Filmmakers find their true callings in Miami.

A young provocatively-dressed Colombian lady hopped tables during the Florida Media Markets (FMM) first-day lunch break, pitching her project--something that sounded, at first, like the usual documentary one often hears about at media market conferences. Her pitch wasn't clear, so many dismissed it as gobbledygook. But those who paid attention and actually asked questions were able to find out that the subject of Pablo is Gone wasn't the Colombian drug king Pablo Escobar, as her pitch would insist, but the would-be filmmaker herself. The lady who was shopping her project around was Paola Lopez, daughter of a Colombian drug dealer, who'd been gunned down by Escobar's hit men. Now, she wants to produce a film about Escobar (who was himself gunned down by a U.S. Army Delta Force in 1993), although the real interest is in her own story--coming from a family in the drug business and having gone through dramatic and traumatic events.

A captivating tale like this that could only emerge at events like the FMM where professionals meet would-be filmmakers, scriptwriters and directors, and the former get new ideas while the latter receive good, sound advice. Upon hearing Lopez's tale, one of the panelists, Bill Block, CEO of QED, a film financing and foreign sales company, suggested that she invest in producing a professional spot, similar to a movie trailer, which is easy to shop around Hollywood. Previously, Block was the president of Artisan Entertainment, the company that launched The Blair Witch Project.

Block and VideoAge editor Dom Serafini hosted a seminar titled: "How International Production and Distribution Really Works." Block was also one of the keynote speakers, while Serafini and L.A. Screenings hotel coordinator Neal Lloyd presented the "Independents' Day" project, which is to be held May 15, 2008 in Los Angeles, the day prior to the studios' L.A. Screenings. At the "Independents' Day," Maritza Guimet, president of FMM, will organize a seminar titled: "Selling to Distributors: A Guide for Producers."

The second keynote speaker was Don Schmeicher, who was responsible for the digital work on." The Lard of the Rings. The Two Towers and The Lard of the Rings: The Return of the King. Schmeicher also participated as a panelist in a seminar called: "Filmmaking: The Business of a Thousand Moving Parts," and a pitching session.

With some 58 panelists, 25 seminars, two keynote speakers, five screening setups, two pitch sessions and a few exhibitors (including an animation company whose headquarters is in South Africa), in addition to the usual morning meetings (called networking breakfasts), lunch breaks and evening parties that sprinkled the three-day event at the Alexander Resort in Miami Beach, Florida, the second annual FMM has now established itself as a must-attend event.

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Even the selection of the venue helped the winning formula, with ample conference and meeting spaces and great accommodations--two-bedroom suites with kitchenettes--all located on the beach. The exception could be Shula's Steak House, a restaurant located on the premises which proved to be a terrible tourist trap.

The key sponsor was Venevision. Others were HBO Latin America and the Florida Film Institute. The city of Miami played a big part in the event, organizing the session moderated by Jeff Peel, Miami-Dade County's Film Commissioner. Representing other commissioners were Carmen Grullon from the Dominican Republic and Frances Lausell from Puerto Rico.

Among the participants were filmmakers from Italy and a few television programming buyers, including Vladimir Frantar from Television Slovenia, who found the FMM useful and interesting, and from Hungary, Peter Engert, president of Stone Bridge Films.

In the Italian contingent there was filmmaker Claudia La Bianca, who was selected from among 12,000 applicants as the finalist in the competition for TV show On the Lot, produced by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett.

If one had to point out a negative aspect of the event, it could only be the Miami Beach location, which, especially for those arriving from cold regions, presents too much of a temptation to skip out and run to the beach. Indeed, if in the month of August no one would dream of going to Miami for a visit, just two months later, when leaves up north start turning yellow and falling, this location becomes highly sought-after, even though it could cause an inner dilemma between ethics and recreation.