For Immediate Release s370

For Immediate Release

27TH AMERICAN FILM MARKET OPENS WITH RECORD NUMBERS

Santa Monica, CA, November 1, 2006 – The 27th American Film Market (AFM), the world’s largest film market, opened this morning with a record number of exhibitors, buyers, screenings and market premieres, it was jointly announced at a press briefing by Jean M. Prewitt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), Jonathan Wolf, Executive Vice President, IFTA and Managing Director, American Film Market (AFM) and Michael Ryan, Chairman, IFTA.

A record 435 companies from 36 countries will be exhibiting, including film and television companies, financial institutions, sponsoring organizations and trade media. Total attendance is projected to be more than 8,400 from 65 countries, a 5% increase over last year’s 8,014. Final attendance figures will be announced later in the market.

In addition, 592 films, up from 534 films in 2005, are slated for screening, including 431 market premieres, up from last year’s 382. Both numbers are all-time highs for the Market.

Again this year, AFM is continuing their strategic relationship with AFI FEST. 54 films, a new high, are represented at both the Market and as Official Selections at the Festival. Together, the two events are the largest gathering of industry professionals in North America.

“This is an exciting time for independent film,” said Ms. Prewitt. “IFTA will remain at the forefront and offer its members the tools to understand, adapt and succeed.”

“In the world of independent film, production and distribution are inseparable,” commented Mr. Wolf. “The AFM's continued record-setting growth reflects our efforts to serve those involved in production as well as distribution.”

Mr. Ryan commented, “Our business is undergoing exciting changes in production, distribution and technology. The AFM provides the perfect venue for our members to swiftly capitalize on the opportunities that change creates.”

For the fourth consecutive year, the AFM has taken additional office space outside of the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel at Le Merigot in order to satisfy the overwhelming exhibitor response.

[more] American Film Market/Page 2

A selection of notable titles screening at the AFM include:

Black Book with Halina Reijn and Sebastian Koch (ContentFilm International); Dirty Sanchez: The Movie with Lee Dainton and Michael 'Pancho' Locke (Pathe Pictures International); Dragon Tiger Gate with Nicholas Tse and Donnie Yen (Mandarin Films Distribution Co. Ltd); Exiled with Josie Ho and Francis Ng (Media Asia Distribution Ltd); Fuera Del Cielo with Demian Bichir and Damian Alcazar (Lionsgate); Glue with Veronica Llinas and Nahuel Perez Biscayart (Lumina Films Limited); Going to Pieces with John Carpenter and Rob Zombie (THINKFilm); Hatchet with Robert Englund and Joel Moore (Echo Bridge Entertainment); Highlander: The Source with Adrian Paul and Thekla Reuten (HandMade Films International); Hula Girls with Yasuko Matsuyuki and Etsushi Toyokawa (Forissimo Film Sales); Infamous with Sandra Bullock and Daniel Craig (Arclight Films Pty. Ltd.); Love And Other Disasters with Matthew Rhys and Brittany Murphy (EuropaCorp); Masters of Horror 2: Family with Matt Keeslar and George Wendt (Starz Media); Penelope with Reese Witherspoon and Christina Ricci (Hyde Park International); Prey with Bridget Moynahan and Peter Weller (Distant Horizon Ltd.); Retribution with Ryo Kase and Koji Yakusho (Lionsgate); Rob-B-Hood with Jackie Chan and Gao YuanYuan (Emperor Motion Pictures); Screamers with System of a Down (Lightning Entertainment); Stephanie Daley with Tilda Swinton and Timothy Hutton (Bleiberg Entertainment Inc.); Suely In The Sky with Hermila Guedes (Celluloid Dreams); The Astronaut Farmer with Virginia Madsen and Billy Bob Thornton (Hyde Park International); The Hairy Tooth Fairy with Fabiàn Mazzei and Ana Orozco (Filmax International); The Magic Flute with Ben Davis and Amy Carsou (Celluloid Dreams); The Missing Star with Sergio Castellitto and Tai Ling (Lakeshore Entertainment); The Pleasure of Your Company with Jason Biggs and Joe Pantoliano (GreeneStreet Films); The Tripper with Paul Reubens and Balthazar Getty (Voltage Pictures).

The full list of films, screening schedule and detailed information can be accessed at AFM’s newly launched Catalogue of Films www.afmfilms.org or at the AFM web site www.americanfilmmarket.com.

While the AFM screenings are limited to acquisition and distribution executives, AFM will again offer Public Previews of more than 30 independent films – most world or U.S. premieres – to industry professionals and Santa Monica residents at no charge. Free registration is available on the AFM website.

Continuing their relationship with the American Film Institute, second-year Fellows from their Producer’s Program will hold internship positions during the AFM with a variety of exhibiting companies.

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About the AFM

The business of independent motion picture production and distribution reaches its peak every year at the American Film Market (AFM), the premiere global marketplace. Founded in 1981, the AFM is a pivotal destination for independent filmmakers and business people from all over the world. Each year, more than 8,000 industry professionals converge in Santa Monica for eight days of deal-making, screenings, seminars, red carpet premieres, networking and parties. Participants come from over 65 countries and include acquisition and development executives, agents, attorneys, directors, distributors, financiers, film commissioners, producers, writers, the world’s press, and all those who provide services to the motion picture industry.

Unlike a film festival, the AFM is a marketplace where production and distribution deals are closed. In just eight days, more than $800 million in deals will be sealed — on both completed films and those that haven’t started shooting yet.

The AFM offers more than 900 screenings of approximately 600 films - 31 new films every two hours - the majority of them world or U.S. premieres. Titles range from big budget blockbusters that will be released by the major studios in the U.S., to lower budget genre films and art films recognized at international film festivals, all destined for theaters and television around the world.

The AFM is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), the trade association representing the world’s producers and distributors of independent motion pictures and television programs. # # #

Contact: Jennifer Garnick/Paul Nichols The Lippin Group AFM Press Room – Arcadia D [email protected] [email protected] (310) 260-1085