The American Film Institute believes in the power of diverse voices to drive culture forward.

We strive to cultivate and sustain an inclusive environment at AFI that actively affirms and is respectful of, the identities of all people, across genders, abilities, ethnicities, sexual orientations, socioeconomic backgrounds and ideological perspectives – and one where self-reflection, honesty and accountability are practiced.

At AFI, we are responsible for the community we build and the stories we tell.

Equity and Inclusion at Work

AFI is committed to creating space to engage a diverse array of emergent filmmakers and film enthusiasts, as well as providing opportunities for youth to find their passion in the art of film. Our Access and Inclusion Initiatives target a broad audience from our AFI Conservatory Fellows to community members to mid-career creatives.

Building Community Through Film

Resources

Edit Media
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Teaching Media is a faculty-driven initiative dedicated to researching, developing, and educating about best practices in inclusive teaching in college-level media production.

Storyline Partners
Act as a liaison and refer content creators to issue-specific experts to ensure that characters and stories are represented authentically and that they are nuanced and culturally relevant, and resonant.

Reporting

Any forms of discrimination and harassment experienced, witnessed or observed at AFI should be immediately reported to [email protected].

AFI Land Acknowledgement

The American Film Institute recognizes that its campus rests on the native lands of the Tongva/Kizh and the Chumash, and near the Cahuenga Peak (or Kawenga), the Tongva’s “place in the mountains,” that lies behind the Hollywood sign.

The Tongva people, or Kizh (Keech), have inhabited the 4000+ square mile region they call Tovangar, or the Greater Los Angeles Basin, and specifically Los Angeles formerly called Yaang’na. The Tongva were known for their willow houses along the rivers and mastered boat-building allowing travel along the coast of California. Their natural, ancestral boundaries are from the Santa Susanna Mountains to the North, Aliso Creek to the South, the San Bernardino Mountains to the East, and the Pacific Ocean to the West, including the four Channel Islands of Santa Catalina, San Clemente, Santa Barbara, and San Nicolas.

In 1769, Captain Gaspar de Portola of Spain and his contingent of men camped in the area. By 1771, the Spanish turned their sights to enslave the Tongva by using them as forced labor to build the Mission de San Gabriel Arcangel, giving the enslaved Tongva’s the name of Gabrieleno. By 1831, the Chumash population was all but decimated, due largely to the introduction of European diseases. As a result, the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation that resided primarily in the counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura, numbered only 2,788 mission-registered Chumash down from pre-Spanish population estimates of 22,000.

The Tongva/Kizh and Chumash people continue to reside throughout southern and central California as they work diligently to sustain their history, culture, language, lands, and traditions that were lost to reneged treaties, forced removal, and stealing of land by Spanish expeditions, as well as by Mexican and American governments. Despite what was lost, their resiliency persists and their voices and stories should be acknowledged and amplified.

AFI works to center the voices and stories of native and indigenous humans.  For more information and to support the present-day Gabrielino-Tongva Indian Tribe, visit their website at https://gabrielinotribe.org.