As of September 1, 2011, ALL 1,875 retail establishments are prohibited from providing light-weight, single-use plastic carryout bags to customers at the point of sale. MORE

By Ed Moosbrugger

November 1, 2011 -- The American Film Market, which will bring people from more than 70 countries to Santa Monica this week, appears headed for another solid showing after a better-than-expected 2010.

That's good news for Santa Monica because the AFM will bring an estimated $16 million or more in direct spending and more than $700,000 in tax revenue for the city, said Misti Kerns, president/CEO of the Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau (SMCVB). Downtown will be a major beneficiary.

Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel will again be the headquarters for the eight-day AFM Nov. 2-9, just as it has been since 1991.

Last year the AFM was pleasantly surprised when attendance rose 6 percent to 7,695. It had been expecting attendance to hold steady after two years of declines.

Attendance had dropped from a few “bubble” years when too many films were produced and marketed, said AFM Managing Director Jonathan Wolf, who also is executive vice president of the Independent Film and Television Alliance, which produces the AFM.

AFM again will take over the Loews for the event and also will take about a dozen rooms at the adjacent Le Merigot. The AFM is also booking people into about 15 Santa Monica hotels, taking more rooms than last year.

Oceana and the new Shore hotel have been added to the AFM contracted hotel list for 2011. “Santa Monica works very hard each year to provide enough hotel inventory for all attendees in Santa Monica with no need to contract hotels in neighboring communities,” Kerns said.

“The additional room inventory this year, along with the continued support of all past contracted hotels will mean that we keep the business in the city of Santa Monica,” she added.

The SMCVB has several programs to help businesses attract patronage from AFM delegates once they arrive in town.

The AFM is a critical event for the independent film industry because the typical American film gets two-thirds to 70 percent of its revenue from other countries. “Americans are very dependent on the export market” and face an increasing challenge as filmmaking improves in more countries, Wolf said.

The inaugural AFM Conference Series will be one of the highlights of this year's event. The sessions will be held at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily from Friday, Nov. 4, to Tuesday, Nov. 8. Topics include finance, pitch, marketing, production and distribution. Interested people can buy conference tickets even if they don't have an AFM badge.

In addition, AFM will offer an Industry Conversations program of 14 discussions led by industry leaders in the afternoon daily from Nov. 2-8 at Loews. An AFM badge is required to attend, but the sessions will also be streamed live on the Internet.

Go to the AFM's website www.AmericanFilmMarket.com. both before and during the trade show for more information.

The AFM will return to Santa Monica Oct. 31-Nov. 7, 2012, but Wolf declined to comment on long term plans or negotiations except to say: “We love Santa Monica.”

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Some big changes have been taking place on the Downtown Santa Monica retail scene in recent months, with more to come. Some major retailers have left the Third Street Promenade, including Bebe, Restoration Hardware and Z Gallerie. But other retailers, mostly apparel stores, are coming.

Desigual recently opened in part of the former Broadway Deli location at Broadway and the Promenade, and O'Neill has opened at the former Oxbow location at Second Street and Broadway.

Tilly's will take the space just vacated by Z Gallerie, said Robert O. York, a retail consultant for Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.

Meanwhile, Superdry, a United Kingdom-based apparel company, will occupy the former Miss Sixty site on the Promenade as part of its expansion in the United States, said Randy Starr, principal and CEO of Starrpoint Commercial Realtors, which represented the landlord.

There is also talk that Tesla Motors would like to open a small showroom on the north block of the Promenade if the City would allow it. “They're (Tesla) very excited,” York said.