June 5, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: THE CLINIC With Director Elivia Shaw
For a few hours every Saturday, Dr. Marc Lasher and a group of volunteers provide free medical care and clean needles to IV drug users from across Fresno County, California. On a dingy old school bus, Dr. Lasher bandages wounds and counsels his patients, many of whom have turned to street medicine to avoid the…
June 4, 2019
Lesli Linka Glatter and Paul Schrader to Receive AFI Honorary Degrees
AFI will confer Doctorate of Fine Arts degrees honoris causa upon Academy Award®-nominated director/producer Lesli Linka Glatter (alumna, AFI Directing Workshop for Women) and Academy Award®-nominated writer/director Paul Schrader (AFI Conservatory Class of 1969). They will be recognized for their contributions to the art of the moving image during the AFI Conservatory's commencement ceremony on...
June 3, 2019
Congratulations to AFI Alumnus David Lynch on His Honorary Oscar
Visionary director and AFI Conservatory alumnus David Lynch (Class of 1970) will receive an Honorary Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which will be presented at the 11th annual Governors Awards on Sunday, October 27. A four-time nominee for MULHOLLAND DR. (2001), BLUE VELVET (1986) and THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980), this…
June 3, 2019
AFI and Disney Collaborate on Immersive Short-Filmmaking Program for Diverse Storytellers
AFI is collaborating as the educational partner of “Disney Launchpad: Shorts Incubator,” which will invite filmmakers to share diverse perspectives through original live-action short films. The Launchpad is a seven-month immersive program based at The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. Directors will take part in a robust curriculum of professional and storytelling classes primarily led…
June 1, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA With Director Sophia Nahli Allison
Latasha Harlins was 15 years old when she was killed by Soon Ja Du at Empire Liquor in South Central Los Angeles on March 16, 1991. This dreamlike, hybrid documentary reimagines a more nuanced narrative of Latasha’s life. We spoke to director Sophia Nahli Allison regarding the film. A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA plays as…
June 1, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: SLAY THE DRAGON With Directors Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance
Gerrymandering influences elections and sways outcomes. SLAY THE DRAGON tackles this hot-button political topic and dramatizes precisely what is making our political system sick and, possibly, how it can be healed. Profiling those on the front lines fighting to change the system, Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance’s new documentary hopes to galvanize audiences and show…
May 30, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: GAY CHORUS DEEP SOUTH With Director David Charles Rodrigues
David Charles Rodriguez’s new film chronicles the journey of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus who decide to tour the deep south in the wake of the 2016 Presidential election. In this Tribeca Film festival Audience Award winner, chorus members confront their pasts with the church, meet residents working for change, and discover kindness and…
May 29, 2019
AFI Directing Workshop for Women 2019 Showcase Introduces New Class of Filmmakers
The AFI Directing Workshop for Women held its annual Showcase screening on April 18 at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The eight films from the graduating Class of 2019 were all shown to an enthusiastic crowd ready to meet the next wave of powerful storytellers. The graduating participants are Parisa Barani, Jessica Kaye, Shilpi Roy,…
May 28, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM With Director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
AFI Alumnus Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ (Class of 1975, Cinematography) TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM captures the definitive filmed biography of one of America’s iconic writers. In the documentary, Morrison herself talks with singular eloquence, insight and honesty about her life, work and the country that undervalued her for far too long. We spoke to Greenfield-Sanders…
May 28, 2019
AFI Member Spotlight: James Lee
Each month, the American Film Institute profiles one of its members. This May, meet AFI Premiere Circle member James Lee. An AFI member since 2011, James Lee is an aerospace engineer by education, with career beginnings at the Aerospace Corporation. Currently, he serves as President and CEO at HF Group, which he said has a long history working with the Air Force, including SR-71 and U-2 spy planes. He has worked…
May 27, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: MAIDEN With Director Alex Holmes
Alex Holmes’ MAIDEN follows Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old skipper who led the first all-women crew to compete in the Whitbread Round the World Race, shattering records — and glass ceilings — along their 167-day, 32,018-mile voyage. We spoke to director Alex Holmes about the film. MAIDEN plays as part of the Portrait program at AFI DOCS at…
May 23, 2019
Oscar Winner Freida Lee Mock Named 2019 Guggenheim Honoree
Acclaimed filmmaker Freida Lee Mock is this year's AFI DOCS 2019 Charles Guggenheim Symposium honoree. Mock’s career includes five Academy Award® nominations for her work, and an Academy Award® for her documentary MAYA LIN: A STRONG CLEAR VISION (1994). Each year, the AFI DOCS Charles Guggenheim Symposium honors a master of the nonfiction art...
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