Jeanine Basinger
Jury Co-ChairWesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Richard Frank
Jury Co-ChairProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Debbie Allen
Actor/Director/Producer/Choreographer/ Dancer/Singer/Songwriter
Shawn Edwards
African American Film Critics Association
Cynthia Erivo
Actress/Singer/Songwriter
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Mark Harris
Historian
Molly Haskell
Historian
Ann Hornaday
The Washington Post
Rian Johnson
Director/Producer/Writer
Lisa Kennedy
Critic/Journalist
Debra Lee
AFI Board of Trustees
David Mandel
Producer/Writer
Marlee Matlin
Actress/Producer
Akira Mizuta Lippit
University of Southern California
Leonard Maltin
Historian
Mary McNamara
The Los Angeles Times
Claudia Puig
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Maureen Ryan
Critic/Journalist
Amy Sherman-Palladino
Director/Producer/Writer
Wes Studi
Actor/Producer
Robert Thompson
Syracuse University
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Lulu Wang
Director/Producer/Writer
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducer AFI Board of Trustees
John Amos
Actor
Aymar Jean Christian
Northwestern University
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Lesli Linka Glatter
Director/Producer
L.S. Kim
University of California, Santa Cruz
Debra Lee
AFI Board of Trustees
Mary McNamara
The Los Angeles Times
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Maureen Ryan
Critic/Journalist
Ellen Seiter
University of Southern California
Betty Thomas
Actor/Director/Producer
Robert Thompson
Syracuse University
Tom Pollock
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducer AFI Board of Trustees
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Renee Graham
The Boston Globe
Mark Harris
Historian
Ann Hornaday
The Washington Post
Annette Insdorf
Historian
Callie Khouri
Director/Screenwriter/Producer
Delroy Lindo
Actor/Producer
Akira Mizuta Lippit
University of Southern California
Leonard Maltin
Historian
Amy Nicholson
NPR
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Courtney B. Vance
Actor/Producer
Robert Thompson
Syracuse University
Sonia Saraiya
Vanity Fair
Maureen Ryan
Critic/Journalist
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Mary McNamara
The Los Angeles Times
Debra Lee
AFI Board of Trustees
L.S. Kim
University of California, Santa Cruz
Ernest Dickerson
Director/Cinematographer
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
David Benioff
Director/Screenwriter/Producer
Paris Barclay
Director/Producer
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Alfre Woodard
Actor/Producer
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Claudia Puig
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Amy Nicholson
NPR
Leonard Maltin
Historian
Akira Mizuta Lippit
University of Southern California
Lisa Kennedy
The Denver Post
Ann Hornaday
The Washington Post
Mark Harris
Historian
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Joan Chen
Actor/Director/Screenwriter/Producer
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Tom Pollock
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion Pictures ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Robert Thompson
Syracuse University
Janet Staiger
University of Texas, Austin
Maureen Ryan
Variety
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Mary McNamara
The Los Angeles Times
Debra Lee
BET Networks AFI Board of Trustees
L.S. Kim
University of California, Santa Cruz
Jennifer Getzinger
Director
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Gabrielle Carteris
SAG-AFTRAAFI Board of Trustees
David Bianculli
NPR
Paris Barclay
Director/Producer
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Amy Nicholson
NPR
Leonard Maltin
Historian
Lisa Kennedy
The Denver Post
Ann Hornaday
The Washington Post
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Jamie Lee Curtis
Actor/Director/Producer
Jay Cassidy
Editor
Halle Berry
Actor/ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Judd Apatow*
Director/Screenwriter/Producer
Tom Pollock
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducer AFI Board of Trustees
Diane English
Director/Screenwriter/Producer
Robert Thompson
Syracuse University
Maureen Ryan
Variety
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Mary McNamara
The Los Angeles Times
Lori McCreary
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Debra Lee
BET NetworksAFI Board of Trustees
Michelle King
Screenwriter/Producer
L.S. Kim
University of California, Santa Cruz
Darnell Hunt
University of California, Los Angeles
Jon Hamm
Actor/Director/Producer
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Patricia Riggen
Director
Amy Nicholson
MTV News
Rachel Morrison
Cinematographer
Leonard Maltin
Historian
Akira Mizuta Lippit
University of Southern California
Lisa Kennedy
The Denver Post
Mark Harris
Historian
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Robert Benton
Director/Screenwriter
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Elizabeth Banks
Actor/Director/Producer
Tom Pollock
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Michael Wright
DreamWorks StudiosAFI Board of Trustees
Matt Williams
Screenwriter/Producer
Robert Thompson
Syracuse University
Renee Tajima-Peña
Director/ProducerUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Ellen Seiter
University of Southern California
Maureen Ryan
Variety
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Mary McNamara
The Los Angeles Times
Michelle MacLaren
Director/Producer
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Harvard University
Neal Baer
Screenwriter/ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Emma Thomas
Producer
John Ridley
Director/Screenwriter
Carrie Rickey
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Bennett Miller
Director
Leonard Maltin
Historian
Lisa Kennedy
The Denver Post
Marshall Herskovitz
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Molly Haskell
Historian
Mark Harris
Historian
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Tom Pollock
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Michael Wright
Michael WrightAFI Board of Trustees
Robert Thompson
Syracuse University
Chris Silbermann
ICM PartnersAFI Board of Trustees
Ellen Seiter
University of Southern California
Maureen Ryan
The Huffington Post
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Phylicia Rashad
Actor
James Poniewozik
TIME
L.S. Kim
University of California, Santa Cruz
Vince Gilligan
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Anne Garefino
Producer
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone Magazine
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Leonard Maltin
Historian
Akira Mizuta Lippit
University of Southern California
Matthew Libatique
Cinematographer
Kasi Lemmons
Director/Actor
