![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AFM25-D1-hotlist-web-H-2025.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAfter years of turbulence, venue shifts and pandemic-era gloom, the indie world\u2019s biggest film market is back in fighting shape \u2014 with a packed slate of star-driven titles proving there\u2019s still life (and buyers) in the business.<\/p>\n
\tPublished on November 7, 2025\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tHot sales titles at AFM this year include the likes of Anthony Mackie, Adria Arjona, Daisy Edgar Jones, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Seth Rogen and Mia Goth<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images (6)<\/p>\n
\n\tThe reports of the death of the American Film Market have been greatly exaggerated. After years of turbulence \u2014 from the double blow of the pandemic and the Hollywood strikes to a pair of ill-advised venue shifts, including last year\u2019s misfire in Las Vegas \u2014 the world\u2019s leading indie movie bazaar looks set for a surprising comeback. Relocated to the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles this year\u2019s AFM arrives amid rising confidence that the independent business still has plenty of fight left in it.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI thought no one would be coming to AFM but everyone\u2019s coming,\u201d says Jonathan Kier, co-CEO of production and international sales group Upgrade Production. \u201cMy schedule is packed \u2014 packed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve been surprised by the fact that during the pandemic and the strikes and the contraction of a large part of the industry, that most of the big independent distributors around the world have been doing just fine,\u201d adds his Upgrade partner Matt Brodlie. \u201cIt\u2019s not as dramatic as the U.S. industry, where everyone\u2019s just trying to get by by the skin of their teeth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThat resilience abroad has given sellers renewed confidence heading to the market\u2019s new home in Century City, that AFM\u2019s beating heart \u2014 the pre-sales business \u2014 still promises enough oxygen for the global indie ecosystem. THR\u2018s Hot List of the buzziest titles at AFM lacks the big-budget actioners of years past but makes up for it in variety, with high-concept genre plays, star-driven dramas, and prestige award-hopefuls offering up plenty for buyers big and small.<\/p>\n
\n\tBut the hard lessons of the past few years have taught indie execs to curb their optimism.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThis is a scary time,\u201d notes IFTA and AFM chief Jean Prewitt, who is stepping down after this year\u2019s market. \u201cI don\u2019t know any company that is coming into any market saying this one\u2019s going to be easy. Everybody is coming in with the view that this is make or break.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u2018All Day & All Night\u2019<\/p>\n
\t\t\t![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Tommy Wirkola<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Josh Hartnett<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ AFM buyers want genre fare that isn\u2019t generic, and there\u2019s nothing normal about this high-concept action thriller, from the director of\u00a0Dead Snow\u00a0and\u00a0Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.\u00a0Hartnett plays a reformed bank robber who pulls off one final heist to fund his daughter\u2019s Harvard tuition, only to find himself on the set of a failing reality TV show.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES XYZ Films<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Alone Together\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Ben Sharrock<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Callum Turner, Adria Arjona, Amir El-Masry<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Sharrock, who attracted attention with his Bafta-nominated Limbo\u00a0(2020), scales up with this new drama, featuring Callum Turner and Adria Arjona as strangers who connect during a freak rainstorm in the Arabian desert. Buyers can be reassured by the credentials of the producers, which includes Oscar-winner Florian Zeller (The Father).<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES HanWay Films<\/p>\n
\t\u2018The Arrival\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Bijan Sheibani<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Kingsley Ben-Adir, Archie Madekwe, Joanna Scanlan, Alex Descas<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Actors Madekwe (Saltburn, Lurker) and Ben-Adir (Bob Marley: One Love) play brothers separated in childhood who reunite as adults in the debut feature from rising Brit talent Sheibani. Melodramas can be a tough genre to pre-sell but this one comes with a cast of top-notch character actors, including Scanlan (Notes on a Scandal) and Descas (35 Shots of Rum) as the brothers\u2019 estranged parents, which should put nervous buyers at ease.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES Cornerstone<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Babies\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Lauren Miller Rogen<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Rogen and Kendrick play a couple struggling with the decision of whether or not to bring a child into the world who become instant co-parents when their a newly-divorced friend, and her 3-year-old, move in with them. A high-concept dramedy with enough star power to attract theatrical buyers, foreign and domestic.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES AGC Studios\/CAA Media Finance<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Bad Bridgets\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Rich Peppiatt<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Daisy Edgar-Jones, Emilia Jones\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Coda\u00a0actress Emilia Jones and On Swift Horses star Daisy Edgar-Jones (no relation), play sisters in this period piece from Kneecap director Peppiatt about the Irish famine and the plight of women in the 19th century. A high-brow offering for upscale distributors.