Written by Kianna Best on Mar 21, 2024. Posted in General Interest

AFM's new Las Vegas home gears up for new industry attention

An entertainment oasis in the heart of the Mojave desert, Las Vegas is making strides in the US filming landscape. Contributing to a slate of projects including Prime Video series Fallout, Mark Wahlberg starrer The Family Plan, and recently announced as the new destination for the American Film Market, The Silver State’s bustling city is ready to make its mark.

Image courtesy of Grant Cai by Unsplash

In close proximity to Los Angeles, Las Vegas has been a sought after destination for filming. From Jean Smart taking to the strip for the filming of Max Series Hacks  to the Sin City immersed classics such as Ocean’s Eleven and The Hangover, Las Vegas has been situated as the entertainment capital of Nevada, and an increasingly prevalent location for both the creative and business side of the industry.

With the announcement of the AFM’s move from its longstanding Californian home, all eyes were on Las Vegas. Confirmed by the Independent Film and Television Alliance, the film market’s move to the Las Vegas Palm Casino Resort for its 45^th edition will welcome already committed exhibitors Arclight Films, Blue Fox Entertainment, Cornerstone, Film Mode Entertainment, FilmNation Entertainment, HanWay Films, Lakeshore Entertainment, Millennium Media, Myriad Pictures, NEON, Protagonist Pictures, The Exchange, WME Independent & XYZ Film

Kim Spurgeon, Nevada Film Office director states: “I think that shows not only that Las Vegas can handle, you know, conventions similar to this where it gives people the appropriate space to make these deals and meet and conduct the business that usually happens at AFM. But it also shows what Las Vegas means to the industry as a whole.”

“I see this as a piece of the whole. We're looking to build our industry in terms of local Nevada politics and expanding our tax incentive. There has been a lot of interest recently in growing the industry in Las Vegas specifically, and I think this is an important piece of that business aspect of the industry. The business happens here. The films can happen here. Everything in the industry can happen here"