2018 AMERICAN FILM MARKET® TO WELCOME 150+ SPEAKERS TO ITS STAGES Los Angeles, CA – October 3, 2018 – The American Film Market (AFM®) has announced today initial speakers confirmed for its expanded programming of Conferences, Roundtables, Workshops, and Spotlight Events which run alongside the AFM’s marketplace and industry screenings. This year’s market is taking place October 31 – November 7 in Santa Monica. More than 150 speakers will take the AFM stages to participate in 40+ sessions across three venues. An initial list of highlights includes: Producers: Caryn Capotosto, Cassian Elwes, Basil Iwanyk, Khaliah Neal, Ben Stillman, Gary Michael Walters, and Janet Yang. Industry Executives: Lisa Gutberlet, EVP, International Sales & Acquisitions, Blue Fox Entertainment; Alison Thompson, Co-President, Cornerstone Films; Janet Brown, EVP, Distribution, Gunpowder & Sky; Jeffrey Greenstein, Co-President, Millennium Media; Krista Wegener, SVP, Sales and Distribution, Participant Media; John Orlando, Head of Content, Sony Crackle; Ryan Suffern, Head of Documentary Division, The Kennedy/Marshall Company; Paul Broucek, President, Music, Warner Bros. Pictures; and Kirsten Schaffer, Executive Director, Women In Film, Los Angeles. As previously announced, President/CEO of the Independent Film & Television Alliance®, Jean Prewitt, and Chairman/CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America®, Charles Rivkin, will kick off the Conference series with The Global Perspective, on Friday, November 2. The 2018 speakers announced to date are: Alan R. Milligan, White Rabbit Marguerite Pigott, CMPA (Canadian Media Producers Association) Alison Thompson, Cornerstone Films Andrea Iervolino, AMBI Media Group and TaTaTu Anthony Beaudoin, Union Bank Barry Landis, Ribbow Media Group Basil Iwanyk, Thunder Road Pictures Ben Stillman, Black Bear Pictures Billy Mernit, UCLA and Universal Pictures Bradley M. Gallo, Amasia Entertainment Bruce Eisen, Digital Advisors Caryn Capotosto, Tremolo Productions Cassian Elwes, Producer (Mudbound) Chris Bueno, Ocean Avenue Entertainment Clay Epstein, Film Mode Entertainment Cody Zwieg, Gunpowder & Sky Cynthia Tollett, Directors Guild of America Dana Nachman, KTF Films Darrien Michele Gipson, SAGindie Dave McIntosh, Shout! Factory David Kennedy, Saboteur Media David Offenberg, Loyola Marymount David White, SHIFT72 Dennis Dreith, Transparence Entertainment Group Derek Doneen, Filmmaker, Kailash Florian Glatz, Cinemarket Gary Michael Walters, Bold Films Germaine Franco, Composer and Music Producer Irina Albita, Big Couch UK and FilmChain Janet Brown, Gunpowder & Sky Janet Yang, Producer Jeffrey Greenstein, Millennium Media John Orlando, Sony Crackle John Sloss, Sloss Eckhouse LawCo and Cinetic Media Jonathan Barkan, DreadCentral.com JP Sarni, Stampede Ventures Juliana Da Cunha Jacobsen, BF Distribution Karl Hur, Mofac Creative Works Kay S. Wolf, Writers Guild of America West Khaliah Neal, Independent Producer, The Rachel Divide Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund Kirsten Schaffer, Women In Film, Los Angeles Ko Eun Jung, Digitalidea VFX Krista Wegener, Participant Media Lisa Gutberlet, Blue Fox Entertainment Lucy Mukerjee, Outfest & Newfest Mathew Joubert, SHIFT72 Matt Holzman, KCRW’s “The Document” Michael Berman, iN Demand Min Sun Hye, WYSIWYG Studios Dr. Nelson Granados, Pepperdine Graziadio Business School and Forbes Contributor Paul Bales, The Asylum Paul Broucek, Warner Bros. Pictures Paul Hertzberg, CineTel Films, Inc. Peter Baxter, Slamdance Film Festival and Producer Peter Broderick, Paradigm Consulting Pilar Alessandra, On the Page Raymond C. Nutt, Fathom Events Richard Botto, Stage 32 Robert Binning, StreamSpace Robert Menzies, Zed Filmworks Ruzanna Kegeyan, Arclight Films Ryan Broussard, Media Services Ryan Suffern, The Kennedy/Marshall Company Ryan Turek, Blumhouse Productions Sam Klebanov, Cinezen Blockchained Entertainment AB Shaked Berenson, Producer Shawn Williamson, Brightlight Pictures Stephen Hwang, Studio Macrograph Steven Wolfson, UCLA Sunwoo Nam, W2 Studios Tamara Birkemoe, Foresight Unlimited Tobin Ambrust, Virgin Produced View the full programming lineup for AFM 2018. For badge and ticket information, please visit the AFM website. # # # About the American Film Market® The American Film Market (AFM®) is the world’s largest motion picture business event. Over 7,000 industry leaders from more than 80 countries converge in Santa Monica for eight days of deal-making, screenings, conferences, networking and parties. Participants include acquisition and development executives, agents, attorneys, directors, distributors, festival directors, 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 – with over 200,000 square feet of exhibition space – where production and distribution deals are closed. In just eight days, more than US$1 billion in deals will be sealed – on both completed films and those in every stage of development and production. Participants may view more than 500 screenings of 300+ films – 29 new films every two hours – the majority world or U.S. premieres. Titles range from big budget blockbusters that will be released by the major studios to lower budget art and genre films recognized at international film festivals. About the Independent Film & Television Alliance® The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA®) is the global trade association of the independent motion picture and television programming industry. Headquartered in Los Angeles, IFTA represents and provides significant entertainment industry services to more than 140 Member companies in 22 countries, consisting of independent production and distribution companies, sales agents, and financial institutions engaged in production finance. Collectively, IFTA Members produce more than 400 independent films and countless hours of television programming each year, generating more than $4.5 billion in distribution revenues annually. For more information on IFTA, please visit www.IFTA-online.org. Media Contact Jennifer Garnick [email protected] +310.446.1006 .