Brought to the screen by two recipients of the AFI Life Achievement Award – Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman – MILLION DOLLAR BABY (2004) was honored in the year of its release with an AFI AWARD, recognizing it among the most outstanding motion pictures of year. According to the official rationale, “MILLION DOLLAR BABY is classic American filmmaking by a man at the top of his game. Director/actor/producer/composer Clint Eastwood proves once again that he is American film’s true renaissance man. Simple, pure and direct in its storytelling, the film finds power in its lean frame, while taking on issues of family and faith without flinching. Hilary Swank inhabits her character as if she is in a class by herself, and with Morgan Freeman and Eastwood in her corner, there is no more engaging acting ensemble on screen this year. MILLION DOLLAR BABY is a knockout.” Visit the AFI Catalog to learn more about MILLION DOLLAR BABY.
Featuring more than 160 films from 56 countries, AFI FEST 2025 presented by Canva continues tonight with the red carpet premiere of CHRISTY – also a boxing drama but in this instance a true story, brought to the screen by director David Michôd and a transformative star turn from Sydney Sweeney.
