
July 9, 2020
AFI Movie Club: SUGAR
SUGAR was honored with an AFI AWARD in 2009 – recognizing it as one of the 10 outstanding films deemed culturally and artistically representative of the year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image. Movie Trivia about SUGAR –DID YOU KNOW co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck auditioned more than six hundred actors…

July 8, 2020
AFI Movie Club: BLACK ORPHEUS
The Oscar®-winning BLACK ORPHEUS transports the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice to the stunningly sumptuous world of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. With its vibrant cinematography and pulsating soundtrack by film composers Luiz Bonfá and Antonio Carlos Jobim, BLACK ORPHEUS kicked off the bossa nova craze across America and inspired countless filmmakers, including AFI alum Carl Franklin…

July 7, 2020
AFI Movie Club: SELENA
A biopic of the beloved, Grammy® Award-winning Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, SELENA stars Jennifer Lopez in the lead role, alongside Edward James Olmos – an AFI Honorary Degree recipient and longtime AFI Trustee. Movie Trivia about SELENA -DID YOU KNOW that Selena’s family chose to make the movie as a pre-emptive strike since other unauthorized films about...

July 6, 2020
AFI Movie Club: THE STING
THE STING stars Robert Redford and Paul Newman with production design by Henry Bumstead. Bumstead – who won his second Academy Award® for THE STING’s impossibly charming period aesthetic – helped to educate the next generation of storytellers as a teacher at the AFI Conservatory. Watch Henry Winkler announce THE STING: Movie Trivia about THE STING DID YOU…

July 5, 2020
AFI Movie Club: LADY BIRD
LADY BIRD, an elegiac coming of age story about growing up in Sacramento, is partially inspired by the childhood of writer/director Greta Gerwig – a three-time Oscar® nominee. Along with five Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, LADY BIRD was honored with an AFI AWARD in 2017, recognizing it…

July 4, 2020
AFI Movie Club: A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN goes to bat with an all-star lineup that includes Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell and AFI Life Achievement Award Recipient Tom Hanks – who taught us all that “There’s no crying in baseball!” –one of AFI’s greatest movie quotes in cinematic history. Movie Trivia about A LEAGUE OF…

July 3, 2020
AFI Movie Club: THE RIGHT STUFF
THE RIGHT STUFF is ranked #19 on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Cheers list of the most inspiring films of all time. Cinematographer Caleb Deschanel is an alum of the first class of the AFI Conservatory. THE RIGHT STUFF marked his first Academy Award® nomination. Watch Zooey Deschanel announce THE RIGHT STUFF: Movie Trivia about THE RIGHT STUFF –DID YOU…

July 2, 2020
AFI Movie Club: DREAMGIRLS
DREAMGIRLS received an AFI AWARD in 2006 – recognizing it as culturally and artistically representative of the year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image Movie Trivia about DREAMGIRLS -DID YOU KNOW that DREAMGIRLS is based on a hit Broadway musical that opened in 1981? DREAMGIRLS was inspired by the careers…

July 1, 2020
DID YOU KNOW this Sydney Poitier film was released 50 years ago this month?
THEY CALL ME MISTER TIBBS! (1970) was released 50 years ago this month. Sidney Poitier’s iconic declaration from IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967) was so poignant during the Civil Rights era, it became the title of the film’s 1970 sequel and remains one of the most recognizable movie references to this day, ranking #16 on AFI’s list…

July 1, 2020
AFI Movie Club: LOVE & BASKETBALL
LOVE & BASKETBALL, starring Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. In 2015, writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood served as an Artist-in-Residence for AFI’S Directing Workshop for Women. Watch LaToya Morgan (AFI Class of 2005) announce LOVE & BASKETBALL: Movie Trivia about Today’s Film -DID YOU KNOW that LOVE & BASKETBALL is the feature directorial debut of…

June 30, 2020
AFI Member Spotlight: Melinda Sue Gordon
“My job on a film set is to tell a story in a single image. It’s a moment from the script, a character study or perhaps the choreography of the cast and crew outside the frame lines. The motion picture can be viewed over and over but what happens behind the lens will be caught…

June 30, 2020
AFI Sloan Seminar: CONTAGION Screenwriter Scott Z. Burns and Epidemiologist Dr. Ian Lipkin
In June 2020, the Conservatory hosted an AFI Sloan Seminar for AFI Fellows with CONTAGION screenwriter Scott Z. Burns and CONTAGION science advisor Dr. Ian Lipkin – a renowned epidemiologist who has been called a “master virus hunter” for his speed and innovative methods of identifying new viruses. Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director…

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