Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA)

Overview

The Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA) is the trade association representing independent film and television production and distribution companies from more than 25 countries. Founded in 1980, IFTA's primary industry function is operating the American Film Market (AFM), held annually in November in Los Angeles -- one of the world's two most significant international film markets alongside the Marché du Film at Cannes. IFTA also advocates for the independent production and distribution sector in US and international policy forums, arbitrates disputes between members, and provides standard contracts and industry resources that facilitate international film deals.

IFTA membership spans the full range of independent film businesses: production companies, international sales agents, territorial distributors, foreign-language broadcasters, and ancillary rights licensees. The organization's international character -- with members from North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America -- reflects the global nature of independent film commerce, where a US production company might finance a film through pre-sales to German television, French theatrical distribution, UK home entertainment, and Asian VOD platforms simultaneously.

American Film Market (AFM)

The AFM is held over approximately eight days each November and is the world's largest privately organized film market. Unlike Cannes or Berlin, the AFM is a purely commercial market without a parallel film festival or competition -- it exists solely to facilitate the buying and selling of film rights across international territories. More than 7,000 industry professionals from over 70 countries attend, conducting tens of thousands of meetings and closing hundreds of distribution deals over the course of the market.

For independent filmmakers with completed films, the AFM provides direct access to international sales agents and territorial distributors who are actively acquiring content during the market. Understanding how the AFM works -- the screening room culture, the hotel suite meeting format, the pre-market deal announcement rhythm -- helps filmmakers approach the market strategically rather than randomly.

For independent producers developing new projects, the AFM is where pre-sales are negotiated and co-production arrangements are structured. International distributors who attend the AFM commit to licensing rights to films that are still in development or production, providing the advance payments that help finance production.

IFTA Standard Contracts

IFTA has developed a suite of standard international co-production and distribution agreement templates that are widely used across the industry. The IFTA International Multi-Party Co-Production Agreement and the IFTA International Distribution License Agreement provide legally vetted frameworks for the two most common transaction types in independent international film. These standard contracts reduce legal costs and negotiation friction for transactions between members and provide a common language for international film deals.

For independent filmmakers entering their first international distribution deals, familiarity with IFTA standard contracts provides useful context for understanding what distributors expect and where negotiation typically occurs.

IFTA Arbitration

IFTA operates an arbitration system for resolving disputes between members. The arbitration process provides a faster and lower-cost alternative to litigation for the disputes that arise in international film deals -- late payments, accounting disagreements, territorial rights conflicts. Many IFTA standard contracts include an arbitration clause routing disputes to the IFTA system rather than to national courts.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For independent filmmakers with completed films or projects in development, the AFM is the most accessible entry point into international film commerce. Attending the AFM -- either as a buyer, seller, or observer -- provides direct market education that no amount of reading can replicate.

Understanding IFTA's advocacy work -- particularly on issues like digital piracy, streaming platform obligations, and international co-production treaties -- provides context for the policy environment that shapes independent film distribution economics.

See Also

For how international sales agents operate at markets like the AFM, see the Pathé International and Fortissimo Films entries in this directory. For how AFM deals translate into distribution agreements, see Distribution Deals Explained.