About IFTA
The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA®) is the global trade association of the independent motion picture and television industry and the voice and advocate for the Independents worldwide.
Representing more than 150 companies in 23 countries, IFTA’s Members are the world’s foremost independent production and distribution companies, sales agents and institutions engaged in film finance.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, IFTA is dedicated to protecting and strengthening its Members’ ability to finance, produce, market and distribute independent films and television programs in an ever-changing and challenging global marketplace.
For more than 30 years, IFTA Members have produced, distributed and financed many of the world's most prominent films, 20 of which have won the Academy Award® for “Best Picture” since 1980, most recently The Artist (Wild Bunch and The Weinstein Company) The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), The Hurt Locker (Voltage Pictures and Summit Entertainment) and Slumdog Millionaire (Pathé).
In fact, our Members’ films and television programs are regularly recognized with every major entertainment award from around the globe. Collectively, IFTA’s Members produce more than 400 independent films and countless hours of television programming each year and generate more than $4 billion in sales revenues annually.
IFTA is also widely recognized for producing the world's largest annual motion picture trade event, the American Film Market (AFM®), where more than $800 million in deals are sealed each year. Every November, 8,000+ industry leaders, decision-makers and trendsetters from more than 70 countries gather at the AFM in Santa Monica for eight days of deal-making, premieres, screenings, conferences, networking and parties.
The Alliance also brings great value to its Members through tools, knowledge and support vital to their business, including online access to a wealth of global information and ongoing research to allow them to compete most effectively. IFTA Members benefit significantly from licensing and copyright protection information, proprietary publications, research and analysis, access to industry authorities and innovators, AFM discounts, IFTA Umbrella Stands at international markets.
IFTA’s Model International Licensing Agreements™ have set the industry’s standards and are used thousands of times annually throughout the world. IFTA Arbitration™ resolves trade disputes without costly international court proceedings, and IFTA has administered the resolution of disputes in more than 2,000 cases involving more than $600 million in claims. IFTA Collections™ orchestrates the collection of non-contractual copyright royalties throughout the world, and IFTA has paid more than $90 million to its participants for the lowest fees available.
As the voice and advocate for the independent film and television industry worldwide, IFTA actively speaks out and lobbies U.S. and international government officials on critical matters directly affecting the Independents and their business. Media consolidation, net neutrality, the elimination of trade barriers, new technology, anti-piracy and copyright protection, and the need to foster broad-based global growth of the industry are just some of the crucial issues on which IFTA is aggressively working to solidify solutions for the Independents.