founder
Elaine Sturgess – founder of movie/series literary adaptation start-up
BooksOffice
Peter Ambrosio – owner of Lumiere Cinema Beverly Hills
Sara Bottfeld – partner, Industry Entertainment (producers/managers)
David Witz – producer/production manager
Linda Nelson – head of film distributor Indie Rights
Mathew Helderman – CEO and co-founder of BondIt Capital
Alex Nohe – partner, Blood, Sweat, Honey
Daniel Harlow – founder of Bunker 15 Films
Several of the participants have already had their events/speaking roles assigned. For
example, Sturgess of BooksOffice will host a dedicated pitch event at AFC, where
authors will pitch their literary properties to producers. BooksOffice is a new platform
for finding unrepresented but published authors who have stories that could make the
journey from book to screen. With BooksOffice’s unique mix of search, curation and
audience participation, producers now have access to the best of those stories with a
system that offers greater efficiency and lower cost. Writers can register here.
Sturgess says, We are delighted to be bringing the first ever live indie book to screen
pitch event and rights auction to the AFC. It’s a huge opportunity for our authors. The
AFC is all about breaking new boundaries and championing innovation—and that makes it the ideal platform for us. The live auction of our top ten selected stories for adaptation, selected by our panel of distinguished judges, will be a world first. That means AFC delegates could walk away with the rights to the next Harlan Coban
Additional confirmed panels and conference sessions include:
The State of Distribution: A recognized indie player with a deep understanding of
traditional distribution pipelines as well as explored alternative and hybrid models will
share their take on the current landscape, with examples of how filmmakers can carve their own path.
A New Era of Exhibition: Three industry representatives—a theater owner/operator,
streaming platform executive and appointment viewing event host will shared how
much has changed; how theaters stay relevant, how streamers influence consumer
viewing and how in-person and virtual event screenings have built an impact.
Playing Film Festivals & Markets: An industry veteran does a presentation and shares case studies on the importance of festivals and markets for international exposure, marketing and sales.
Marketing Strategies: A CMO or leading executive will present on the importance of
branding and marketing to general and niche audiences, and how to drive sales for live events and traffic to filmmakers’ VOD platforms.
New Technologies: An expert panel will explain how new technologies—from VFX to
VR/AR to AI—will affect the independent film space, from both a creative and business standpoint.
Breaking Down Barriers: A forward-thinking, multi-hyphenated creative artist will
present on how actors, writers and directors can develop their own material and get
their projects made with entrepreneurial spirit. They’ll share case studies and real-life
experience.
The American Federation of Musicians, the International Youth Media Summit, the
Motion Picture Sound Editors and the Rickshaw Film Foundation have joined AFC as
partners. They’ll each have booths, be featured in panels and seminars and work to
encourage discounted attendance by their members and their cohorts. Together, the
groups boast about 15,000 delegates or members worldwide.
The AFC has also signed up a number of varied vendors and exhibitors, from lighting
company Godox; On Set Headsets; media property Heart of Hollywood; and virtual
production, post production, and VFX house Ronin Film to Wild 7 Studios; YouTube
distributor InFuse Releasing; and producers Mother & Daughter Entertainment and Applied Art Productions, with more joining every day.
AFC has opened the submission portal for films to be considered for auction and
exhibition in the halls as well as the delegates’ online streaming room. Filmmakers,
buyers and sellers will have the option of booking slots onsite, offsite or making their
projects available online for both premium convention delegates and buyers.
The first film project/property to be confirmed for the film auction is The OJ Simpson
Tapes, from Norman Pardo. Pardo served as OJ Simpson’s close confidant and business manager for nearly twenty years.
AFC will auction 70 hours of rare, mostly unseen and highly sought-after O.J. Simpson tapes, along with three of Pardo’s completed films: OJ: What a Life, Wendy Williams:
Keeping it Real and OJ: Off the Chain. Filmed during Pardo’s relationship with Simpson from December 1999 to O.J.’s incarceration for robbery in 2008, Pardo’s website claims, “The original tapes Norman shot of the disgraced running back and his team also contain a bevy of other celebrities, like Wendy Williams, Bernard Hopkins, and more, and have been digitized for editing. This is an exclusive collection of OJ’s most embarrassing moments, his unfiltered thoughts about life, women, drugs and kinky sex.” Arizona-based Brett Higgins will serve as auctioneer for the Pardo collection and the rest of the film auction.
Finally, the AFC has appointed several senior staff members in programming and
marketing. Director/showrunner Heather Hale is tasked with managing AFC’s Speed
Pitching, Money Market and the Quick Connect networking programs. Hale is a Film
and Television Producer, Director, Screenwriter and Edutainer whose projects have
won two Emmys and ACE awards, and multiple Tellys. Author of two books on
development and distribution, Hale served as NATPE’s Vice President of Programming
and the Independent Film and Television Alliance’s Industry Liaison for the AFM. With a distinguished prior career in finance, Hale participated in Washington Mutual’s
acquisition of American Savings Bank and other high-profile transactions. She says,
“Our whole business is transmuting. I’m honored to have been tapped to help architect meaningful and immediately relevant opportunities to inspire, educate, empower and elevate a new breed of storytellers. Innovating beyond traditional legacies, the whole AFC team is striving to reimagine realistic, affordable, and accessible scenarios that are practical, actionable and fun!”
Development executive and producer Jenean Atwood Baynes of the Eco Channel will
supervise the Actor's Nest, a unique AFC program where actors and their
representatives will present themselves and their clients to delegates any way they
choose. Baynes works as an independent producer on Lifestyle with Roy Ice and is the festival Director for the Omni Cultural TV Fest. She has also worked at Warner Bros. and Sony Studios as well as for major industry entities such as NAB and NATPE. A twice-published author, Jenean has written and performed standup comedy at The Icehouse, The Comedy Store and The Hollywood Improv. I am delighted to be part of the American Film Convention team, where innovation meets inspiration and the future of filmmaking and content creation takes center stage,” she shares. “Together, we are shaping a new narrative for the global film industry, one that redefines creativity, collaboration and excellence.
Hollyshorts programmer Sarah Avilés has been tapped to serve as AFC’s Film
Programmer, curating submissions for exhibition in the AFC Streaming Room as well
as, for a few select films, screening onsite. Avilés is a disabled Latina filmmaker, writer and comedian from Los Angeles. She is passionate about community building, disability visibility and Latine representation in media. Some companies that Sarah has worked with include Disney, Sonoro Media, Bron and Sony. Sarahs creative work primarily focuses on darkly humorous BIPOC characters trying to get their act
together. She is a proud member of the Chicana Directors Initiative and NALIP. She
says, I am very excited to work with AFC to reduce barriers to distribution for filmmakers and support the independent film community in Los Angeles. The industry has been hard hit over the past few years, and I am glad to help AFC bring more accessible opportunities to filmmakers.
Patel concludes, “We’re excited to be making progress across all fronts of the AFC
endeavor. These developments augur well for the success of our convention as a new
entity presenting the industry in a comprehensive, energetic and creative way. We
established the AFC to bolster the industry and explore untapped opportunities within
the film sector, introducing innovative approaches to conducting film business. Our
aim is not to compete with existing entities but to complement and enhance the
broader industry ecosystem. We invite filmmakers and organizations alike to
collaborate with us in fostering a brighter, more dynamic future for film.
American Film Convention (AFC) Website: www.americanfilmconvention.com
Email | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | X | LinkedIn | YouTube
