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 A DRAG, which she wrote and directed, was released by ARRAY and is on Netflix. Her directing credits also include four episodes of BILLIONS (Showtime), ANIMAL KINGDOM (TNT), BOSCH (Amazon) and ORDINARY JOE (NBC), among others. Her writing credits include THE GLADES on A&E, UnREAL on Lifetime and four seasons of Amazon’s BOSCH. She also co-wrote with Sydney Freeland the pilot SOVEREIGN for Ava DuVernay and Bird Runningwater for Warner Bros. Television and NBC. Previously, Bennett was selected as a participant for Ryan Murphy’s HALF program, Sundance Screenwriting Labs and Fox’s inaugural Franchise Directing program, and is an Alumni of the AFI DWW+ program.

“Shaz’s extensive knowledge and experience will be a tremendous asset for this year’s cohort of directors as they hone their skills as storytellers,” said Susan Ruskin, Dean of the AFI Conservatory and Executive Vice President of the American Film Institute. “Returning to the DWW+ program as the Guest Artistic Director, Shaz embodies the best of our AFI community and its dedication to helping the next generation of filmmakers.”

As the DWW+ Guest Artistic Director, Bennett will oversee and direct the artistic curriculum and serve as a mentor for the DWW+ participants through their production cycle and the industry showcase, as well as act as an ambassador on behalf of the program. Additionally, Bennett will participate in the strategy and planning for the DWW+ 50th Anniversary in 2024.

“AFI and DWW+ hold a special place in my heart. My feature directorial debut ALASKA IS DRAG came out of the short film, with the same title, made through this program. It was also where I met some of my closest friends, collaborators and mentors who have inspired me to be a better filmmaker,” said Bennett. “I’m thrilled to return to AFI and help guide the new participants toward their goals. We need their visionary voices to join the film conversation and to have them be in the room and on sets everywhere.”

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. As previously announced, the AFI DWW+ Class of 2024 participants are Vanessa Beletic, Chloë de Carvalho, Desdemona Chiang, Naomi Iwamoto, Huriyyah Muhammad, Joanne Mony Park, Kerry O’Neill and Roxy Toporowych. The short films completed in the workshop will premiere at the annual DWW+ Showcase in Spring 2024.

Past participants include Academy Award® winner Siân Heder (AFI DWW Class of 2005), who wrote and directed the Academy Award®-winning film CODA; DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter (AFI DWW Class of 1982), whose critically acclaimed work as a producer and director on HOMELAND earned her Emmy®, PGA and DGA Award nominations; Dime Davis (AFI DWW Class of 2015), the first Black woman to be nominated for an Emmy® in the Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series category; and Hanelle Culpepper (AFI DWW Class of 2002), who directed the record-breaking pilot of STAR TREK: PICARD, making her the first woman director and the first Black director to launch a new STAR TREK series in the franchise’s history.

The AFI DWW+ program receives generous support from AT&T, Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation, Universal Pictures and Lifetime. Additional support comes from the Lewis Greenwood Foundation, Jean Picker Firstenberg Endowment, The Nancy Malone Endowment provided by The Bob and Dolores Hope Charitable Foundation, and other individual supporters committed to providing opportunities for historically underrepresented voices in the media arts.

AFI DWW+ is part of the AFI Conservatory’s Department of Innovative Programs, which also includes the Cinematography Intensive for Women. Through a range of learning opportunities, Innovative Programs serves a diverse community of aspiring visual storytellers to cultivate cutting-edge technological, digital, and media-making skills, bridge access to professional networks and place participants on an upward career trajectory. Read more about Innovative Programs on conservatory.afi.com/innovativeprograms/.