AFM screenings open to public ... for a price
Market to sell 8-day passes for $95, less for biz folk
It'll cost 'em, though: A pass for all eight days of the upcoming market is $95; if you're a student or a member of a showbiz-related union or of organizations such as BAFTA, the Independent Film Project or the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, it's $45.
Even that won't get you into every movie expected to show at the Feb. 25-March 5 market in Santa Monica, since not every exhibitor has agreed to the extra exposure. Of the approximately 600 screenings set, the public will be able to sit in on between 120 and 150, representing 60 or 70 movies.
Passes, in the form of badges, can be obtained by calling (310) 446-1088. The complete list of AFM films will be announced the first week in February.
Since its inception, the AFM has functioned under the premise that exhibitors and distribs engaged in licensing international rights to English-language indie films preferred a no-frills business environment rather than the hustle of a film festival.
In recent years, however, many AFM exhibitors have felt that their films should play before an audience, primarily to gauge their reactions. The open-door idea also means that there may be less instances of 300-seat theaters being occupied by just a handful of distributors.
In an effort to accommodate those exhibitors, the AFM modified its screening policy.
"We do not aspire to become a film festival," said Jonathan Wolf, exec VP of the AFM Assn. and managing director of the market. "No awards will be handed out, and the films will not be pre-selected. Any company exhibiting at the AFM may designate a film for an open screening."
In switching to the new policy, Wolf said, the AFM is offering its exhibs the same service available at film festivals in Toronto, Sundance, Venice and Cannes, all of which have public access to screenings.
No tickets to individual shows will be sold. The weekday screenings will take place in the AMC Santa Monica 7 on the Third Street Promenade at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday screenings will be at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
