Global Location Professionals Prep for In-Person AFCI Conference

variety.com:

Carole Horst Film commissions all over the world have seen a run on their services as production has boomed across the globe.

And AFCI Week, the big confab hosted by the Assn. of Film Commissioners Intl. that runs June 27-29, couldn’t have come back as an in-person event at a better time.After two years without an in-person event, “people are excited to be together, to see their friends, to meet new people and to find out what’s going on in the industry, and meet with industry professionals and executives,” says AFCI president Eve Honthaner, who took over the post in August.“AFCI Week is a uniquely exclusive annual event for film commission professionals held on a global scale,” she says.

AFCI Week, although abbreviated this year to two days rather than five, with one optional day, will give film commissioners access to key entertainment industry executives, and panels on sustainability and “green” production, workforce safety and the need for below the line crew training and infrastructure, like soundstages.

Glenn Gainor, head of physical production at Amazon Original Movies, will be a keynote speaker.As more governments enact production incentive programs, and others sweeten their pots, competition gets more fierce.“In fact, I went to the Cannes Film Festival for the first time and I couldn’t believe all the different pavilions and the different countries,” Honthaner says.That competition makes the programs, classes and connectivity that the AFCI offers even more important.“A lot of our members are very appreciative of our efforts to connect them with industry decision-makers.