Category: Film Markets

Four sessions I just led teaching new filmmakers how to navigate and pitch at the upcoming American Film Market reminded storytelling as a business. This post was originally published on Substack: https://alexiamelocchi.substack.com/p/your-pitch-deck-wont-save-you-7-questions ALEXIA MELOCCHI OCT 07, 2026 I recently wrapped up a four-part AFM Pitch Lab, and something kept coming up during our conversations and […]

This post was originally published on Substack: https://alexiamelocchi.substack.com/p/cannes-and-the-illusion-of-arrival There was a time when the Cannes Film Festival felt untouchable. It was by far not perfect, but felt exclusive. The people who came there largely belonged there. Distributors. Financiers. Serious producers. International sales agents. Studio executives. Filmmakers with films actually screening. People who understood not only […]

Every year, creatives arrive at the Cannes Film Festival with a belief that this will be their breakthrough. They misunderstand what Cannes actually is.

The European Film Market remained active, yes — but it felt cautious, selective, and less driven by U.S. commercial machinery.

The industry has turned into a flea market, not a world of trailblazers and game changers.There is no longer a WHY driving international distribution.