Independent Film & Television Alliance: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 23:14, 11 August 2009

Independent Film & Television Alliance

The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) is the trade association that represents companies that finance, produce and license independent films and television programming worldwide. The association is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, but it has a worldwide membership and scope of services and advocacy. IFTA represents the independent industry publicly on matters of critical importance such as the threat to a competitive marketplace posed by media consolidation; net neutrality; the elimination of trade barriers; the impact of new technology on our traditional business models; anti-piracy and improvement of copyright protection around the world; and, the need to foster broad-based growth of the industry.

What is an Independent?

An independent film or television program is financed primarily from sources outside the seven major U.S. studios. Independent entertainment programming is made at every budget range, from mainstream commercial to art house, and is seen by the public side-by-side with major studio release. IFTA’s member companies finance, license, and produce this independent programming.

History

Formerly known as the American Film Marketing Association, the non-profit IFTA was established in 1980 by a group of independents whose main goal was to expand the independent film business by creating a world-class trade show, the American Film Market ^[1]</ref> Headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization now represents more than 150 member companies from 22 countries, consisting of independent production and distribution companies, sales agents, television companies, studio-affiliated companies and financial institutions. Collectively, IFTA Members produce more than 500 independent films and countless hours of television programming each year and generate more than $4 billion in sales revenues annually.

Since 1980, IFTA Members have produced and distributed more than half of the films that have won the “Best Picture” Academy Award, including: Gandhi; Amadeus; Platoon; The Last Emperor; Driving Miss Daisy; Dances with Wolves; The Silence of the Lambs; Braveheart; The English Patient; Shakespeare in Love; Chicago; The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King; Million Dollar Baby; Crash; The Departed; and, No Country for Old Men. During 2009, IFTA Members have continued to produce, distribute and finance some of the world’s most prominent films, including: Slumdog Millionaire; Milk; The Reader; The Wrestler; Doubt; Vicky Cristina Barcelona; W; Twilight; Defiance; I’ve Loved you So Long; Burn After Reading; Coraline; Knowing; and, Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail.

In addition to the American Film Market, IFTA provides a wide range of services to its members and to the industry at large. The association promulgates standard form contracts and business definitions that are used worldwide. It also operates an arbitration tribunal (IFTA Arbitration) that by agreement between the parties is able to resolve distribution-related disputes. For its members, many of whom operate small, entrepreneurial companies, IFTA provides business services that cannot be effectively or economically provided in-house, including collection of secondary royalty streams.

Issues

The freedom for independents to create and distribute movies and television shows has been threatened by a handful of consolidated media companies that control programming and distribution. As the voice and advocate for the independent industry worldwide, IFTA continues to increase public awareness of the major issues facing independents, including media consolidation and net neutrality. IFTA executives meet regularly with Washington lawmakers advocating on behalf of reasonable and limited regulations to restore balance in the television and cable marketplace. IFTA also endorses the principles of “net neutrality” or open access to the Internet. Net neutrality is currently threatened if broadband providers are able to discriminate in favor of certain content or applications, potentially replicating the closed and vertically integrated structure with traditional programming and distribution platforms. In December 2008, IFTA called on the new Obama Administration to appoint an FCC chairman and commissioners who support principles of openness and diversity in the media with an open letter (http://www.ifta-online.org/Uploads/Issues/60.PDF) to his transition team, including Julius Genachowski, who was recently confirmed as the new FCC chairman. IFTA also lobbies against market barriers that impede the independents’ ability to compete fully in national markets around the world, including import and censorship restrictions and weak copyright protection.

^ (www.americanfilmmarket.com)

[1] (www.americanfilmmarket.com)

[1]

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 ==History==
-Formerly known as the American Film Marketing Association, the non-profit IFTA was established in 1980 by a group of independents whose main goal was to expand the independent film business by creating a world-class trade show, the American Film Market <ref>(www.americanfilmmarket.com)</ref>
+Formerly known as the American Film Marketing Association, the non-profit IFTA was established in 1980 by a group of independents whose main goal was to expand the independent film business by creating a world-class trade show, the American Film Market <ref>(www.americanfilmmarket.com)</ref></ref>
 Headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization now represents more than 150 member companies from 22 countries, consisting of independent production and distribution companies, sales agents, television companies, studio-affiliated companies and financial institutions. Collectively, IFTA Members produce more than 500 independent films and countless hours of television programming each year and generate more than $4 billion in sales revenues annually.