AFM Calls Santa Monica 'Best Long-Term Home'

Citing big development projects in Santa Monica that will enhance its flagship event, the Independent Film and Television Alliance announced Thursday that the American Film Market will continue to call Loews Hotel its home through 2017.

The film and television alliance said new agreements will keep AFM at —its home since 1991—with additional exhibition space continuing at and with conferences continuing at the .

“In Santa Monica, the AFM will soon have access to a new 12-screen multiplex, a 2,000-plus seat world class venue for red-carpet premieres, more hotel rooms, light rail transportation to Los Angeles and Hollywood, and even a spectacular new park across from the Loews,” AFM Managing Director Jonathan Wolf said in a statement.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film and television alliance board considered a move after Loews said it wanted to increase fees it charges to exhibitors.

"However, after the AFM balked and the owners of L.A. Live made them an attractive offer to move to their complex, and into the adjacent LA. Convention Center, Loews changed the hotel’s management leadership and returned with a better offer," the Reporter wrote in an article published Thursday.

The research estimates that the AFM will contribute more than $100 million to the local economy over the next six years. During the festivals, roughly 8,000 industry leaders converge for eight days of deal-making, screenings, conferences, premieres, networking and parties.

"This is great news for Santa Monica and the Westside," Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom said in a statement. "AFM brings another level of international visibility to our creative industry while contributing an estimated $20 million and many good jobs to our local economy every year."

The film and television alliance cited a handful of improvements that it says will ehance the festival.

AMC Entertainment is developing a new Santa Monica cinema complex with 12 screens, including an IMAX theater. It is anticipated to open in late 2014 or early 2015.

The will be rehabilitated and expanded, "providing AFM with an ideal venue for red-carpet premieres." Expected to be completed in late 2014, the renovated auditorium will include a removable seating system that can accommodate more than 2,000 or create an open space for large events.

At least 700 hotel rooms will be added to the downtown area, including mid-priced hotels from Marriott and Hampton Inn.

A light Metro Rail terminal at 4th Street and Colorado Avenue, a five-minute walk from Loews, will connect Santa Monica to Los Angeles and Hollywood. Dubbed the “subway to the sea,” it is expected to be operational in 2015.

A seven-acre park on Ocean Avenue directly across from the Loews Hotel is scheduled for completion in late 2013, along with an adjoining "urban village" with restaurants and shops eyed for 2014.

“We tirelessly explored every option to ensure the AFM would have the best long-term home. We look forward to many more successful markets with the beach as our backdrop," Indpendent Film and Television Alliance Chairman Paul Hertzberg said in a statement.

Confirmed dates for AFM in Santa Monica are:

• Oct. 31-Nov. 7, 2012
• Nov. 6-13, 2013
• Nov. 5-12, 2014
• Nov. 4-11, 2015
• Nov. 2-9, 2016
• Nov. 1-8, 2017

The AFM is produced by the Independent Film and Television Alliance, the trade association representing the world's producers and distributors of independent motion pictures and television programs.