By Judi Jordan

The American Film Market® staged a bold and forward-looking comeback this year, roaring back into Los Angeles with 6,132 attendees representing 83 countries and filling every corner of the Fairmont Century Plaza with energy, opportunity, and the unmistakable sense that global independent cinema is entering a new era. With 285 companies from 35 nations, the sold-out exhibition floor reaffirmed AFM’s reputation as the must-attend global marketplace — and Latin America, Spain, and U.S. Latino creators were unmistakably in the mix.

One of the biggest additions to AFM 2025 was the new Innovation Hub, produced in collaboration with Marché du Film / Cannes Next. The Hub brought together nine cutting-edge companies, anchoring AFM’s first-ever AI-driven programming series. These sessions tackled everything from ethical AI deployment to creative automation and distribution disruption — with panelists urging independent filmmakers, especially those from underrepresented communities, to stay ahead of the technology that’s reshaping global storytelling. For Latino creatives, this wasn’t a warning — it was a roadmap.

Another high-impact moment came with the spotlight on Navarra, Spain, presented by Arturo Cisneros and Beatriz Acinas. In one of the Market’s liveliest and most strategically important sessions, the duo introduced Navarra as Europe’s next breakout production hub, bolstered by muy generoso incentives, collaborative government support, and a streamlined co-production structure ideal for cross-border Spanish-language storytelling. With Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and the U.S. Latino sector increasingly expanding into prestige TV, genre, and epic drama, Navarra’s pitch resonated as more than financial — it felt like a cultural bridge. The addition of the new Creators’ Lounge provided the perfect atmosphere for these conversations to turn into collaborations on the spot.

Latino presence wasn’t limited to the exhibitor floor — it made powerful waves onstage as well. Latino leadership also dominated the conversation onstage. The “Crafting the Narrative…” panel featured words of wisdom-getting greenlit from Lourdes Diaz (AGC Studios, former President of Entertainment at Univision). The session “Latinos Navigating Hollywood” assembled a powerhouse panel including Director Jay Torres, TV Writer/Author Rafael Agustín, Director Patricia Riggen (Miracles From Heaven), Producer Yolanda Macias (Terrifier 3), Robert Muñoz, Their discussion was frank, incisive, and deeply reflective of the moment: despite Latinos’ massive audience share and growing critical acclaim, greenlighting power and financing still lag far behind. But every panelist emphasized momentum — not deficit.

They spoke of rising transnational collaborations, an explosion of Latino genre and prestige storytelling, and the increasing refusal of Latino creators to wait for permission. The message was clear: the talent is here, the global Spanish-language audience is here, and Hollywood’s inaction is now costing it financially and creatively.

Buyers from Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Colombia, Chile, and the U.S. Latino sector fueled the marketplace, underscoring how Spanish-speaking regions are shaping global content demand across streaming, theatrical, and hybrid distribution. By the close of the Market, one truth resonated louder than any keynote: Latino creators are no longer an underserved sidebar — they are central to the future of the global indie landscape. AFM’s return to Los Angeles simply made it impossible to ignore.

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WASHINGTON — Two hours after President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s inauguration, a couple hugged and kissed beneath sunlit campaign flags blowing in the January wind a few blocks from the White House. A militarized security buildup kept them a two-mile walk from the U.S. Capitol, where Lady Gaga sang and Biden swore his oath.

Anastasia Vakula zoomed on a motorized skateboard. Her partner David Tafuri rode a scooter. He hoisted her in the air. She threw her arms up in celebration.

“We are as close as we can get and as happy as we can be,” Vakula told Zenger News. “There are too many reasons to be dancing.” The pair stood on the giant letter “R” at the end of the words BLACK LIVES MATTER, painted in yellow on the D.C. pavement.

A National Guard deployment and bridge, road, and public transit closures left most of downtown Washington’s streets empty. The public stayed out of the January chill, watching on TV or streaming on the Internet.

One woman sat on the ground in Black Lives Matter Plaza, painting a message of love to “Joe and Kamala,” a reference to Biden and Vice President Kamala D. Harris.

It was a mild exhibit among signs that read “Stop Pretending Your Racism is Patriotism” and “SEDITION: When You’re White They Let You Do it.”

This same plaza was the site of protests 11 weeks earlier on Nov. 3, 2020 as polls closed and results poured in across the nation. Detractors of then-President Donald J. Trump erupted in anger over the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police.

In the tense atmosphere that Election Night, two Americas continued the daylong, coast-to-coast clash. On Inauguration Day, two lovers embraced.