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post
Patty Jenkins
Director/Screenwriter
Marshall Herskovitz
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Mark Harris
Historian
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Tom Pollock
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Noah Wyle
Producer/Actor
Robert Thompson
Syracuse University
Chris Silbermann
ICM PartnersAFI Board of Trustees
Ellen Seiter
University of Southern California
Maureen Ryan
The Huffington Post
Matt Roush
TV Guide Magazine
Frederick S. Pierce
AFI Board of Trustees
Jeff Nunokawa
Princeton University
Melissa Maerz
Entertainment Weekly
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Dorothy Fontana
ScreenwriterSenior Lecturer, AFI Conservatory
Jon Avnet
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone Magazine
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Akira Mizuta Lippit
University of Southern California
Nancy Meyers
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Leonard Maltin
Historian
Lisa Kennedy
The Denver Post
Marshall Herskovitz
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Mark Harris
Entertainment Weekly
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Roman Coppola
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Anne V. Coates
Editor
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Tom Pollock
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Robert Thompson
Syracuse University
Janet Staiger
University of Texas at Austin
Chris Silbermann
International Creative ManagementAFI Board of Trustees
Katey Sagal
Maureen Ryan
The Huffington Post
Matt Roush
TV Guide Magazine
James Poniewozik
Time Magazine
Mary McNamara
Los Angeles Times
L.S. Kim
University of California, Los Angeles
Marta Kauffman
Producer/Screenwriter
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Chris Carter
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone Magazine
Octavia Spencer
Actor
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Akira Mizuta Lippit
University of Southern California
Leonard Maltin
"Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide"
Lisa Kennedy
The Denver Post
Marshall Herskovitz
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Mark Harris
Entertainment Weekly
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Brad Bird
Director/Screenwriter
Angela Bassett
Actor
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Tom Pollock
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Ken Tucker
Entertainment Weekly
Betsy Thomas
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Chris Silbermann
International Creative ManagementAFI Board of Trustees
Matt Roush
TV Guide Magazine
James Poniewozik
Time Magazine
Fred Pierce
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Janet Murray
Georgia Institute of Technology
Stephen Kronish
Producer/Screenwriter
Marde Gregory
University of California, Los Angeles
Tim Goodman
The Hollywood Reporter
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Anna Everett
University of California, Santa Barbara
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone Magazine
Suzanne Todd
Producer
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Diana Ossana
Producer/Screenwriter
Leonard Maltin
"Leonard Maltln's Movie Guide"
Akira Mizuta Lippit
University of Southern California
Jim Hosney
Jim Hosney
Marshall Herskovitz
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Mark Harris
Entertainment Weekly
Whoopi Goldberg
Actor
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
AFI JURY FOR MOTION PICTURES
Tom PollockProducerChair, AFI Jury for Motion Pictures
Janet Staiger
University of Texas at Austin
John Shaffner
Academy of Television Arts & SciencesProduction DesignerAFI Board of Trustees
Maureen Ryan
AOL
Matt Roush
TV Guide Magazine
James Poniewozik
Time Magazine
Mary McNamara
Los Angeles Times
Anna McCarthy
New York University
Henry Jenkins
Henry Jenkins
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Producer/Actor
Marshall Herskovitz
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Steven Bochco
Producer/Screenwriter
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Michael Wood
Princeton University
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Elvis Mitchell
THE TREATMENT
Leonard Maltin
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT"Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide"
Akira Mizuta Lippit
University of Southern California
Bob Gazzale
American Film Institute
Jane Gaines
Columbia University
Lee Daniels
Producer/Director
Diablo Cody
Producer/Screenwriter
Donn Cambern
Editor
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyan University
Tom Pollock
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Robert J. Thompson
Syracuse University
John Shaffner
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Ellen Seiter
University of Southern California
Maureen Ryan
Chicago Tribune
Matt Roush
TV Guide Magazine
CCH Pounder
Actor
Lisa Parks
University of California, Santa Barbara
David Milch
Producer/Screenwriter
Brian Lowry
Variety
L.S. Kim
University of California, Santa Cruz
Bambi Haggins
Arizona State University
Stanley Brooks
Producer
Neal Baer
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducer/Screenwriter
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
Richard Schickel
Historian/Author/Documentary Filmmaker
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Tom Pollock
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Chon Noriega
University of California, Los Angeles
Elvis Mitchell
THE TREATMENT
Leonard Maltin
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
Patty Jenkins
Producer/Director
Mark Harris
Entertainment Weekly/New York MagazineAuthor
Leo Braudy
University of Southern California
Dustin Lance Black
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Sean Astin
Actor
Norman Jewison
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducer/Director
Tony To
Producer/Director
Beretta E. Smith-Shomade
University of Arizona
John Shaffner
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Ellen Seiter
University of Southern California
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Del Reisman
AFI Conservatory Screenwriter
James Poniewozik
Time Magazine
Kathleen Nolan
Actor
Mary McNamara
Los Angeles Times
Jean Picker Firstenberg
AFI President Emerita
John Caldwell
University of California, Los Angeles
Neal Baer
Producer/Screenwriter
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionAFI Trustee Emeritus
Tom Pollock
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Robert Towne
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Anne Thompson
Variety
Vivian Sobchack
AFI Trustee EmeritaUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Richard Schickel
Time Magazine
Daniel Petrie, Jr.