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES FilmNation, WME Independent<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Desert Warrior\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Rupert Wyatt<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Long in the making, this $150 million 7th Century Saudi war epic arrives at AFM with considerable baggage, but the blockbuster scope and bankable global stars \u2014 including Captain America\u2018s Mackie \u2014 should be enough to convince global buyers to saddle up.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES AGC International<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Everybody Wants to F*ck Me\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Jonathan Schey<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Taron Egerton, Jessica Henwick<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Buyers looking for a solid mid-budget theatrical release could swipe right on this tasty offering from StudioCanal: A London-set rom-com thriller about modern dating, which promises two hot leads and some subversive subtext.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES StudioCanal<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Heather of the Valley\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Sheri Elwood<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Michelle Buteau, Zooey Deschanel<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ This time travel comedy transports a burnt-out suburban mom and her upbeat high-school friend to 18th century Scotland, a world where they both have yearned to go to and find romance and adventure. When they are magically transported there, they find that time period to be less \u201cromance\u201d and more mud, violence and body odor.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES Upgrade, Elevation Pictures<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Hey Bear\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Jonathan Krisel<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Mia Goth, Zach Galifianakis, Dan Stevens<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Comedies are always a tough sell internationally, but the debut feature from Portlandia\u00a0creator Krisel has major cult potential. The revenge comedy has Goth playing a wife determined to hunt down the bear (Mr. Cranky) who ate her husband (Stevens). Galifianakis is the socially awkward park ranger who joins her in her quest for ursine vengeance.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES HanWay Films\/WME Independent\/UTA Independent Film Group<\/p>\n
\t\u2018I Is Another\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Felix Randau<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Claes Bang, Valerie Pachner<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ The Square and Bad Sisters star Bang plays the massage therapist of Nazi SS leader Heinrich Himmler. After the war, he claims to have been a hero, helping thousands of concentration camp prisoners escape. But a dogged journalist thinks she sees holes in his story. An unbelievable true tale with a period sheen to appeal to prestige buyers.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES Beta Cinema<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Ink\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Danny Boyle<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Guy Pearce, Jack O\u2019Connell, Claire Foy<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Boyle, fresh off his bounce from the success of 28 Years Later, takes on the Rupert Murdoch origin story, with Pearce as the Aussie media mogul. The appeal of a top drawer real-life drama with serious awards potential should make this biopic stand out.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES Studiocanal<\/p>\n
\t\u2018The Julia Set\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Niki Byrne<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Chase Infiniti, Christopher Briney, Nina Hoss, Chloe Bailey<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Billed as a female-led Good Will Hunting, this prestige play, targeting arthouse buyers, features One Battle After Another\u00a0breakout Infiniti playing a talented mathematician conscripted to face off in the world\u2019s top math competition.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES HanWay<\/p>\n
\t\u2018King Snake\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Jeff Nichols<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Margaret Qualley, Drew Starkey, Michael Shannon<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ After taking on period (The Bikeriders), melodrama (Loving) and sci-fi (Midnight Special), director Nichols is trying his hand at Southern Gothic horror with this twisted tale of a young couple (Qualley and Starkey) who inherit a farm in rural Arkansas and must conquer the demons, both physical and metaphysical, that haunt it. A high-end scary movie that screams theatrical release.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES FilmNation Entertainment\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Kockroach\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Matt Ross<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Channing Tatum, Taron Egerton, Zazie Beetz\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Kafka meets Scarface in this New York crime story, adapted from William Lashner\u2019s novel, about a mysterious stranger who transforms himself into a larger-than-life mob boss. A-list cast plus genre hook should add up to strong interest, particularly from global theatrical buyers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES Black Bear, CAA Media Finance, Range Select<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Love Language\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Joey Power<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Chlo\u00eb Grace Moretz, Manny Jacinto, Isabel May, Anthony Ramos\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Moretz plays an unlucky single lady with a talent for writing other people\u2019s wedding vows who gets asked to pen the I-do\u2019s for a women marrying her old college flame in this rom-com targeting theatrical buyers and global streamers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES Protagonist, CAA Media Finance\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Moral Capacity\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Brad Anderson<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Dacre Montgomery, Sofia Boutella, Tim Robbins, Diane Lane<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ The new feature from Transsiberian\u00a0and The Machinist\u00a0director Brad Anderson sounds like a welcome throwback to \u201990s erotic thrillers, a genre enjoying a comeback at the moment. Stranger Things\u00a0star Montgomery is a married man having an affair with a married woman (Boutella) who gets caught up in a game of blackmail and manipulation when her husband (Robbins) discovers their deception.