February 25, 2020
Watch: Director/Writer Joe Talbot and Star Jimmie Fails Discuss THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO
THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO director/writer Joe Talbot and star Jimmie Fails spoke at the AFI Conservatory about shooting the rowing scene and the themes of gentrification in their film. Watch the videos here:
February 5, 2020
AFI Remembers Cinema Legend Kirk Douglas
We join movie-lovers around the world in mourning the loss of a true cinema legend. Kirk Douglas was larger-than-life – with a legacy that includes towering onscreen performances and heroism offscreen during the dark days of the Hollywood blacklist. The American Film Institute was honored to celebrate these contributions at the AFI Life Achievement Award in…
February 4, 2020
PALM SPRINGS Director and Writer Talk Inspiration, Collaboration and Meeting at the AFI Conservatory
AFI alumni Max Barbakow (Directing, Class of 2015) and Andy Siara (Screenwriting, Class of 2015) just sold their debut feature film, PALM SPRINGS, breaking the record for the biggest sale ever at Sundance – by 69 cents. PALM SPRINGS stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti as two wedding guests stuck in an endless time loop….
February 4, 2020
Production Designer Yong Ok Lee on her Sundance films MINARI and THE FAREWELL
Following her work on the critically-acclaimed THE FAREWELL – a 2019 AFI AWARDS recipient, AFI alum Yong Ok Lee (Production Design, Class of 2013) returned to Sundance for the second year in a row with MINARI – which won the U.S. dramatic grand jury prize and the dramatic audience award at this year’s festival. The film, inspired by director…
January 30, 2020
AFI Member Spotlight: Elika Portnoy on Producing and Premiering NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS at Sundance
Producer and AFI National Council member Elika Portnoy’s critically acclaimed new film NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS follows a teenage girl and her best friend’s perilous journey from their native Pennsylvania to New York City to obtain an abortion. Directed by indie auteur Eliza Hittman, the film recently premiered at Sundance and is set to be…
January 28, 2020
Did You Know? Julia Crawford Ivers Wrote First Feature Adaptation of this Mark Twain Novel
Did You Know? Julia Crawford Ivers wrote the first feature film adaptation of HUCKLEBERRY FINN which was released 100 years ago this month. She has 48 credits in the AFI Catalog for writing, directing and producing silent films. She worked for Famous Players-Lasky Corp. in the early 1920s when it became known as Paramount Pictures, and collaborated with director William Desmond Taylor until…
January 28, 2020
Did you know? This Film Was The First Onscreen Representation Of African-American Intimacy
Did you know? SOMETHING GOOD-NEGRO KISS, released in either 1898 or 1903, is believed to be the first onscreen representation of African-American intimacy. When the film was rediscovered in 2017 and entered into the National Film Registry in 2018, it showed a significant contrast to the racist and caricatured representations of black culture that were...
January 28, 2020
Your Guide to Romantic Films
In honor of AFI’s 100 YEARS…100 PASSIONS: The 100 Greatest Love Stories Of All Time, this month the AFI Catalog‘s team of film researchers compiled a shortlist of the best films exploring the complexities of love. AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER (1957) Nominated for four Academy Awards®, this oft-referenced film stars Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr…
January 24, 2020
AFI Announces Screen Australia Onbass 2020 Fellow
AFI announced today that Eleanora Steiner, an Australian-Peruvian production designer, will be this year’s recipient of the Screen Australia Onbass Fellowship, a full-tuition scholarship to attend the AFI Conservatory. Last year’s recipient Meg White is currently a Cinematography Fellow at the Conservatory. Steiner was introduced today as this year’s Screen Australia Onbass Fellow at the…
January 21, 2020
AFI Directing Alum Zoé Wittock on her Sundance Feature JUMBO
AFI Alum Zoé Wittock (Directing, Class of 2010) is set to debut her feature film JUMBO at Sundance 2020. The film follows a shy young woman who develops an intense relationship with the amusement park ride. Wittock joins over 25 other AFI Alumni with projects at Sundance 2020. Watch Wittock discuss the inspiration for her…
January 16, 2020
AFI Alumni Projects to Screen at SXSW 2020
SXSW Film Festival announced their 2020 lineup and we’re proud of the many alumni who will be representing the AFI Conservatory and keeping it weird in Austin this March. Here is the full list of the alumni and their projects that will be screening at SXSW 2020: BE WATER Cinematographer: Caleb Heller (AFI Class…
January 15, 2020
AFI Directing Workshop for Women Announces New Class of 2021
Congratulations to the eight new participants selected for the AFI Directing Workshop for Women Class of 2021: Michelle Krusiec, April Maxey, Mary Angélica Molina, April Moreau, Kelly Pike, Jessica Shields, Lucretia Stinnette and Em Weinstein. “We are thrilled to welcome these eight artists into the AFI family and can’t wait to see their unique stories…
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