American Film Market Plans New Global Screen Economy Summit For This Year

The American Film Market is planning an inaugural Global Screen Economy Summit.

The half-day forum on Nov. 10 will include an opening keynote address by Jackie Brenneman, the new president and CEO of The Independent Film & Television Alliance, which produces the AFM event, and an additional keynote by industry analyst Evan Shapiro to discuss a fast-changing business upended by consolidation, AI and the creator economy.

In all, the leading indie movie bazaar will feature an expanded conference program with over 45 sessions that includes informal conversations with Amy Baer, president of film and television at Artists Equity, and Stuart Ford, chairman and CEO of AGC Studios.

After the AFM was reborn last year in Century City, IFTA has signaled its November market will refocus on how content is increasingly financed, produced and embraced by consumers across screens big and small.

The 47th edition, to run November 10 to 15, plans a panel on a proposed federal production incentive to help keep Hollywood film production in the U.S., and another session entitled The New Studio System, with execs from Angel Studios, Popular Demand Studios and Wesley Wang Media to take part.

AFM, to be held at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, also plans a panel on new film financing strategies, and another entitled the New Math of Independent Film, to include speakers form Cold Iron Pictures, Wrapbook, Ashland Hill Media Finance and Legion M.

Brenneman, the IFTA president and CEO, in a statement said of the 2026 AFM addressing emerging technologies and shifting audience trends: “From how stories are discovered and what gets made to how content reaches audiences and the renewed excitement around the theatrical experience, nearly every part of our business is being reimagined. We’re expanding AFM to bring new voices and perspectives into the conversation alongside the industry leaders and innovators driving this change. This complements the tremendous business and dealmaking activity at the heart of the Market while creating more opportunities to connect, exchange ideas and discover new opportunities together.”

AFM this year is also tailoring its panels and keynotes to an industry dealing with screens of all sizes. There’s a panel on a “new IP value chain” as storytellers find new platforms to reach audiences, another entitled New Rules of Discovery & Audience Building, and one more on a resurgent horror film market for the multiplex, with speakers representing Project X, Cineverse and Spooky Pictures.

Elsewhere, the AFM House will feature sessions on a new global screen economy, alternative content for cinemas, including anime, concerts and faith programming, and another on artificial intelligence.