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Elvis Mitchell
THE TREATMENT
Rick Jewell
University of Southern California
Jim Hosney
American Film Institute
Mark Harris
Entertainment WeeklyAuthor
Mary Corey
University of California, Los Angeles
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyan University
Leonard Maltin
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
Rich Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionAFI Board of Trustees
Dick Askin
Academy of Television Arts & SciencesAFI Board of Trustees
Neal Baer
Producer/Screenwriter
Anna Everett
University of California, Santa Barbara
Nancy Franklin
The New Yorker
Barry Garron
The Hollywood Reporter
Melissa Gilbert
Producer/Director/ActorAFI Trustee Emerita
Horace Newcomb
University of Georgia
Del Reisman
AFI ConservatoryScreenwriter
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Maureen Ryan
Chicago Tribune
Robert Thompson
Syracuse University
Ron Underwood
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Kristal Brent Zook
Hosftra University
Gary Winick
Producer/Director
Richard Schickel
Time Magazine
Tom Pollock
AFI Board of Trustees
David Picker
ProducerAFI Trustee Emeritus
Diana Ossana
Producer/Screenwriter/Novelist
Tara McPherson
University of Southern California
Leonard Maltin
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
Lawrence Kasdan
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Trustee Emeritus
Mary Corey
University of California, Los Angeles
Donn Cambern
AFI ConservatoryDirector/Editor
David Ansen
Newsweek
Frank Pierson
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesAFI ConservatoryDirector/Screenwriter
Dick Askin
Academy of Television Arts & SciencesAFI Board of Trustees
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionAFI Board of Trustees
Steven Bochco
Producer/Screenwriter
Kevin S. Bright
Producer/Director
Paul Brownfield
Los Angeles Times
Michael Dinner
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Barry Garron
The Hollywood Reporter
Amanda D. Lotz
University of Michigan
Brian Lowry
Variety
Tara McPherson
University of Southern California
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Vivian Sobchack
University of California, Los AngelesAFI Board of Trustees
Kristal Brent Zook
Columbia University
Robert G. Rehme
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Michael Apted
Directors Guild of AmericaProducer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Roger Birnbaum
Spyglass EntertainmentAFI Board of Trustees
Leo Braudy
University of Southern California
James L. Brooks
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Mary Corey
University of California, Los Angeles
Jane Gaines
Duke University
Elvis Mitchell
National Public Radio
Diana Ossana
Producer/Screenwriter
David V. Picker
ProducerAFI Trustee Emeritus
Tom Pollock
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Anne Thompson
The Hollywood Reporter
Marshall Herskovitz
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionChair, AFI Jury for TelevisionAFI Board of Trustees
Dick Askin
Academy of Television Arts & SciencesTribune Entertainment CompanyAFI Board of Trustees
Lionel Chetwynd
Producer/Screenwriter
Mary Corey
University of California, Los Angeles
Tony Jonas
Producer
Jeffrey Kramer
Producer
Melanie McFarland
Seattle Post Intelligencer
Tara McPherson
University of Southern California
James Poniewozik
Time Magazine
Dorothea Petrie
Producer
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Del Reisman
AFI Conservatory
Robert G. Rehme
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion Pictures Producer AFI Board of Trustees
Martha Coolidge
Director
David Denby
The New Yorker
Anna Everett
University of California, Santa Barbara
Norman Jewison
Producer/Director
Tom Pollock
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Jay Roach
Producer/Director
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
Vivian Sobchack
University of California, Los AngelesAFI Board of Trustees
David Thomson
Film Historian
Stephen Ujlaki
San Francisco State University
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Laura Ziskin
Laura Ziskin
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionThe FirmAFI Board of Trustees
Richard Askin, Jr.
