April 3, 2023
AFI Alumni Win Grand Jury and Audience Awards at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival
AFI Alumni continue to impress at film festivals around the nation! Most recently, the 2023 SXSW Film Festival announced the recipients of the Grand Jury and Special Awards, as well as the Audience Award winners for the 30th edition. Congratulations to all the graduates of the Conservatory who showcased their latest film and television work...
April 3, 2023
Spotlight on Jeanine Basinger and Sam Wasson’s “Hollywood: The Oral History”
From the treasure trove of interviews within the AFI Archive comes “Hollywood: The Oral History,” an ambitious and captivating love letter to the history of film, from the silent days of cinema to the Classic Hollywood studio system to the rise of New Hollywood and beyond. Its authors, Jeanine Basinger – who is also a...
April 3, 2023
Spotlight on Raelle Tucker and Brennan Elizabeth Peters, the Writers and AFI Alumni Behind THE POWER
Emmy®-nominated television writer, producer, and showrunner Raelle Tucker (AFI DWW Class of 2003) first crossed paths with writer Brennan Elizabeth Peters (AFI Class of 2015) when they were paired during AFI’s Writers’ Room Ready program to develop Brennan’s first pilot “The Empress.” Her script not only went on to win the AFI Writers' Room Ready...
March 31, 2023
Shaz Bennett Named as AFI DWW+ Guest Artistic Director
AFI announced today that Shaz Bennett (AFI DWW Class of 2012) will be the AFI DWW+ Guest Artistic Director for the Class of 2023-2024. Bennett was showrunner and executive producer on the final season of QUEEN SUGAR alongside creator Ava DuVernay, after both writing and directing on season six. Bennett’s debut feature film ALASKA IS...
March 8, 2023
AFI Announces Disney/AFI Underrepresented Storytellers Initiative
Image: Top - L to R: Razzaaq Boykin, Paige Compton; Bottom - L to R: Blake Pickens, Sophia Youssef We're excited to announce the Disney/AFI Underrepresented Storytellers Initiative, a new pathway program in collaboration with Disney’s Launchpad program to support underrepresented directors and remove economic barriers for new filmmakers. The new program provides an opportunity...
March 1, 2023
AFI Alumni Projects at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival
The 2023 South by Southwest Festival, which is set to take place in-person March 10-19, 2023, released the lineup for its 30th edition which includes headliners, feature and short film competitions, TV premieres, narrative and documentary spotlights and more. Congratulations to the following AFI Alumni whose latest work has been selected to debut at this...
March 1, 2023
AFI Alum Mindy Johnson Restores Legacy of Early Animator Bessie Mae Kelley
Bessie Mae Kelley's vaudeville circular promotional photograph. Courtesy of Manitou Productions. While the work of early male animators, including Max and Dave Fleischer (BETTY BOOP) and Walter Lantz (WOODY WOODPECKER), has been historically well-documented, the essential contributions of early women animators have often been overlooked, minimized or erased over the years. In honor of Women’s...
March 1, 2023
Where to Watch AFI Alumni Projects in Contention at the 95th Academy Awards®
Projects in contention for the 95th Academy Awards® will be voted on from March 2-7, before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reveal the official winners on March 12, 2023. We are thrilled to recognize the AFI Alumni projects in contention at the Oscars® this year and celebrate their incredible work which has...
March 1, 2023
Spotlight on EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE filmmakers Zoe Mao and Aashish D’Mello
Assistant Editors Zoe Mao and Aashish D’Mello (both AFI Class of 2017) landed their dream jobs working on EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, the sleeper hit that has gone on to garner 11 Academy Award® nominations and gross over $100 million worldwide. The much-celebrated film has been hailed as a major technical achievement in editing...
February 1, 2023
Spotlight on the AFI Filmmakers Behind WE WERE MEANT TO
This month, we spoke to the AFI Alumni behind the short film WE WERE MEANT TO, the first AFI Thesis film to be named an official selection at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in 12 years. A coming-of-age story set in a world where Black men have wings, the film serves as a searing allegory...
January 24, 2023
AFI Alumni Nominations and Wins at the 95th Academy Awards
On March 12, the Academy announced the individuals who took home Oscar® gold at the 95th annual Academy Awards®. Congratulations to AFI Conservatory Alum Diane Becker (AFI Class of 2006) who won the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature for NAVALNY. Please join us in celebrating all the graduates of the AFI Conservatory who were...
January 19, 2023
AFI Announces Participants for DWW+ Class of 2024
AFI is thrilled to announce the participants selected for the AFI DWW+ Class of 2024! AFI DWW+ is a year-long directing workshop that supports women and traditionally underrepresented narrative filmmakers through the production cycle of a short film, providing hands-on instruction led by industry experts. The short films completed in the workshop will premiere at...
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