A period drama with Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, a WW2 Bruckheimer-produced spy thriller starring Henry Cavill, Damian Lewis playing (twin!) vampires — the indie film biz may be struggling, but there will still be plenty of opportunities for dealmaking at the Loews.

The box office is lousy, inflation is up and with a recession looming, economic prospects look poor. But judging by the breadth and depth of offerings at this year’s American Film Market, the indie movie business is still in rude health. Strong sales in Cannes and decent business in Toronto are giving producers and sales companies hope that AFM 2022 could be the post-pandemic restart that the industry desperately needs.

Global buyers descending on Santa Monica this week certainly won’t be lacking for choice, with a selection of projects big and small, mainstream and niche, to entice them to pull out their checkbooks.

Neponset Circle 

STARS Guy Pearce, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
BUZZ Directed by Pauline Chan, this Boston-set thriller, about a cop teaming up with his disgraced partner to track a serial killer, has ancillary revenues written all over it, particularly given the fan appeal of Pearce and Morgan in their first-ever collaboration.
SALES The Exchange