February 1, 2024
BIRTHRIGHT (1924) – AFI Catalog Spotlight
In celebration of Black History Month, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on pioneer African American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux and his 10th directorial effort, BIRTHRIGHT (1924), which was released 100 years ago last month and was remade by Micheaux in 1938 as a talkie. While the 1924 film is believed to be lost, the surviving...
January 3, 2024
Katy Jurado – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This January, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on Mexican actress Katy Jurado, who would have celebrated her 100th birthday this month. Her second American film, HIGH NOON (1952), received vast critical acclaim and remains today on seven of AFI’s Lists, including the 100 greatest movies of all time, as well as making her the...
December 1, 2023
REGENERATION – 100th Anniversary – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This December, the AFI Catalog looks back 100 years to spotlight the centennial release anniversary of REGENERATION (1923), a landmark film notable for featuring an entirely Black cast and for catching the attention of both Black and white audiences alike. Billed as a "romance in the south seas,” REGENERATION titillated viewers as much as it...
November 1, 2023
Dorothy Dandridge – AFI CATALOG SPOTLIGHT
This November, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on actress, singer and dancer Dorothy Dandridge, who would have turned 101 this month. Starring in the seminal musical with an all-Black cast, CARMEN JONES (1954), Dandridge became the first African American performer to be nominated for a leading role with a Best Actress Oscar® nomination, and...
October 1, 2023
MEAN STREETS 50TH Anniversary – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This October, the AFI Catalog celebrates the 50th anniversary of MEAN STREETS, which marked the first pairing of AFI Life Achievement Award recipients Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro in a breakthrough film that catapulted both careers and set a precedent for American independent filmmaking. Also featuring Harvey Keitel in one of his early starring...
August 31, 2023
THE BIG CHILL’s 40th Anniversary – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This September, in the remaining summer heat, the AFI Catalog cools down by spotlighting THE BIG CHILL, which was released 40 years ago this month. Included on AFI’s 100 YEARS…100 SONGS list for its use of The Temptations’ version of “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” THE BIG CHILL achieved vast success at the box office...
August 1, 2023
AMERICAN GRAFFITI – AFI Catalog Spotlight
In honor of back to school this month, AFI shines a spotlight on AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973), which follows a group of teenagers on their last night of summer vacation and celebrates its 50th release anniversary this August. Included on AFI’s 100 YEARS…100 MOVIES list of the greatest American films of all time, and AFI’s 100...
June 30, 2023
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES – AFI Catalog Spotlight
In honor of Disability Pride Month, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946), the first film in which a person with a visible physical disability, World War II veteran Harold Russell, was honored with an unprecedented two Academy Awards® for the same role, Best Supporting Actor and an...
June 1, 2023
Alla Nazimova – AFI Catalog Spotlight
In celebration of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on the trailblazing queer actress Alla Nazimova, who would have celebrated her 144th birthday this June 4. Hailed by modern scholars as “the founding mother of Sapphic Hollywood,” Nazimova was known as a brilliant artiste and non-conformist, who performed in over 20 films in her time,...
May 1, 2023
ENTER THE DRAGON – AFI Catalog Spotlight
In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on Bruce Lee’s final and most successful film, ENTER THE DRAGON (1973), which was released 50 years ago this August just one month after Lee’s untimely death at age 32. Made for a slim budget of $850,000, with grosses...
April 3, 2023
SOYLENT GREEN – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This April marks the 50th release anniversary of the dystopian ecological thriller and cult classic SOYLENT GREEN (1973), which imagined the state of the world in 2022 with overpopulation, global warming and the vast discrepancy between rich and poor. Based in part on the 1966 novel “Make Room! Make Room!” by Harry Harrison, SOYLENT GREEN...
February 1, 2023
WATTSTAX – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This February, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on the landmark musical performance documentary WATTSTAX which was released 50 years ago this month. The film presents footage of what became known as the “Black Woodstock,” a seven-hour, August 1972 concert called Wattstax organized by Memphis’ Stax Records to commemorate the Watts Uprising of 1965 and...
AFI is a 501c3 non-profit advancing the art of the moving image by empowering storytellers and inspiring audiences
