AFMX News:
ALBUQUERQUE — Albuquerque Film & Music Experience (AFMX), dedicated to workforce development for New Mexico creatives, is offering two opportunities for filmmakers to pitch their work during the organization’s 10th anniversary events Sept. 13-18.
Executive Story Editor Christopher Lockhart of Facebook’s The Inside Pitch hosts The Inside Pitch live. Lockhart, along with Joshua Michael Stern (Jobs, Swing Vote, Why Women Kill), Stewart Lyons (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Cleaning Lady), Karen Criswell (Executive Producer, BLKBX and former vice president of operations for DreamWorks Studios) and Matthew McDuffie (HBO, Showtime, CBS, Fox and Warner Bros.) will hear pitches and offer constructive feedback.
Both panels are for educational purposes and will provide valuable information to all participants.
Inside The Inside Pitch occurs 12:30-2:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17, at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Bank of America Theatre. Lockhart will take participants and the audience through crafting the logline, pitching your project – including do’s and don’ts, structuring your project, and attracting producers to your script. Those wishing to submit loglines to consider discussing during this conversation must complete the form by 11:59 p.m. MDT, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. A limited number of loglines are selected for discussion.
Perfecting Your Pitch occurs 3:30-5:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17, at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Bank of America Theatre. The event is an opportunity for filmmakers and writers to practice pitching to Hollywood executives and producers. There are limited spots available. Those interested in being considered to pitch must complete the short form and upload a video pitch by 11:59 p.m. MDT, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. All submitters will be notified in early September.
“AFMX is committed to providing opportunities to local filmmakers, musicians, and other creatives. As we grow, we will build more opportunities to elevate creatives in our area. We are also strongly focused on supporting students seeking careers in creative industries, and ensuring New Mexicans are competitive for above-the-line positions in film and music,” AFMX Executive Director Ivan Wiener said.
New Mexico filmmakers are encouraged to participate in these two opportunities and become part of the AFMX experience.
For a full lineup of September movies, music, panels, events and special guests, and to purchase tickets and passes, visit https://www.afmxnm.com/afmx-10th-anniversary-2022.
Sponsors power our work; we can’t do it without critical community support. Special thanks to our sponsors, Reel Solutions, Sunny505, iHeart Radio, Bernalillo County Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada, Comcast NBC Universal, UNM Film & Digital Arts, One Albuquerque Film Office, Jouska Road Productions, M’Tucci’s Bar Roma, Yamaha Entertainment Group, Wells Fargo Advisors, Venturi Realty Group, Enchanted Rain Films, and many more.
About Christopher Lockhart
Christopher Lockhart is an executive, filmmaker and educator with 30-plus years of industry experience. He’s read over 60,000 screenplays in his career. As Executive, Story Editor, Producer at, the world’s largest diversified talent agency, he curates film and TV projects for A-list actors such as Denzel Washington. In his spare time, he started The Inside Pitch, which happens to live on Facebook, where he moderates nearly 14,000 creatives and offers daily advice and feedback on the Hollywood script maze. Before starting the online group, his writing workshop, also called The Inside Pitch, was filmed for Los Angeles television and earned him an Emmy Award nomination.
About Other Pitch Panelists
Stewart Lyons
Co-Executive Producer, Line Producer, Director, Writer and Production Executive Stewart Lyons works on projects with Netflix, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Brothers, Amazon, Starz, Apple, HBO, FX, AMC and three broadcast networks. Stewart is a production consultant who has done detailed production analysis, schedules, and/or budgets for over 300 television pilots for television broadcast, cable and streaming services. Stewart has credits on more than 600 episodes of television, including 33 series and 29 pilots (21 ordered to series). One hundred of these episodes were shot in New Mexico. His most recent projects include The Cleaning Lady, Roswell NM, Snowfall and Better Call Saul. Stewart worked on the pilot and every episode of Breaking Bad, for which he received two Emmys and additional awards from the Directors Guild of America and Producers Guild of America, plus two Peabody Awards and a Golden Globe. He teaches line producing at the graduate level at DePaul University.
Josh Stern
Showrunner, Writer, Producer and Director Joshua Michael Stern often self-generates financing for his projects and offers a unique perspective on how to develop and deliver successful pitches. His feature films include Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher, Josh Gad and J.K. Simmons; Neverwas, starring Aaron Eckhart, Sir Ian McKellan, Jessica Lange and others; and Disney’s Swing Vote, starring Kevin Costner. His series include Lionsgate’s Graves, which he created and wrote, and Paramount+ ongoing series Why Women Kill, for which he is Executive Producer. Stern is in development for a feature-film version of King Lear he adapted with Anthony Hopkins to play the lead, as well as multiple original series with studios and platforms, including a show with Uma Thurman.
Karen Criswell
Executive Producer Karen Criswell served as VP of Operations for DreamWorks Studios. Criswell ran strategy and operations for the teams behind a slate of interactive games, music development deals, narrative films and television productions that
occurred during her 18-year tenure. Her time at the studio included three “Best Picture” Oscars for American Beauty,
Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind. Criswell left in 2014 to focus on independent production consulting and creative work in documentary, film and emerging new media. Her collaboration with Frank Donner at BLKBX Creative Group spans decades, and she is currently focused on the growth of BLKBX Originals.
Matthew McDuffie
Screenwriter Matthew McDuffie has been a professional screenwriter for 30 years writes written for HBO, Showtime, CBS, Fox and Warner Bros. (where he currently has a deal to develop a television series) and has worked with the producers of Six Feet
Under, Rome, ER, Ocean’s Eleven, Shameless and Saving Private Ryan. He is the writer and director of the film Burning Bodhi, starring Kaley Cuoco and Virginia Madsen, and wrote the screenplay for The Face of Love, starring Annette Bening and Ed Harris, with the film’s director, Arie Posin. McDuffie was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for his teleplay of Anne Rule’s account of Ted Bundy, The Stranger Beside Me. He also created the story for Lifetime’s Odd Girl Out, adapted Meg Wolitzer’s Surrender, Dorothy for Diane Keaton and turned the novel A Cool, Dry Place into a film starring Vince Vaughn. McDuffie teaches introductory, advanced and graduate levels of screenwriting at The University of New Mexico as a Professor of Practice.
About AFME | AFMX
The AFME Foundation, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, supports the nurturing, success, and growth of a vibrant creative community, specifically through film, music, and the arts, and seeks to help further a world-class economic center of excellence for these industries in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It produces the Albuquerque Film & Music Experience (AFMX), an annual film and music festival that attracts prominent attendees, filmmakers, musicians and visionaries from around the globe to celebrate the art of storytelling and collaborate into the future. The Foundation also supports the Albuquerque film, music and art scenes through the creation, facilitation, and support of complimentary, mission-based projects and programs. Our purpose is to provide opportunities for future generations while increasing exposure and economic impact for the City of Albuquerque, the State of New Mexico, and our partners.