The American Film Market (AFM) is a film industry event held each year at the beginning of November in Santa Monica, California. Attendees are there network and to sell, finance and acquire films. Participants come from more than 70 countries and include acquisition and development executives, agents, directors, distributors, festival directors, financiers, film commissioners, producers, writers, etc.

This year’s event kicked off on November 2 and ends on November 9.

Keeping an eye out for any titles of interest to this blog that are being presented at this year’s AFM, here are 3 that are said to be some of the hottest and most intriguing projects that are being shopped to buyers:



— Former Premiere Entertainment executive Jack Campbell’s new Octane Entertainment shingle hits the market with “This Is Your Death” directed by actor Giancarlo Esposito, which he also stars in, alongside Josh Duhamel and Famke Janssen. It’s Esposito’s second time directing a feature film (2008’s “Gospel Hill” was his first). “This Is Your Death” is described as a satirical drama that tells the story of a disturbing gameshow in which contestants end their lives for public enjoyment. The film is listed as “complete” and seeking distribution.

— VMI Worldwide is at the AFM with an action sci-fi film titled “The Recall,” starring Wesley Snipes and RJ Mitte, which follows five friends on vacation at a remote lake house, unaware that planet Earth is under an alien invasion and mass-abduction. The film is directed by Mauro Borrelli, primarily an art director/illustrator who’s worked on high-profile films like “The Hateful Eight,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” and 2 of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies.  The film has been filmed specifically to be released in Barco-equipped theatres in the USA. Barco is a multi screen format similar to Cinerama, which features multi-projection in order to create a panoramic experience. The technology is expected to compete with IMAX and Dolby Cinema.

— Phil Volken’s action thriller “Extortion” sees a family’s Caribbean vacation go from bad to worse when they get stranded on an island, only to be shaken down by cold-blooded fishermen who demand $1 million to rescue them. Barkhad Abdi, Danny Glover, Marilinda Rivera are members of the cast. Thirteen Films is handling international sales on the thriller, which already has been snapped up by Grindstone/Lionsgate for North America.

That’s all for now; but there’ll likely be more films to watch for in the future, unveiled, as the AFM continues for another 2 days.

No trailers for any of these yet; both “The Recall” and “Extortion” come with official images.