American Film Market Dailies

The AFM Sessions’ three morning panels on November 2, 2023 brought together thought leaders to discuss Distribution, the power of Faith & Family content today; and Music for Film & TV all speaking at the Hilton Santa Monica Hotel.    

Jeremy Kay of Screen Daily, Kent Sanderson of Bleecker Street / DECAL, Scott Shooman of AMC Networks, and Jere R. Hausfater - Esq, Attorney / Executive Producer Photo credit: Dan Steinberg 

New Distribution Patterns Shaping Release Trends, Pacific Stage (11:30am – 1:00pm) 

            Panelists: 

Jere Hausfater, Esq. Attorney / Executive Producer 

Kent Sanderson, President, Acquisitions and Ancillary Distribution, Bleecker Street & Co-President, DECAL (owned by Bleecker Street and NEON) 

Scott Shooman, Head of Film, AMC Networks 

Moderator: 

Jeremy Kay, Americas Editor, Screen Daily 

Select Quotes from Speakers: 

Kent Sanderson said;

“Because now there are far fewer rules in the world of theatrical, we build strategies for each film individually.” 

“It has been a very long time since box office was the primary revenue driver for movies. What box office does is make a movie feel like a movie … it increases its value in the eyes of consumers. The box office is less important than the fact that movie theaters make movies feel like movies.” 

Scott Shooman said;

“Indies have a much more fluid, flexible way of looking at windowing.” 

“What we’re going through now is a little bit of a re-education and re-calibration of what people are willing to spend money on.” 

“We are in the single movie business and we want to make every film feel valuable.” 

“The flu pandemic in the 1910s turned into the roaring 20s, and we’re going through a little bit of that now. Experiences are valuable, people consume content now more than they ever have in history.” 

Jere Hausfater said:

“Make a movie for everyone, make a movie for someone, don’t make a movie for no one. If you’re not making a movie for everyone … then make a movie for a very defined demographic.” 

Faith & Family: Satisfying the Growing Global Audience Demand for Uplifting Content, Pacific Stage (9:30am - 11:00am) 

Panelists: 

Cindy Bond, Founder & CEO, Mission Pictures International, LLC 

Kevin Downes, Co-Owner, Kingdom Story Company  

Paul Lauer, CEO, One Door Studios / Motive Entertainment  

Moderator: 

Steven Gaydos, Variety  

Select Quotes from Speakers: 

Kevin Downes said:

“If you’re making a movie for an audience, you have a better shot at success than if you make it somewhat vague.” 

“The why has to be significant. It doesn’t matter necessarily how much bible is in the movie … the why has to be big.” 

“You want to continue to raise the bar. Not just in your craft, but in your release and in your marketing.” 

Paul Lauer said:

“We all know how powerful word of mouth is. There’s no more connected community or ecosystem than the faith-based community.” 

10:00am - Harnessing the Power of Music for Film, Malibu Stage (10:00am – 11:30am)  Presented in Partnership with Universal Music Group 

Panelists: 

Cristina May, Music Director, Producer 

Garo Setian, Creative Director 

Jeff Cardoni, Composer for Film & Television 

Ryan Svendsen, Music Director, Producer 

Satya Fuentes, Music Creative 

Moderator: 

Kris Le-Roy, Music Licensing Executive, Universal Production Music