By Gabrielle Harradine
Special to the Daily Press

OCEAN AVE. The curtain drops on the American Film Market today, which means the steady flow of well-dressed movers and shakers along Ocean Boulevard will, too.

The weeklong independent market of deal-making, screenings and networking attracted a record number of attendees this year, up 1.6 percent from last year, an all-time high for an event that’s grown considerably each year since its inception in 1981.

The AFM moved to Santa Monica a decade later.

Since getting underway last week, the market has flooded Santa Monica with film buyers from all over the globe — 65 countries to be exact, which is four more than last year. The event’s steady growth includes more buyers, as well as more exhibitor participants, made up of producers, executives and talent.

The AFM registered 8,343 attendees this year, up from 8,208 last year. There was also a 3 percent increase in attendance of buyers. The countries represented included France, Scandinavia, Poland, Turkey, Taiwan, Russia, Brazil and the U.S.

One area in which the AFM won’t be growing next year, however, is in its exhibition space, which has been capped as of this year, said Paul Nichols, an AFM spokesperson. The current space, which includes the entire Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel and three floors of the Le Merigot Beach Hotel, will remain the only real estate made available to exhibitors. In order to keep the event in Santa Monica, AFM made the decision to cap the space, explained Misti Kerns, the President and CEO of Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB).

“There’s only so much growth our destination can handle,” Kerns said.

While the exhibition space isn’t getting any bigger, that shouldn’t prevent the amount of shoppers and buyers that result from the AFM from growing, which means profits will likely continue to grow for the city and its businesses.

The weeklong event already has a huge effect on the city’s economy.

“All the other hotels are booked from here to Century City,” said Rosalind Ann Napoli, regional director for Loews Hotel. “It’s really great for the city!”

As hungry movie folk got to eat, AFM attendees by the hundreds have been flowing into Broadway Deli at the corner of Broadway and Third Street, much to the delight of Roman Cortez, the deli’s general manager.

“It brings me a lot of business,” said Cortez. “Honest people come in here. They say, ‘I have 20 minutes, what can you get me?’”

To accommodate the rise in business, Cortez had his crews working more shifts than usual and hired on three extra servers.

The timing of AFM — right before the holiday season gets underway — helps the city’s businesses do even better, Kerns said. People not only eat and stay in the city, but spend free time doing some of their holiday shopping. In 2005, when the market moved from February to November, the city’s overall sales revenues rose 10 percent.

The total spending impact within Santa Monica for the week of the AFM is expected to be around $14 million, according to the CVB. The spending will generate an estimated $650,000 in taxes.

The partnership between the AFM and the concurrent American Film Institute festival, which started in 2004, created various connections between the two events, the latter of which is staged in Hollywood. For instance, all AFI Fest filmmakers get free access to the AFM. Additionally, the market has a press conference center that showcases AFI Fest films to attending international media.

“Typically, this is a slower time in the season, (so the presence the AFM brings in) is very welcome,” said Kathleen Rawson, executive director of Bayside District Corporation.

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