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We heard it during the Sessions: we wanted to share it
The AFM Sessions’ featured panels on November 12th & 13th brought together thought leaders to discuss topics such as new models of financing, AI, as well as the arthouse and horror genres; all speaking at the Fairmont Century Plaza. Below we’ve included highlights from the speakers
Photo credit: Dan Steinberg
The Innovators – From Fan to Financier: New Models in Film Financing and Distribution (Nov. 12th, 11:00am - 12:00pm)
“There’s no greater piece of fan engagement than let’s make a film together, let’s own an IP together,” - Marc Iserlis, Head of Film, Republic Film
“This year, Youtube overtook Disney as the largest distributor and creators are like the new celebrities,” - Marc Iserlis, Head of Film, Republic Film
From Festivals to Audiences: The Enduring Power of Global Arthouse Films (Nov. 12th, 4:30pm - 5:30pm)
“The resilience comes from the fact that the audience is renewing .. there’s new distributors and new ways of distributing,” - Yohann Comte, Chairman & Co-Founder, Charades
“An independent film is a startup and every time you make an independent film it’s like building a startup. … You have to find your team and build your brand,” - Gabrielle Stewart, CEO, HanWay Films
“Where you launch a film is about timing and what your goals are. If you've fully presold a film and have a US buyer, then a festival can be about launching a film to an audience,” - Gabrielle Stewart, CEO, HanWay Films
“Most independent films are coproductions these days. It's all about how you piece together soft money,” - Gabrielle Stewart, CEO, HanWay Films
Finance II – How They Did It: Strategies That Brought Projects to Life (Nov. 13th, 9:30am - 10:30am)
“Famous is set in Hollywood, and we were able to take advantage of the California tax credit which allowed us to shoot in LA,” - Allison Hironaka, Head of Film & TV LA, Caviar
“Three things to think about when you’re reading a script…the first was how much will this cost? The second was will it attract talent?...the third was who is it for?” - Allison Hironaka, Head of Film & TV LA, Caviar
“…roll up your sleeves and make it independently. Our job as producers is to produce,” - Laura Lewis, Founder & CEO, Rebelle Media
“Gen Z, especially, they are going to theatres … and so you do want to have … actors that appeal to them,” - Laura Lewis, Founder & CEO, Rebelle Media
“I think the world has gotten a little bit more fractured and people aren’t as reliant on the U.S. market anymore to be interested in a film. I think they are really interested in filmmakers,” - Laura Lewis, Founder & CEO, Rebelle Media
“One of the things we do most today is just willing each and every project into existence with all of our money because otherwise things just wouldn’t happen,” - Jeffrey Greenstein, Founder & CEO, A Higher Standard
“The three most important things are story, story, story…” - Jeffrey Greenstein, Founder & CEO, A Higher Standard
Visualizing the Future of Commercial Content: What AI Means for the Industry (Nov. 13th, 11:00am - 12:00pm)
“Cinema is a technology business that has always been tasked with finding the relevant technologies of the time,” - Ted Schilowitz, Futurist, Cinemmersion Inc.
“Effectively, you need to figure out how to harness it before it figures out how to harness you,” - Ted Schilowitz, Futurist, Cinemmersion Inc.
“AI is not as new as many people would have you think, there have been AI tools working behind the scenes for years,” - Darren Frankel, Head of Film & Television, Adobe
“The AI problem is really an ownership problem, but trying to hold back technology never works…If you look at the amount of money being poured into AI by Amazon, Google, and Meta .. we’re not going to hold back that ocean, we have to ride that,”” - Darren Frankel, Head of Film & Television, Adobe
“Too many people are drawing the line in the wrong place. They’re drawing the line between AI and not AI. And I think that’s a mistake. The place to draw the line is between ethical and unregulated,” - Darren Frankel, Head of Film & Television, Adobe
“AI can never replace the magic of storytelling, it reminds us that we need to find what makes us truly human. It can help us make more inclusive and efficient art” - Lori McCreary, CEO, Revelations Entertainment
Fright Club: The Power Players Behind Modern Horror (Nov. 13th, 4:30pm - 5:30pm)
“Be ambitious. I think it takes a pretty similar amount of time to make a bad movie as to make a good movie, especially in this market, you want to make an all timer, you want to make the best movie of all time,”. - J.D. Lifshitz, Founder, BoulderLight Pictures (Weapons, Barbarian)
“We are at war with homogenization and mediocrity … our job is not to pander, it’s to give the audience what they don’t know they want,” - J.D. Lifshitz, Founder, BoulderLight Pictures (Weapons, Barbarian)
“AFM is where we were born and where our business really started…We started our business at [film] markets … That's the best launching pad generally for finished films certainly…Talk to Me and Longlegs, those were both movies that were tremendous successes that were basically born in the markets,” - J.D. Lifshitz, Founder, BoulderLight Pictures (Weapons, Barbarian)
“Pearl was born in quarantine out of boredom. We were in New Zealand waiting, we had two weeks in a hotel room, and Ti (West) wrote half the script, I did a production plan. We got out, we gave it to A24 and I was like ‘Ti’s next movie’,” - Jacob Jaffke, SVP, Oddball Entertainment (MaXXXine, Pearl)
18.11.2025 | American Film Market Dailies's blog |
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User imagesAbout American Film Market Dailies Prewitt Jean (IFTA) The AFM is not a festival - it is the largest motion picture market in the world. 8,000 industry attendees, including producers, distributors, directors, agents, writers, lawyers & bankers. Over 540 films screened, most world or U.S. premieres.
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