New Auteurs: A Look Back at AFI FEST’s Competition Section

In 2009, AFI FEST introduced New Auteurs, a competitive section designed exclusively to raise the profiles of first- or second-time feature filmmakers. This section offers a launch pad for emerging new voices with whom we are eager to connect audiences. New Auteurs selections are eligible for prizes awarded by an esteemed jury of critics, writers...

The AFI FEST Interview: IXCANUL Director Jayro Bustamante

Jayro Bustamante’s hypnotic debut feature IXCANUL is Guatemala’s first-ever submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® — and one of the 11 films screening in the New Auteurs section at AFI FEST 2015. It follows a young Mayan woman living at the base of a volcano, who becomes pregnant outside of an impending arranged…

The AFI FEST Interview: BY THE SEA Director Angelina Jolie Pitt

Angelina Jolie Pitt’s third narrative feature, BY THE SEA, centers on a married couple (Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt) in the 1970s on vacation in a small seaside town, struggling to save their relationship. The film, set in France, is based on an original idea by Jolie Pitt. AFI: The film’s narrative and its characters…

The AFI FEST Interview: A WAR Director Tobias Lindholm

Tobias Lindholm (A HIJACKING, AFI FEST 2012) returns to the festival with his latest, A WAR, which centers on a company commander (Pilou Asbæk) who must make an impossible decision to save his men when a routine mission turns deadly. AFI spoke to Lindholm about the film, which is Denmark’s official 2016 Oscar® entry. AFI:…

The AFI FEST Interview: ANOMALISA Directors Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson

Visionaries Charlie Kaufman (SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK) and Duke Johnson (COMMUNITY) have come together to create the unique and wonderfully idiosyncratic ANOMALISA, a stop-motion film centering on a customer service guru’s bizarre night in a Cincinnati hotel while on a book tour. AFI spoke with Kaufman and Johnson, an AFI Conservatory alum, about the film. AFI:…

The AFI FEST Interview: DER NACHTMAHR Director AKIZ

In German filmmaker AKIZ’s coming-of-age horror film, a teenage girl makes a tangible connection with a strange creature from her dreams, awakening her true identity. AFI FEST presented by Audi spoke with AKIZ about the film. AFI: Were there any films or filmmakers that inspired DER NACHTMAHR? AKIZ: There are plenty of filmmakers I truly…

Here are the Rest of the AFI FEST 2015 Films

The American Film Institute announced today the films that will screen in the World Cinema, Breakthrough, Midnight, Shorts and Cinema's Legacy programs at AFI FEST 2015 presented by Audi. AFI FEST will take place November 5–12, 2015, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and events will be held at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre,...

AFI Conservatory Alumni at AFI FEST 2015

The main portion of AFI FEST 2015 presented by Audi boasts 18 films from 39 AFI Conservatory Alumni. They are: THE 33, writer Michael Thomas (AFI Class of 1978), and assistant art director Haisu Wang (AFI Class of 2014) 45 YEARS, editor Jonathan Alberts (AFI Class of 2001) ANOMALISA, director/producer Duke Johnson (AFI Class of 2006),…

Two More Galas and Seven Special Screenings Added to AFI FEST 2015

Two more Centerpiece Galas will screen at AFI FEST 2015 presented by Audi. WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, directed by Michael Moore, will screen on Saturday, November 7 at the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the Egyptian. THE 33, directed by Patricia Riggen and starring Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, Juliette Binoche, James Brolin, Lou Diamond Phillips,...

Calling All Documentary Fans and Filmmakers

The American Film Institute's annual documentary film festival, AFI DOCS 2016, will take place June 22–26, 2016 in the nation's capital and is now open for entries. Each year, AFI DOCS presents a diverse slate of documentaries from around the world that draws documentary fans from the Washington metropolitan region and across the US and...

Here are the AFI FEST 2015 American Independents and New Auteurs Films

You know the Opening and Closing Night films for AFI FEST 2015 presented by Audi as well as one of the Centerpiece Galas. Now, three weeks before the festival is set to launch in Hollywood, we're announcing 20 more films in the lineup: those in the New Auteurs and American Independents sections. The American Independents section represents the...

Composer John Williams to Receive the 44th AFI Life Achievement Award

For the first time in AFI history, America’s highest honor for a career in film will be bestowed upon a composer. John Williams will receive the 44th AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. “John Williams has written the soundtrack to our lives,” said Sir Howard Stringer, Chair, AFI Board of Trustees. “Note by note, through...
DONATE

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER