September 29, 2026
CARRIE – AFI Catalog Spotlight
October 1, 2026 CARRIE – AFI Catalog Spotlight ‘Tis the season when shadows begin to lengthen, and terrifying tales told in the flicker of light and darkness capture the collective imagination of audiences. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, director Brian De Palma’s CARRIE (1976) has long been a seasonal staple for its timeless terror,...
September 1, 2026
JIM HENSON – AFI Catalog Spotlight
Jim Henson at an AFI seminar in 1986. Photo: AFI Archive. September 1, 2026 Jim Henson – AFI Catalog Spotlight When legendary filmmaker, producer and puppeteer Jim Henson visited the AFI Campus in 1986, he told AFI Conservatory Fellows, “One of the things that I like to do most is to explore what I haven’t...
July 24, 2026
Halle Berry and INTRODUCING DOROTHY DANDRIDGE – AFI Catalog Spotlight
August 1, 2026 Halle Berry and INTRODUCING DOROTHY DANDRIDGE – AFI Catalog Spotlight When AFI Trustee Halle Berry won her Academy Award® for MONSTER’S BALL (2001) – becoming the first Black actress ever to earn that accolade for a leading role – she dedicated the moment to “every nameless, faceless woman of color that now...
June 24, 2026
Gale Anne Hurd and ALIENS (1986) – AFI Catalog Spotlight
July 1, 2026 Gale Anne Hurd and ALIENS (1986) – AFI Catalog Spotlight Produced by AFI Trustee Emerita Gale Anne Hurd, ALIENS (1986) became the sci-fi sensation of the summer when its horde of slavering xenomorphs invaded cinemas 40 years ago this month. A follow-up to Ridley Scott’s slow-burn 1979 masterpiece ALIEN, the action-packed sequel...
June 1, 2026
Mel Brooks and THE ELEPHANT MAN – AFI Catalog Spotlight
June 1, 2026 Mel Brooks and THE ELEPHANT MAN – AFI Catalog Spotlight In celebration of Mel Brooks’ 100th birthday on June 28, the AFI Catalog and AFI Archive spotlight a lesser-known but essential chapter in his career – his uncredited role as a producer and champion of independent filmmakers. Though best known as a...
May 1, 2026
NIGHT ON EARTH – AFI Catalog Spotlight
May 1, 2026 NIGHT ON EARTH – AFI Catalog Spotlight With Exclusive Insights from Jim Jarmusch And Cinematographer Frederick Elmes (AFI Class of 1972) This month, AFI shines a spotlight on NIGHT ON EARTH, the tour de force anthology film which was released nationwide this month in 1992. AFI recently screened the film for Fellows...
April 1, 2026
BEVERLY HILLS COP – AFI Catalog Spotlight
April 1, 2026 BEVERLY HILLS COP – AFI Catalog Spotlight This month, AFI honors Eddie Murphy with the 51st AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film. Murphy’s life and career will be celebrated at a gala ceremony in Hollywood on April 18. In recognition of Murphy’s enduring impact on popular culture,...
February 3, 2026
TAXI DRIVER – AFI Catalog Spotlight
February 3, 2026 TAXI DRIVER – AFI Catalog Spotlight In celebration of TAXI DRIVER’s 50th anniversary, AFI highlights exclusive materials from the AFI Archive and the AFI Catalog that document the history and making of the film. These two world-renowned resources reflect AFI’s ongoing commitment to preserving film history for future generations. Directed by Martin Scorsese,...
June 6, 2025
AFI Surpasses 2 Million Followers Across Social Media
The American Film Institute has reached an exciting new milestone — more than 2 million followers across our social media platforms! We’re deeply grateful to every member of the AFI community for being part of this journey and helping us champion the art of storytelling, every single day. From rare film treasures from the AFI...
June 15, 2023
From the AFI Archive: GREASE in American Film Magazine
By Marjorie Rosen (American Film Magazine, February 1978) I know that the world is currently having a love affair with the fifties, that everyone is dancing to fifties' tunes and watching fifties-type shows on television ("Happy Days," "Laverne and Shirley"). And since the catalyst for this nostalgia explosion, the Broadway musical Grease, is about to...
April 3, 2023
Spotlight on Jeanine Basinger and Sam Wasson’s “Hollywood: The Oral History”
From the treasure trove of interviews within the AFI Archive comes “Hollywood: The Oral History,” an ambitious and captivating love letter to the history of film, from the silent days of cinema to the Classic Hollywood studio system to the rise of New Hollywood and beyond. Its authors, Jeanine Basinger – who is also a...
March 1, 2023
AFI Alum Mindy Johnson Restores Legacy of Early Animator Bessie Mae Kelley
Bessie Mae Kelley's vaudeville circular promotional photograph. Courtesy of Manitou Productions. While the work of early male animators, including Max and Dave Fleischer (BETTY BOOP) and Walter Lantz (WOODY WOODPECKER), has been historically well-documented, the essential contributions of early women animators have often been overlooked, minimized or erased over the years. In honor of Women’s...
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