Post-AFM, Deals Have Yet to Trickle in as Indie Industry Awaits End of SAG-AFTRA Strike

variety.com:

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent A few days after AFM wrapped in Santa Monica, the dearth of substantial deals trickling in is pointing to a weakened film sales market which is grappling with structural changes and the reverberations of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Global industry players came into the AFM with reasonable hopes of dealmaking after a quiet Toronto festival, even if many packages were held back due to the strike.

Yet, the main talking point of this AFM came down to the dysfunctional logistics of the event which was held for the first time at the Meridien Delfina hotel instead of the beachfront Loews. “The logistics of AFM were more noisy than the actual market of AFM,” admits Scott Shooman, who was named head of film earlier this year at AMC Networks, a portfolio that encompasses IFC Films, RLJE Films and the streaming service Shudder.

Dylan Leiner, the VP of acquisitions and production at Sony Pictures Classics, says the future of the AFM is at stake. It’s been “in need of a reboot for six to eight years” and is now “in need of a complete reimagining,” says the New York-based film veteran. “Hotel lobbies around Santa Monica were far busier than (at the Delfina), the main venue of the market,” he says. “If that’s not a signal to the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) needs to completely and radically change the way that business is done, then they’re not looking and they’re not listening.” Another talking point of the AFM was the impact of the strike, along with structural changes, on the indie film landscape.