Academy of Television Arts & SciencesTribune Entertainment Company AFI Board of Trustees
Neal Baer
Producer/Screenwriter
David Bianculli
The Daily News
Alex Ben Block
Television Week
Barbara Corday
Producer/Screenwriter
Mary Corey
University of California, Los Angeles
Melanie McFarland
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Tara McPherson
University of Southern California
Janet Murray
Georgia Institute of TechnologyAFI Board of Trustees
Horace Newcomb
University of GeorgiaGeorge Foster Peabody Awards
Jerry Offsay
Producer
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Roger Ebert
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesChicago Sun-TimesEBERT & ROEPER
David Ansen
Newsweek
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Trustee Emerita
Leo Braudy
University of Southern California
James Cromwell
Actor
Naomi Foner
Producer/Screenwriter
Joan Micklin Silver
Director/Screenwriter
Tom Pollock
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Robert G. Rehme
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Richard Schickel
Time MagazineProducer/Director/Screenwriter
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
Michael Wood
Princeton University
Janet Yang
Producer
Diane Werts
Newsday
Dean Valentine
Former President & CEO, UPN
Penelope Spheeris
Director
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Dorothea Petrie
Producer
Horace Newcomb
University of GeorgiaGeorge Foster Peabody Awards
Brian Lowry
Variety
Helaine Head
University of Southern California
Ted Harbert
Producer
Chuck Fries
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Mary Corey
University of California, Los Angeles
Irby Brown
University of Richmond
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionIntegrated Entertainment PartnersAFI Board of Trustees
Tom Pollock
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Anne V. Coates
Editor
Vivian Sobchack
University of California, Los AngelesAFI Board of Trustees
Leonard Schrader
AFI ConservatoryDirector/Screenwriter
Richard Schickel
Time MagazineProducer/Director/Screenwriter
Ted Perry
Middlebury CollegeAFI Trustee Emeritus
Curtis Marez
University of Southern California
Glenn Kenny
Premiere Magazine
Kirk Honeycutt
The Hollywood Reporter
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Trustee Emerita
John Badham
Director
Leonard Maltin
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
Richard Frank
Chair, AFI Jury for Television
Neema Barnett
Director
Barbara Corday
Producer
Lesli Linka Glatter
Producer/Director
Kay McFadden
The Seattle Times
Horace Newcomb
University of GeorgiaGeorge Foster Peabody AwardsAFI Trustee Emeritus
Daniel Petrie, Jr.
Producer/Director/ScreenwriteAFI Board of Trustees
Victoria Riskin
Writers Guild of AmericaScreenwriter
Matt Roush
TV Guide
Robert Thompson
Syracuse University
Anthony Thomopoulos
Former President, ABC EntertainmentMedia Arts Group, Inc.AFI Trustee Emeritus
Ken Tucker
Entertainment Weekly
Peter Werner
DirectorAFI Trustee Emeritus
Tom Pollock
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
David Ansen
Newsweek
Jeanine Basinger
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesWesleyan UniversityAFI Trustee Emerita
Julie Dash
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Lindsey Doran
Producer
Leonard Maltin
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
Fay Kanin
ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Jim Hosney
Film Historian/Scholar
Ted Perry
Middlebury CollegeAFI Trustee Emeritus
Bob Rehme
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Carrie Rickey
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Tom Schatz
University of Texas, Austin
Saul Zaentz
Producer
Barrie Lawson Loeks
Loeks-Star Theatres
Lucy Liu
Actor
Brian Lowry
Los Angeles Times
Sidney Lumet
Director
Shirley MacLaine
Actor
Delbert Mann
Director
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Kay McFadden
The Seattle Times
Joyce Millman
Salon.com
Dennis Muren
Digital Effects Artist
Chon Noriega
University of California, Los Angeles
Beverly O’Neill
California Institute of the Arts
Ted Perry
Middlebury College
Polly Platt
Producer/Production Designer
Dale Pollock
N.C. School of the Arts
Dorothy Rabinowitz
The Wall Street Journal
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine
Ken Ralston
Digital Effects Artist
Robert Richardson
Cinematographer
Howard Rosenberg
Los Angeles Times
Laurence Rosenthal
Composer
Gena Rowlands
Actor
Leah Rozen
People Magazine
Eva Marie Saint
Actor
Edgar Scherick
Producer
Lisa Schwartzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
Jan Scott
Production Designer
John Singleton
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Robert Sklar
New York University
Barbara Smith
American Cinematheque
Penelope Spheeris
Director
Steven Spielberg
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Rod Steiger
Actor
Jon Storm
Philadelphia Inquirer
Mary Sweeney
Producer/Screenwriter/Editor
Anne Thompson
Premiere Magazine
Robert Thompson
Syracuse University
Richard Sylbert
Production Designer
Steve Tisch
Producer
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles TimesCinematographer
Amy Vincent
Cinematographer
Peter Werner
Director
Joanne Weintraub
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
Ethel Winant
