The 2012 American Film Market (AFM) officially kicked-off on Wednesday with more than 120 new buying companies and a 10 percent increase in buyers, according to AFM Managing Director Jonathan Wolf.

A significant number of high profile projects with top talent attached will also be unveiled for pre-sales at the market. The 2012 Market will screen 442 motion pictures, including 82 world premieres and 327 market premieres for thousands of film buyers and industry professionals from more than 70 countries over the eight-day event.

The Market also opens with national organizations exhibiting from Australia, Dominican Republic, Panama, Russia and Thailand making their AFM debut.

The AFM Industry Conversations program will take place at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel in the AFM Studio. The sessions present intimate, interactive and exclusive conversations spotlighting many of the film industry's prominent players, giving AFM attendees an opportunity to hear directly from key Hollywood and global players.

The AFM Conference Series include various topics including a Finance Conference, Pitch Conference, Marketing Conference, Video-on-Demand Conference and Micro-Budget Conference.