San Sebastian investors hear blunt warning on US indie film
U.S. independent production is "basically fucked up."
That was producer Christine Vachon's blunt assessment on the opening day of San Sebastian's Creative Investors' Conference, the finance meeting where American and European executives trade notes on how films get paid for and sold, according to Variety.
The conference, co-organised with CAA Media Finance, the agency division that structures film financing and sales, held its fifth annual edition on September 22 and 23 as part of the 2026 San Sebastian Film Festival, which runs Sept. 18-26, according to Variety.
The first-day panel was titled The New U.S. Landscape. Elissa Federoff, head of distribution at U.S. distributor Neon, was among the speakers, according to Variety. American executives on the stage underlined the importance of the global market, arguing that films made for the U.S. alone now struggle to add up, according to Variety.
One number framed the mood. Ampere Analysis reported that the TV sales market stands at 75% of peak TV levels, the boom period when rival streaming services ordered scripted series in large volumes, according to Variety.
New buyers are still entering. Sumerian Pictures, launched in June 2025 and backed by parent company Sumerian Records, picked up the film 'Josephine' at Sundance, the Utah festival that acts as the main U.S. market for independent films, according to Variety. Rob Williams is associated with the company.
Other names in the room pointed to the international chain. Adele Romanski is associated with producer Pastel Pictures, and Ron Halpern is associated with European studio and distributor StudioCanal, according to Variety.
Festival titles crossed over into the finance talk. 'La Bola Negra' won the TIFF People's Choice Award, the audience prize at the Toronto International Film Festival, according to Variety. Two horror projects, 'Obsession' and 'Backrooms', were also discussed at the conference, according to Variety. 'Obsession' is based on a YouTube short and 'Backrooms' began as a viral YouTube web series, according to Variety.
The wider agenda looked beyond the U.S. The 2026 conference was set to analyse how tech innovation is reshaping the content industries, according to Variety. Creative risks, artificial intelligence and Brazil's production boom were among the Day One topics, Deadline reported.
What makes this stand out for regular cinema-goers is the plumbing. If TV money is thinner and U.S. indie production is under strain, producers chase foreign sales, festival prizes and online audiences to close budgets. That is why a YouTube short, a Toronto audience winner and a Sundance pickup can share the same investor conversation in Spain.