Producer
David Wolper
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Eugenio Zanetti
Production Designer
David Zurawik
Baltimore Sun
Hans Zimmer
Composer
Saul Zaentz
Producer
Debbie Allen
Producer/Director/ActorAFI Board of Trustees
Dede Allen
Editor
David Ansen
Newsweek
Darren Aronofsky
Director/Screenwriter
Alan Ball
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Neema Barnette
Director
Ron Bass
Producer/Screenwriter
Robert Benton
Director/Screenwriter
Bob Boyle
Production Designer
Pieter Jan Brugge
Producer
Henry Bumstead
Production Designer
Michelle Byrd
Independent Features Project
Marcy Carsey
Producer
Mary Schmidt Campbell
NYU's Tisch School
Anne V. Coates
Editor
Richard Corliss
Time Magazine
Leslie Dilley
Production Designer
Richard Edlund
Digital Effects Artist
Nora Ephron
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Steven Farber
Movieline
Milos Forman
Director
Stephen Gaghan
Screenwriter
Leslie Linka Glatter
Director
Jerry Goldsmith
Composer
Gary David Goldberg
Producer/Screenwriter
Tim Goodman
San Francisco Examiner
Mary Ann Grasso
National Assoc. of Theatre Owners
Christopher Guest
Director/Screenwriter/Actor
Amy Heckerling
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Leonard Hill
Producer
Foster Hirsch
Scholar/Historian
Tina Hirsch
Editor
Winnie Holzman
Producer/Screenwriter
Kirk Honeycutt
The Hollywood Reporter
Dawn Hudson
Independent Feature Project West
Greg Hoblit
Producer/Director
Annette Insdorf
Columbia University
Mark Johnson
Producer
Spike Jonze
Director/Actor
Shirley Jones
Actor
Glenn Jordan
Producer/Director
Janusz Kamiński
Cinematographer
James Katz
Preservationist
Rita Kempley
The Washington Post
Kathleen Kennedy
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Callie Khouri
Screenwriter
James V. Kimsey
AFI Board of Trustees
Arnold Kopelson
Producer
Alan Ladd, Jr.
Producer
Martin Landau
Actor
Tom Pollock
Chair, AFI 2000 JuryAFI Board of Trustees
David Ansen
Film Journalist/Critic
Jeanine Basinger
Film Scholar
Bill Duke
AFI Board of Trustees
James Katz
Film Preservationist/Historian
Rita Kempley
Film Journalist/Critic
Michael Nesmith
AFI Board of Trustees
Thomas Schatz
Film Scholar
Vivian Sobchack
AFI Board of Trustees
Anne Thompson
Film Journalist/Critic
Saul Zaentz
Filmmaker
Steven Zaillian
Filmmaker
AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR
A SERIOUS MAN
is a theological shaggy dog story that could only spring from the miraculous minds of Joel and Ethan Coen. The film marks the 25th anniversary of moviemaking for these American masters, and from its audacious Yiddish-language prologue to its apocalyptic conclusion, A SERIOUS MAN grapples with themes of temptation and divine retribution in a world only the Coen brothers could create. Midwestern isolation and Jewish angst are the frame for Michael Stuhlbarg’s Larry Gopnik, the film’s Job-like protagonist who finds comfort in the certainty of physics as the uncertainty of his own life threatens to destroy him while he fiddles with the antennae on his suburban roof. Read the AFI Catalog entry
A SINGLE MAN
marks the singular and stylish debut of writer-director Tom Ford, whose astoundingly assured transition from fashion to film — from the human body to the human spirit — is a perfect fit for Christopher Isherwood’s story of love and loss. As a heartbroken college professor and his lovelorn compatriot, Colin Firth and Julianne Moore offer achingly honest performances that inhabit a perfectly realized 1962 Los Angeles. A SINGLE MAN is a meditation on grief, a sensuous lament, a memento mori that reminds us to love well, to cherish the human encounters that color our lives and to be aware, in the end, that everything is as it should be. Read the AFI Catalog entry
CORALINE
is a heart-stopping, stop-motion nightmare for the child lost in all of us. Written and directed by Henry Selick, this haunting new creation is a needle-sharp display of animated filmmaking — literate, subtle and sophisticated. The film is a gorgeous translation of Neil Gaiman’s novel and a daring marriage of darkness and light, where a young girl’s dream world takes her to a place where childhood is seen through a new and unique set of eyes. Read the AFI Catalog entry
THE HANGOVER
will have you rubbing your head in the morning and wishing you hadn’t had so much fun. Director Todd Phillips and screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore have created an anthem to arrested male adolescence that is unashamed, unapologetic and unbelievably funny. Though what happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, THE HANGOVER brought laughter to a world when it needed it most and deserves a toast for its mastery of the comedic form, one of filmmaking’s most challenging feats. Read the AFI Catalog entry
THE HURT LOCKER
is a cinematic explosion that drops audiences inside the chaos of the war in Iraq and into the minds of American soldiers who defuse bombs with equal parts anxiety and adrenaline. Marked by the bravura direction of Kathryn Bigelow and grounded in Mark Boal’s taut, unsentimental script, this grippingly real story detonates an emotional portrait of combat and camaraderie abroad, and alienation at home. An outstanding ensemble cast is led by Jeremy Renner, whose tour of duty is a tour de force. Read the AFI Catalog entry
