The traditional glib article about the American Film Market will talk about the parade of Troma characters parading in front of the Loew’s Santa Monica Hotel. Or, it will highlight the weird exploitation titles being sold (I Ate His Liver with Fava Beans) or the busty women handing out pamphlets and trade papers.

Regardless, there’s an underlying sense that the writers are above this campy fray. For the uninformed it remains a curiosity of scant significance that ought to pack up its bags and steal quietly into the night.

There’s no denying that an element of the audacious is a long-standing component of the AFM. But in the hotel suites, behind closed doors, independent companies from around the world are closing deals on movies that will generate several billion dollars in revenues in any given year. It’s not chump change and the product on offer is apt to include movies that win both the most prestigious as well as infamous recognition during the current calendar.

The latest incarnation of this film market says a lot about the state of the industry globally. Times are tough. The worldwide financial downturn can be seen in the diminished number of participants. Some have bypassed the event; others are present but with fewer representatives to do the work. The old expression about being able to shoot off a cannon without hitting a soul can be visually confirmed.

Buyers will tell you that aren’t as many “A” titles available but that goes without saying. There are something like 200 international sales companies with suites this year but – not to be too biblical – it’s tough to put together 10 that could possibly have a mainstream hit in their inventory. Juno, Rambo, The Kite Runner and P.S. I Love You were films sold by AFM companies. During the third quarter of 2008 roughly $200 million in theatrical revenues were generated by American independents outside of North America.

The situation is radically different for the majority of sales outfits whose stock in trade is low budget comedies or action films. Putting aside the fact that people aren’t buying or won’t put up the type of advances that were common last year or the year before, the grim fact is that unless you’re one of the six American majors, it’s difficult to get a wide release in any major international venue. Russia remains a notable exception but the door’s virtually closed in France, Spain, Japan, Brazil, Australia or Korea.

If you happen to have a low overhead, there’s the possibility that sales to satellite broadcasters and DVD companies can cover costs. But even those areas have in the best scenario plateaued and in some instances begun to erode.

The picture darkens further for vendors of non-English language films. Aside from Sony Classics, only two studio specialty divisions released foreign-language films this year and that includes Picturehouse which no longer exists. For the moment there appears to be some traction for international productions via cable TV outlets but it’s not huge and there’s little evidence it’s a growing concern.

Still, America remains the largest market for films that speak in tongues other than English and a U.S. sale has historically been the trigger for acquisition in other parts of the globe. The absence with rare exception of Asian, South American, Spanish and Italian movies domestically in the past couple of years has had an impact on the visa stamps of films from those areas of the world as well as those from France and Germany.

It’s a time of contraction and that’s fact not debate. Slates will be cut back because the financing simply isn’t as readily available and no one wants the ignominious fate of Capitol Films that saw a handful of high profile projects shut down during production in the past year. Less will have to go further and one suspects that the next major market in Cannes will reflect a growing attrition of buyers and sellers.

The film industry has long resembled the Darwinian notion of survival of the fittest. Some companies and individuals have been amazingly adaptable over the decades. However, the recent additions to the cinematic Endangered Species Watch are rather jaw dropping and it’s anyone’s guess what their disappearance will mean to an already precarious balance of nature.

November 9, 2008
– by Leonard Klady

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