The independent portion of the L.A. Screenings 2025 concluded on Friday, May 16, following a two-day run at the newly “adopted” 12-story Roosevelt Hotel, which, for the first time in the L.A. Screenings’ 62-year history, replaced the Century Plaza Hotel.
The studios’ portion began promptly on Saturday (a full studios report will be published on Thursday, May 22). The indies closed this year’s event on Friday with an evening panel with LatAm buyers, and, on Saturday, with an evening party and a screening from Argentina’s Telefilms — whose executives flew straight from the Cannes Film Fest to Hollywood to welcome their guests at the Roosevelt’s Blossom Ballroom.
According to organizers, the L.A. Screenings Independents had 275 buyers registered, 58 content companies exhibiting at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, and a total of 500 participants.
Traditionally, only an estimated 50 percent of content buyers attending the L.A. Screenings Indies tend to register with market organizers, therefore one could assume that over 400 acquisition executives, mostly from Latin America, ultimately roamed among the 43 companies scattered on nine floors of the hotel’s suites, as well as the 15 seated at the Academy ballroom’s meeting tables. Also unprecedented was the presence of 58 journalists.
Among the distributors were several Korean companies grouped under the KOCCA banner, plus studios such as Disney, NBCUniversal, Lionsgate, Fox, and MGM Amazon also exhibited at the Roosevelt during the indies portion.
As early as 9 a.m. on Thursday, distributors had back-to-back meetings with buyers — mostly from Latin America. The main challenge was keeping the time of the scheduled meetings since one of the two hotel elevators was out of service, causing delays. The problem was later alleviated by opening up the emergency exit doors to the hotel stairs.
Rich Oken, the Roosevelt’s general manager, was pleased with the L.A. Screenings crowd and promised that the elevator problem would be solved next year, that more restaurants on premises will be open, and that he’ll try to even get the lights in the open spaces to be brighter after attendees complained that the hotel was poorly lit.
Public parking was conveniently located across from the Roosevelt’s entrance (at considerable savings for non-hotel guests).
All in all, most exhibitors were pleasantly surprised to see their meeting schedules fill up in the last few weeks prior to the event, especially since LatAm buyers have reportedly reduced their content purchases since the beginning of the year, a decline that has been particularly felt by Turkish distributors.
Pictured above: L.A. Screenings organizers Isabella Marquez and Lissette San Martin; the reception area of the iconic Roosevelt Hotel, built in 1926; the meeting tables on the mezzanine; the exhibitors’ panel in the reception area; the exhibitors’ suites panel on one of the hotel’s 12 floors; the Telefilms screenings and party.
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