THE MESSENGER
is an emotional minefield where a knock at the door informs us all of the cost of war. Writer/director Oren Moverman and co-writer Alessandro Camon paint a series of deeply personal portraits that bring to light the mounting toll of the conflict in Iraq. Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster deliver riveting performances as soldiers on this “sacred mission” — and in their wake, a new trail of tears for the American war movie. Read the AFI Catalog entry
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL 'PUSH' BY SAPPHIRE
is the celebration of a life lived against all odds. Director Lee Daniels and writer Geoffrey Fletcher bring the spirit of Sapphire’s novel to the screen in this movie about a person passed each day, whose story has never made it to the movies. Gabourey Sidibe blossoms in the title role, and Mo’Nique’s monstrous turn as her mother achieves the seemingly impossible by making audiences understand her as she understands herself. Together, they lead a powerful ensemble cast in a film that offers no false hope or happy ending, but instead commands us to look in the mirror and celebrate the image that smiles back, because in that reflection, we are all precious. Read the AFI Catalog entry
SUGAR
shines a bright light on the American dream through the cheers and jeers heaped upon those who embody its national pastime. Writer/directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck have shaped a screenplay as elegant as a well-turned double play and assembled a remarkable lineup of acting talent led by rookie Algenis Perez Soto. SUGAR is as ambitious as it is intimate, allowing audiences a clear-eyed look at the immigrant experience while celebrating both the trials and triumphs of swinging for the fences — and reaching for an ideal. Read the AFI Catalog entry
UP
is a magical tale of life’s journey. Writer/directors Pete Docter, Bob Peterson and their team of high-flying technical artists have created a storytelling experience both uplifting and uproarious as they explore new territories for animation. With outstanding vocal performances from an ensemble led by Ed Asner and Christopher Plummer, the film travels — with childhood in tow — through a deeply emotional adventure of love, loss and letting go. UP takes us all on the balloon-ride of our lives, powered by imagination and filled with equal parts helium and heart. Read the AFI Catalog entry
UP IN THE AIR
is a triumphant tale for our turbulent times. With the clarity of perspective that comes from a window seat at 30,000 feet, Jason Reitman proves again to soar among the art form’s finest storytellers. Together, with co-screenwriter Sheldon Turner, he has taken the words from Walter Kirn’s novel and given them flight in a film that both harkens back to the glory of Hollywood past and assures audiences that smart, witty and painfully human stories are here for the future. This sentiment is best embodied in George Clooney, an American treasure who captivates again with his signature alchemy of gentleman and jester, charmer and chump. The film is also a showcase for two of the most original female characters of the year, played with grace and gusto by Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. UP IN THE AIR is a film that defines the challenges of a generation — to consider what one truly values in life — and where we call home. Read the AFI Catalog entry
AFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR
THE BIG BANG THEORY
explodes with laughter week after week proving life still springs from the multi-camera sitcom. This valentine to science geekdom is both funny and smart, embodied in the virtuoso performance of Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper. Here the familiar is fresh, with an extraordinary ensemble whose characters may lack social graces, but live in a show that celebrates them with finesse and panache. Creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady have mined an old field to find new treasure, and in this third season, have polished it into a brilliant gem.
BIG LOVE
embraces religion, politics and rural life in such an ambitious way that to watch it grow and prosper only further adds to its delicious appeal. Particularly in this pivotal season, creators Mark V. Olsen, Will Scheffer and their expansive creative ensemble paint an epic portrait of a family and present it through a fractured prism. In this light, the role of women is integrated in unexpected and complicated ways, as is the darker side of being different in one nation under God.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
goes deep, always, and scores again this year. The show remains true to its game plan, capturing the essence of small town America with honest performances and an outstanding ensemble that audiences cheer for with more emotion each passing season. Particularly this year, when Peter Berg’s show found a second life on a satellite cable service, the theme of the “underdog” became even stronger for the people of Dillon, Texas, where life is lived in the margins, where silence speaks eloquently of dreams deferred and where victory isn’t necessarily winning the game — it’s just being able to play.
