American Film Market 2008, Day 7
November 11Th, 2008, the seventh day of The American Film Market, much has quieted down since the earlier days of the market, now most of the traffic has dispersed, there is still a modest amount of people still networking, we brushed passed a few notable faces, but most people either are just trying to clamor in the last of their meetings or just passing through. We spoke to a guy from a German Distribution Company, they were mostly interested in just Theatrical Star Powered pieces, we also came across an India based distributor, primarily saying the same thing. Seems there was no lack of decent or quasi-decent product, but maybe a lack of star-power within the product, which, at least for now, seems to be the key factor for securing a successful distribution deal.
We hope from seeing the prospects of the vast creative world of Independent Cinema, that more notable actors seeing this diversity and richness in the material, will work more closely with these Independent works, not only to help diversify their portfolio and impact cinema in new and creative ways, but to possibly help in the recognition and awareness of these great new ideas, style, talent and opportunities.
Many films at The 2008 American Film Market did have some star-power attached, but it seems like with the state of the world economy, and the aggressive marketing culture of the Studio System, it really came down to the biggest stars for distributors to bite. We overheard in the stairways and elevators some modest deals being met, and many foreign buyers snatched up key product, but on a whole, spending was slim, we even spoke to a buyer from one of the Asian markets earlier in the week, we interviewed him, he told us about one of the films he purchased at this years event, and why he purchased it.
(Exclusive Interview will be available at www.TheIndependentReporter.com)
We didn’t spot any celebrities today, and the mood has worned down a bit, as people are leaving, but the weather was nice, so we just hanged out by the pool and looked at the ocean, thinking of new plans and strategies to unleash onto the world, in the name of Art, Reporting and in the name of Independent Cinema.
