In addition to the learning that the Presale Market is Alive and Well at AFM and observing 4 industry trends from AFM 2014, I gained some practical knowledge that all producers should know. While there’s plenty more you will need to know to attend your first AFM, here are some things that really popped out this year.
1. While more filmmakers are exhibiting at the show, Sales Agents are
Despite the growing trend towards self-distribution, AFM is still a hugely important event in the industry, and something to which we should all pay attention. I spoke with AFM’s Managing Director Jonathan Wolf on Wednesday about his opinions about the show and the general state of the industry. Here’s what you need to know as a producer
1. Asia’s importance as a territory is growing.
This should come as a surprise to precisely no one; at least no one who has been paying attention to industry trends. However by the numbers, buyers from Asia represented 30.7% of total buyers, and 28.3% of total buyer companies attending AFM.
Surprising, right? Everything you read is that presales are a dying business, but according to Jonathan Wolf, AFM’s Managing Director, about 60% of the business done at this year’s AFM was in presales. This means more than half a billion USD in presales alone.
According to Mr. Wolf, the market for foreign presales came back by 2010 or 2011.