GLEE
is an explosion of joy that brings a powerful new voice to network television. Created by Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy, GLEE is a wink and a smile to the musicals of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, but also a spin and a step that sing of what it is to be gay, pregnant, disabled — different. The show is extraordinarily in tune with America’s musical lexicon, and the inspired creative ensemble is a singing, dancing sensation — one that has struck a chord with a nation eager to find joy in our differences.
MAD MEN
continued to fulfill its ambitious promise in this third and transformative season. As creator Matt Weiner’s compelling period drama charts its grand narrative between the idealistic days of Eisenhower and the chaos of the 1960s, audiences must look in the mirror to consider the transitions in today’s America. MAD MEN remains the most stylish show on television, its perfectly designed past a foil to the dissolution of a man and his marriage. Jon Hamm and January Jones lead an elegant ensemble while placing the Drapers, despite their despair, in the pantheon of television’s married couples.
MODERN FAMILY
celebrates the function of dysfunction in the American family by bringing together three odd couples in a giant, slaphappy group hug. With writing as heartfelt as it is hip, creators Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd have married the mockumentary and family sitcom in sophisticated harmony, showering each of their vast and varied characters with affection and establishing sincerity as the hallmark of the new avant-garde. Amidst the chaos of the clan, MODERN FAMILY honors an array of life choices within the funny and fallible framework of love.
THE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY
takes audiences to Africa in the year’s best example of the transportive nature of television. Inspired by the stories of Alexander McCall Smith, the show’s gentle and genuine tales are captured on location with immersive imagery, music and an international cast that anchors each episode in authenticity. Here “simple” is not “simplistic,” and this wonderfully well-realized storytelling not only delivers as entertainment, but plants the seeds for the acceptance of a greater global perspective.
NURSE JACKIE
is addictive television. This compassionate, yet unsentimental portrait of a caregiver driven to medicate herself is brought to life through the fearless performance of Edie Falco, who consistently has her finger on the pulse of great American drama. As created by Liz Brixius, Evan Dunsky and Linda Wallem, NURSE JACKIE transfuses black humor and subtle, unpredictable storytelling to find its place among television’s great tragic comedies, ultimately examining the desire to care for others and the demands of caring for oneself.
PARTY DOWN
is television’s best-kept secret. Creators John Enbom, Dan Etheridge, Paul Rudd and Rob Thomas have combined their creative talents to tell a wickedly funny tale of a catering company run by a smorgasbord of LA actor wannabes. This clever conceit has the show’s devoted audience cheering for a collection of characters that flub their way through life, each depicted with real affection and an aching authenticity. PARTY DOWN knows its world and mocks it with authority, though at its significant heart, the show is a celebration of the joy and despair of aspiring to something that may never come to pass.
TRUE BLOOD
takes flight from the razor’s edge between camp and classic. Creator Alan Ball’s vampire drama is Southern Gothic gone wild, feeding on the popular obsession with the supernatural while creating its own rich world through a knowing, seductive concoction of sex, violence and soap opera. Michelle Forbes’ brilliant performance as Maryann Forrester is the magnetic center of an audacious and orgiastic season that not only unleashes the ids in its audience, but also asks penetrating questions about what it is to be human — to desire, to discriminate and to dig deep into the delights of television.
MOMENTS OF SIGNIFICANCE
AVATAR – JAMES CAMERON'S MILEPOST IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE ART FORM
James Cameron’s pioneering effort to unleash the human imagination was fully realized in 2009 with the release of AVATAR, a film that firmly established itself as a landmark in the way stories are told.
With an army of technological wizards at his side, writer/director/producer/co-editor Cameron called upon the forces of art and technology to create new tools for storytelling that are groundbreaking in both scope and scale.
The magic of the motion picture — and the transfer of its power to television and now video games — has always found its truest power in its immersive qualities, and with Cameron’s advances in CGI (computer-generated images) and 3-D, AVATAR enters AFI’s almanac as an achievement that will have profound effects on the future of the art form.
TWITTER: THE NEW WATERCOOLER
Twitter, the Internet platform for messages of up to 140 characters, has become a powerful force in the worlds of film and television. It has long been proven that the most effective way to attract an audience is through “word of mouth,” and Twitter allows for these influential conversations to be immediate and international.
Twitter has also created new and direct channels of communication for artists to speak directly to their fan base. Most notably, in 2009, Ashton Kutcher enlisted over one million followers to his “tweets.”
In marketing terms, Twitter and other forms of social networking have allowed motion pictures and television programs the opportunity to both expand and unite their audiences. For example, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY became a cultural sensation in 2009 for mastering “word of mouth” marketing via social networks, in addition to telling a terrifying tale very well. In television, Twitter helped to ensure “appointment television” by creating venues for viewers to comment on shows as they aired. For example, GLEE employed Twitter to broaden its fan base of “Gleeks.”
THE LENO EXPERIMENT AND THE LOSS OF DRAMA
On September 14, 2009, NBC premiered THE JAY LENO SHOW, a reformatted version of THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, to run Monday through Friday at 10:00 p.m.