(Edited by Claire Swift, Kristen Butler and David Martosko)

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President Donald Trump, stricken with Covid-19, walked the 56 steps from the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room to Marine One on Friday, flying to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington for what was expected to be a stay of a few days.
Offering a furtive thumbs-up to cameras before he ambled across the South Lawn, Trump offered no defiant fist-pump and no spirited wave—only a salute to his Marine aviators. Trump’s mouth, which usually telegraphs confidence to a global TV audience, stayed mum behind a plain black cloth mask.
“President Trump remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days. President Trump appreciates the outpouring of support for both he and the First Lady.”

Trump had received a promising experimental Covid-19 treatment, according to a memo from his doctor, Sean P. Conley. Conley described it as an “antibody cocktail” developed by the biotech company Regeneron. Initial results suggest the treatment can lower the body’s viral load when doctors administer it enough in the course of an infection.
Conley added that Trump is also taking vitamin D, zinc, melatonin, a daily aspirin and famotidine, an antacid better known as Pepcid.
The president recorded a brief off-the-cuff video message moments before departing the White House. His social media guru Dan Scavino tweeted it for him, giving Trump’s 86 million followers a glimpse of his send-off.
“I think I’m doing very well, but we’re going to make sure that things work out,” Trump said.

 

Television news anchors scrambled for details Friday afternoon, trading on rumors that the president had a fever, congestion, a cough—and, finally, breathing difficulties. A hoarse-sounding president had spoken via video on Thursday night to an annual charity dinner in New York City.
The hospital journey capped a dramatic day of events that began shortly after midnight eastern time, when the president announced in a tweet that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the virus.
“We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” he said.
News broke Thursday night that Hope Hicks, a longtime Trump aide, had tested positive for Covid-19 hours earlier. As close to Trump as anyone in the West Wing, Hicks had traveled with the president to a campaign rally in Minnesota on Wednesday, the day after the president and former Vice President Joe Biden debated publicly.

Trump’s entourage of family members and senior aides watched the debate in person  and unmasked.
The stunning news that Trump has contracted the often-deadly virus comes as the presidential campaign enters its final month. Friday’s rally in Florida, a Saturday event in Wisconsin and a Monday rally in Arizona were all called off. Such energetic love-fests are like oxygen to Trump; his true believers are left to wonder when—if—the president would return to campaigning.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who stood just feet from Trump at their debate in Cleveland on Tuesday, said he and his wife Jill were sending “prayers for the health and safety” of the president and First Lady.
Biden also used the moment to criticize Trump’s handling of the pandemic, which has killed more than 207,000 Americans.

 

President Trump departs the White House, boards Marine One en route to Walter Reed Medical Center. pic.twitter.com/5PSeAsxggv

— CSPAN (@cspan) October 2, 2020

“We have to take this virus seriously. It’s not going away automatically,” the former vice president said in a Michigan speech. “We have to do our part to be responsible. It means following the science, listening to the experts, washing our hands, social distancing. It means wearing a mask in public. It means encouraging others to do so as well.”
It was a not-so-subtle swipe at Trump, who has studiously avoided wearing masks in the West Wing and in public, and who now finds his re-election prospects questioned as the death toll and economic damage both mount.
Biden also said he underwent two separate Covid-19 tests Friday, receiving a clean bill of health each time from Dr. Kevin O’Connor, his former White House physician.
The Biden campaign said it had paused delivery of all negative campaign ads after the president announced his diagnosis.
The Trump campaign gave no such order: Ten minutes before the president left the White House, his re-election campaign emailed a fundraising solicitation that mocked Biden, his running mate Senator Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama.

 

 

“Lyin’ Obama and Phony Kamala Harris are calling up their Liberal MEGA DONORS to come and rescue Joe Biden’s failing campaign,” the email said.
“We all know that Sleepy Joe isn’t fit to be YOUR President. We know it. You know it. And even Obama knows it – that’s why he’s holding a fundraiser with Kamala instead of Joe, who is probably already asleep in his basement,” it said.
By virtue of his age, the 74-year-old Trump falls into the high-risk category for Covid-19 patients. People in the 65-74 age range are five times more likely to require hospitalization and 90 times more likely to die from a coronavirus infection compared to young adults age 18-29, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Adding to the president’s health risk is a pre-existing condition: His height and weight make him obese, according to the CDC’s standard criteria. Results from his April 2020 physical said that Trump, who is 6’3? and weighs 244 pounds, has a body mass index of 30.5. Obesity triples the risk of hospitalization from Covid-19, the CDC says.
Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for Covid-19 on Friday. Pence would take over for Trump if the president were incapacitated or otherwise unable to perform his duties. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—second in the constitutionally prescribed order of succession—also said she tested negative.

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