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Around the AFM's $9,500 Price Tag
No one ever said markets and festivals are inexpensive. A seller has to pay a minimum of $9,500 for the right to exhibit products at the AFM, with bigger buyers opting for bigger suites, more staffers and thus, paying more money. There are 258 exhibitors at the 1996 AFM and a reported 1,500+ buyers roaming the halls. Accredited buyers can get passes for $750. It may come as no surprise then that some smaller, non-AFMA member film sellers and distributors wrangle themselves a buyer's pass and yet spend the entire market selling. They peddle their products in the hallways, lounges and restaurants of the AFM Loews Hotel headquarters and in local haunts in Santa Monica. Not wanting to blow the lid on their own scam, the "buyers" that spoke about what products they've sold at the market did so anonymously.
It's impossible to tell how many "buyers" are actually sellers not willing to spend the money to exhibit. During the nine-day AFM, I could only get three buyer badge wearing attendees to admit they came to sell and just weren't willing to spring for the $9,500 right to do so. The "buyers" I spoke with were all small-time sales agents and distributors with a handful of well-maintained relationships with legitimate buyers around the globe. They each assured me that the halls were filled with other "buyers" pulling the same scam. They each also repeated to me their same routine. They first speak with their best clients before the AFM and then arrange to show them their latest product reels and promotional materials during the market at a location other than a suite at the Loews. "I'm not interested in paying more than $4,000 a year to be a member of AFMA and then pay an extra ten grand to sell my films here at the AFM," said one "buyer" not from California.
The "buyers" don't come to Santa Monica for their health; they actually close a number of deals while they're in town. One confirmed that she'd written and signed just over $100,000 in "collectible" contracts during the market and had lined up or exchanged preliminary paperwork on another $350,000 worth. She said, "I simply fill my suitcase with a handful of videotapes, hop on a plane and stay near the beach for about four days in the middle of the market." As she started to chase after a client she spotted slipping into a stairwell, she said, "My clients know what I'm doing and they don't care, just as long as I keep giving them quality product."
The third "buyer" told me that he spent most of his time talking with other, legitimate buyers who sympathize with his small sales and distribution operation. "These buyers know me from phone calls and I use the time really just to say hello in person. I'm not trying to shove my product down their throats, but they always ask what I've got and I'm always ready to give them an answer."
All of the "buyers" confirmed that buying patterns change and it's a personal appearance at the AFM that gives even the smallest seller the chance confirm in person during the market a need for product they perceived on the phone prior to the AFM and then to configure and close a deal during the weeks of follow-ups that take place after the market.