As a result, five hours traditionally reserved for episodic drama were dropped from the broadcast television landscape. The move had a harsh effect in job losses for the creative ensembles whose stories were told at that time, and also among national affiliate stations whose ratings for 11:00 p.m. local news programs dropped significantly.
This experiment can be viewed as another chapter in the evolution of television to less expensive programming, which began in force with the emergence of reality television. However, audiences have found quality dramas moving in force to cable and pay cable television, and the world awaits the first breakout drama scripted for the Internet.
REALITY TV AND THE LOSS OF BOUNDARIES
Reality television crossed a line in 2009 as the cultural craving for celebrity moved in a dangerous new direction. Most significantly, the “characters” now referred to as “Balloon Boy” and “Octomom,” in addition to a couple who allegedly infiltrated the White House to attend a state dinner, have marked the year as one in which the health and welfare of our citizens should be considered before the standards and practices of television.
THE END OF ANALOG AND OTHER SIGNS OF SEA CHANGE
On June 12, 2009, analog television switched off, and the digital revolution saw a new day. This moment is mostly symbolic, but signaled further change across many former television traditions:
• Several long-running soap operas were cancelled in 2009. GUIDING LIGHT, the longest-running drama in television and radio history, aired its final episode on September 18, 2009. The program began in 1937, during the second Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was also announced that AS THE WORLD TURNS, a daytime staple since 1956, would air its last episode on September 10, 2010.
The demise of the soap opera can be linked to the omnipresent melodrama presented in news, reality and other programs that are now available instantaneously, around the clock and on many platforms.
• Long-form television became more scarce in 2009. While excellent programs like GREY GARDENS, INTO THE STORM and PRAYERS FOR BOBBY proved there was still quality work being done in the field, the fragmentation of the television audience strained the economics of the old business model for TV movies and mini-series.
Other notable moments in the sea of change include Comcast’s bid to acquire NBC Universal to ensure content for distribution to its more than 23 million subscribers, as well as the continued rise in the reliance of DVRs (digital video recorders) so that audiences have shows when and where they wish to view them.
2009 – A YEAR OF EXTRAORDINARY ANIMATION
Though animation has been a genre of great impact since the dawn of the moving image, 2009 marked a year that saw a dazzling explosion of noteworthy work from many of the nation’s finest artists, and in forms vast and varied — from classic hand-drawn stories like THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG; to stop-motion splendors like CORALINE and FANTASTIC MR. FOX; to computer-generated creations like UP, 9, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS and MONSTERS VS. ALIENS.
THIS IS IT – DEATH OF MICHAEL JACKSON
Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009. One of the most influential entertainers in modern day, Jackson’s death was met with a worldwide expression of grief.
In the months that followed his death, Jackson’s talents were celebrated on-line, with a renewed interest in the musical and video gifts he had given the world over five decades; on television, as millions tuned in for his memorial and funeral services; and, most notably, in theatres, with the film THIS IS IT, a documentary crafted from the rehearsal footage for an upcoming concert tour. The film proved an unprecedented global eulogy for fans and friends of the “King of Pop.”
RECESSION – THE MOVIES AGAIN PROVE A TONIC FOR ECONOMIC AILS
Just as Americans flocked to musicals and screwball comedies during the Great Depression of the 1930s, audiences in 2009 escaped their worries by going to the movies. Though total admissions do not compare, it is worthy to note that in the world’s darkest economic time since the Depression, American films grossed more money than any time in the history of the art form. Aliens, vampires and wizards may have replaced Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers on the silver screen, but the movies still provide joy and refuge in a story well told.
AFI AWARDS was created in 2000 to recognize the films and television programs which contribute to our collective cultural legacy. When placed in an historical context, these stories provide a complex, rich, visual record of our modern world. Since then, AFI AWARDS has honored 10 outstanding films and 10 outstanding TV programs deemed culturally and artistically representative of the year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image.
Collectively celebrating the most outstanding film and television programs of the year, AFI AWARDS 2021 honorees will be announced on December 8, 2021. The official selections will be feted at an honoree-only event on Friday, March 11, 2022, in Los Angeles. Immediately following, AFI will also launch a 20-day tribute to each honoree with new and exclusive content for the daily global audience in AFI Movie Club.
Unique in its celebration of the art form’s collaborative nature, AFI AWARDS is the only national program that honors creative teams as a whole – recognizing those in front of and behind the camera.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Honorees are selected based on works which:
- Advance the art of the moving image
- Inspire audiences and artists alike
- Enhance the rich cultural heritage of America’s art form
A UNIQUE JURY PROCESS
AFI AWARDS selections are made through AFI’s unique jury process – in which scholars, artists, critics and AFI Trustees determine the most outstanding achievements of the year.
For additional information about AFI AWARDS, contact Josh Kushins at [email protected]
AFI is a 501c3 non-profit advancing the art of the moving image by empowering storytellers and inspiring audiences
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