January 3, 2023
Butterfly McQueen – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This January, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on actress Butterfly McQueen, who would have celebrated her 112th birthday this month. During the Golden Age of American cinema, McQueen was often relegated to stereotypical roles of domestic servants, but she continued to work sporadically through the late-1980s and earned a Daytime Emmy Award® for her...
December 1, 2022
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This December, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on the beloved Christmas classic IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, which premiered this month in 1946 and has remained high on AFI’s lists of the best films ever made, including #1 on AFI’s 100 YEARS…100 CHEERS list of the most inspiring films of all time. Although it received mixed reviews upon...
November 1, 2022
Mabel Normand – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This November, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on Mabel Normand, who was born this month in 1892 (by most accounts), and who was one of the first actresses to start her own Hollywood production company and to direct herself in films. Beginning her career in modeling as a “Gibson Girl,” Normand became a leading performer...
October 3, 2022
RICHARD III (1912) – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This month, AFI celebrates the 110th release anniversary of the 1912 epic silent film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s RICHARD III, the oldest known feature film in existence which AFI restored from a nitrate print in 1996. Long believed to be lost—as are roughly 70% of films made before 1930, according to the Library of Congress—RICHARD...
September 1, 2022
Dolores del Río – AFI Catalog Spotlight
In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on Dolores del Río, the first Mexican actress to achieve mainstream success in Hollywood with a career that lasted over 50 years. Born in August 1904 to Mexican aristocrats, María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López-Negrete was nicknamed Lolita and was drawn...
August 1, 2022
Alice Guy Blaché – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This month, AFI celebrates the world’s first female director, Alice Guy Blaché, who made more than 700 films in a career that spanned from 1896 to 1920. Starting out as Alice Guy in her homeland France as a secretary for motion-picture camera manufacturer Léon Gaumont, she was one of the few in attendance at Lumiere’s...
July 1, 2022
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (1992) – AFI Catalog Spotlight
Released 30 years ago this month, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN was a box office sensation, becoming Columbia Pictures’ highest-grossing non-sequel opener to date and bringing international attention to the little-known All-American Girls Pro Baseball League (AAGPBL) which was established during World War II to entertain the public while male players were away at war....
June 1, 2022
NANOOK OF THE NORTH – AFI Catalog Spotlight
Celebrating 100 years since its theatrical release on June 11, 1922, NANOOK OF THE NORTH continues to be studied as pioneering yet problematic account of Inuit indigenous peoples living in Canada’s North Hudson Bay region at a time in which little was known about their culture. Over the century since its release, the film has been scrutinized...
May 2, 2022
HESTER STREET (1975) – AFI Catalog Spotlight
In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, the AFI Catalog is shining a spotlight on HESTER STREET (1975), Joan Micklin Silver’s directorial debut which screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1975 to critical acclaim. The indie picture tells the story of cultural assimilation in New York City’s Jewish enclave of Hester Street at...
March 28, 2022
THE SOUND OF MUSIC – AFI Catalog Spotlight
On April 1, 1965, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, starring AFI Life Achievement Award recipient Julie Andrews as Maria von Trapp, debuted in theaters, delighting audiences around the world. This month in honor of its release, the AFI Catalog explores the making of the beloved musical, which became one of the highest grossing films of all...
March 1, 2022
Hattie McDaniel: AFI Catalog Spotlight
In honor of Women’s History Month, which is celebrated annually in March, AFI is shining a spotlight on Academy Award® winner and acclaimed actress Hattie McDaniel. Alternating between dramatic and comedic roles, Hattie McDaniel was a versatile performer also known for her skill as a singer and songwriter. The youngest daughter of formerly enslaved people,...
February 1, 2022
AFI Catalog Spotlight: CABARET Turns 50
Celebrating its 50th anniversary this month, the musical CABARET (1972) defined a generation, infusing various genres of filmmaking with political satire to become a box-office and critical success. Competing against THE GODFATHER at the Academy Awards®, CABARET swept the Oscars® with eight wins including Best Director for Bob Fosse, Best Actress for Liza Minnelli (in...
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