June 12, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: A WOMAN’S WORK: THE NFL’S CHEERLEADER PROBLEM With Director Yu Gu
In 2017, the National Football League earned over $14 billion in revenue. NFL cheerleaders, however, earn less than minimum wage–some paid as low as $1.50 an hour. A WOMAN’S WORK highlights this astounding wage discrepancy through the stories of three women fighting back for what they deserve. After dedicating years to training and paying out-of-pocket…
June 12, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: RECORDER: THE MARION STOKES PROJECT With Director Matt Wolf
Beginning with the Iranian Hostage Crisis in 1979, Marion Stokes secretly recorded television 24 hours a day at a time when networks did not systematically archive the news. Stokes was a fierce activist, motivated by truth and freedom, and after she began working in television, she quickly recognized the influence media had on society. As…
June 12, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: AUTONOMY With Director Alex Horowitz
AUTONOMY explores the history of automated cars and the impact this technology will have on our society. As the value of our time has changed, it is unavoidable that automation affects the economics of our everyday life. Executive-produced by Malcolm Gladwell, AUTONOMY asks questions about who will benefit most from this technology, and about the…
June 11, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: ERNIE & JOE With Director Jenifer McShane
Ernie Stevens and Joe Smarro are not typical police officers. Dressed in polo shirts and slacks, guns out of view, the two approach each emergency call with the intent of defusing situations without force and helping those in need. They are part of the San Antonio Police Department’s Mental Health Unit, founded to confront the…
June 10, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: SWEETHEART DANCERS With Director Ben-Alex Dupris
Sean and Adrian are a Two-Spirit couple determined to rewrite the rules of Native-American culture through their participation in the Sweetheart Dance. This celebratory contest is held at powwows across the country, primarily for heterosexual couples, until now. We spoke with director Ben-Alex Dupris about his film. SWEETHEART DANCERS plays as part of the Shorts…
June 10, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: AFTER PARKLAND With Directors Jake Lefferman and Emily Taguchi
AFTER PARKLAND is not a film about victims, but, rather, a heartfelt portrayal of people using their grief and anger as fuel to move forward, heal and, for some, fight to change the world. The 2018 shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School left a community in shock, searching for the balance between wanting to be…
June 10, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: CHASING THE MOON With Director Robert Stone
50 years after Neil Armstrong’s “one small step,” CHASING THE MOON chronicles America’s audacious and difficult race to the moon. Using exclusively archival footage — much of which has never before been public — this exceptional series re-contextualizes the social and historical importance of the Space Age and the sheer wonder of the moon landing…
June 7, 2019
AFI and Russo Brothers’ AGBO Films Partner for Inaugural Development Grant
AFI, in partnership with AGBO Films, has announced Angela Chen (AFI Directing Class of 2018) as the recipient of the inaugural AGBO/AFI Conservatory Development Grant. This new program awards $25,000 to a recent AFI Conservatory graduate to develop at least one project, with year-long mentorship from AGBO. Chen will receive the grant for her project TRIAD…
June 5, 2019
The AFI DOCS Interview: MADE IN BOISE With Director Beth Aala
Four women find purpose carrying babies for strangers in the conservative heartland of Boise, Idaho — the unregulated and unofficial “surrogacy capital” of the United States. As the surrogacy industry booms globally, MADE IN BOISE tells the story of a community of women risking their own health for humanity’s sake and the emotional complications that…
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…
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