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,...
December 1, 2025
BARRY LYNDON – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This month, AFI celebrates the 50th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick’s lavish eighteenth-century epic BARRY LYNDON (1975). The film was recently showcased as one of four titles hand-selected by Guillermo del Toro, Guest Artistic Director for AFI FEST 2025 presented by Canva, for his curated section of the festival. Recognized for its technological and cinematic innovations,...
November 1, 2025
BODY AND SOUL (1925) – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This November, the AFI Catalog celebrates the centennial release anniversary of Oscar Micheaux’s controversial masterpiece BODY AND SOUL (1925), which marked the screen debut of acclaimed singer and stage actor Paul Robeson in his first and only film performance for a Black director. Showcasing the dual role of estranged twin brothers – an escaped convict...
September 2, 2025
ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This September, the AFI Catalog celebrates the 50-year release anniversary of the quintessential glam rock cult classic THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975), which remains the longest-running movie of all time as it continues to be in limited release to this day at midnight screenings worldwide. Directed by Australian filmmaker Jim Sharman, who co-wrote the...
August 1, 2025
THE GOLD RUSH (1925) – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This month, the AFI Catalog celebrates the 100 year anniversary of Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece THE GOLD RUSH, which was released nationally on August 16, 1925 after a world premiere in Los Angeles in late June. The film – strikingly Chaplin’s most ambitious picture to date[i]– was a box-office sensation that continues to resonate today as...
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