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES Highland Film Group\/CAA Media Finance<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Reenactment\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Grant Singer<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Benicio del Toro, Cameron Diaz<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Plot details for this feature are being kept under wraps, but the re-teaming of Del Toro with Reptile\u00a0director Singer, hot off the actor\u2019s award-buzzy performance in One Battle After Another, should be enough to draw buyers in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES 193<\/p>\n
\t\u2018The Resurrection of the Christ (Part I & II)\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Mel Gibson<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Jaakko Ohtonen, Mariela Garriga, Riccardo Scamarcio, Rupert Everett<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Gibson\u2019s two-part follow-up to his 2004 biblical blockbuster The Passion of the Christ looks to be the biggest title at AFM this year, with the two features coming in at a combined budget of $200 million-plus. The script is still under wraps, but expect buyers to take a leap of faith that Gibson (working again with Braveheart\u00a0screenwriter Randall Wallace) can deliver indie salvation.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES Lionsgate<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Jane Schoenbrun<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Hannah Einbinder, Gillian Anderson<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ This meta-slasher reboot, about a horror-obsessed filmmaker and the \u201cfinal girl\u201d who inspired her, should draw in genre-savvy buyers looking for a more festival-friendly arthouse horror, which comes with some indie cache and a big dose of humor.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES The Match Factory<\/p>\n
\t\u2018That Time We Met\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Nick Liberman\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Pete Davidson, Ella Purnell\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Global buyers are often cold on U.S. comedies, but this new project from Theater Camp co-director Liberman, in addition to the A-list casting, comes with a sharp high-concept twist: Davidson and Purnell play a new couple who discover their future unborn child is destined to save humanity. The only problem is, they\u2019ve just had their first date and they hate each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES WME Independent\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Tombs\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Marie Clements<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Amber Midthunder, Cara Jade Myers, Alyssa Wapanat\u00e2hk<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ A multigenerational tale of heartbreak, trauma and hope that follows three Indigenous sisters and their mother, uprooted by a 1950s relocation scheme from Oklahoma to Los Angeles, who forge a home in L.A.\u2019s cemented riverways. An ensemble drama with top-tier indigenous talent and awards-friendly crossover appeal.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES Myriad<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Tumor\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Will Bridges<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Sam Rockwell, Maisy Stella<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Rockwell plays a low-end L.A. private eye battling the symptoms of a late-stage brain tumor trying to track down the daughter of a wealthy politico in this adaptation of Joshua Hale Fialkov\u2019s acclaimed graphic novel. An upscale film noir for discerning speciality buyers or streamers.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES AGC International\/ UTA Independent Film Group\/ WME Independent<\/p>\n
\t\u2018The Turning Door\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Nicholas Ashe Bateman<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS (voice cast): Alicia Vikander, Jamie Dornan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bill Nighy<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Feature animation remains a solid business, theatrically and in home entertainment, and this title, about a girl who finds a wooden box that transports her to a magical world called The Turning, is being closely watched by family-friendly distributors.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES Mister Smith Entertainment, 2AM<\/p>\n
\t\u2018Ultra\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Victoria Negri\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Shailene Woodley, Garrett Hedlund<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Woodley plays an ultramarathon runner forced to confront past trauma during a 135-mile race across Death Valley in this sporting feature with Wild\u00a0vibes that could appeal to indie buyers looking for a cross-over drama.<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES Mister Smith Entertainment, WME Independent\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\u2018The Young People\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDIRECTOR Osgood Perkins<\/p>\n
\n\tSTARS Lola Tung, Nico Parker, Brendan Hines, Cush Jumbo, Heather Graham, Johnny Knoxville, Lexi Minetree, Lily Collias, Tatiana Maslany\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tBUZZ Perkins\u2019 follow-up to\u00a0Longlegs\u00a0and\u00a0The Monkey\u00a0promises more high-end horror to feed his growing global fan base. The plot for\u00a0The Young People\u00a0is still under wraps, but the cast and the Perkins brand should be sufficient to sell out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tSALES Neon<\/p>\n
\n\tA version of this story appeared in the Nov. 5 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\tTHR Newsletters<\/p>\n Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day<\/p>\n