American Film Market 2026 Debuts New AFM House To Host Innovation Hub

The American Film Market will have an expanded footprint for its upcoming edition with a new space, AFM House, dedicated to programming for its second annual Innovation Hub.

AFM House will be located at The Pavilion at Century Park, 2000 Avenue of the Stars, across from the Fairmont Century Plaza where the market will unspool Nov. 10-15. It adds 15,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space to the campus, said the event’s producer Independent Film & Television Alliance.

The Innovation Hub, launched in 2025 in collaboration with Cannes Next, the Marché du Film‘s Innovation Program, will feature AI startups, tech companies and forward-looking programming, IFTA said.

AFM House will also host the Cinemas Club, co-created by Marché du Film and Cine Group, with an exhibition and speaker series focused on the future of theatrical cinema. The Club was introduced at this year’s Marché du Film in Cannes bringing together theater owners, distributors, producers and industry experts for curated discussions on the future of exhibition, audience engagement and the evolving cinema experience.

“Filmmaking has always been rooted in collaboration and innovation, and that spirit is more important today than ever. As our business continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, The AFM House provides a place where the global entertainment community can come together to exchange ideas, forge partnerships, explore emerging business models and discover opportunities,” said IFTA’s new president and CEO Jackie Brenneman. “Our collaboration with Cannes Next and the Cinemas Club expand that vision by creating a dedicated home for innovation, technology, and the future of theatrical exhibition.”

AFM’s 2026 theme is The New Global Screen Economy.

Guillaume Esmiol, executive director of the Marché du Film called AFM House “an ambitious new platform’ and said he’s delighted to see the Cannes market’s growing portfolio of programs designed to address major shifts in the industry extend beyond the Croisette.

“Theatrical exhibition has rarely needed more of what this market stands for: a broader and more diverse slate of films reaching screens, and the same appetite for innovation in the experience we offer audiences and in the way we connect with them,” said Cine Group President Julien Marcel.