July 7, 2025
BROKEN ARROW – AFI Catalog Spotlight
By Sarah Blankfort Clothier, MLIS, Manager, AFI Catalog This July, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on the little-known story behind BROKEN ARROW (1950), which was released 75 years ago this month and is recognized as the first major Hollywood Western of the sound era to portray Native Americans in a sympathetic light.[i] The film marked...
May 1, 2025
LEGACY – AFI Catalog Spotlight
This month, the AFI Catalog celebrates the 50-year anniversary of director/producer Karen Arthur’s independent film debut LEGACY, which toured festivals in 1975. It was produced for just $46,000 with finishing funds provided in part by the American Film Institute. Around the time that Arthur made LEGACY, she was enrolled in an internship program through AFI...
October 1, 2024
Eddie Romero – AFI Catalog Spotlight
In honor of Filipino American History Month, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on legendary filmmaker Eddie Romero (1924-2013), who directed over 50 American and Filipino films over six decades, and would have celebrated his centennial birthday this year. Known as a Filipino national treasure and a B-movie icon,[i] Romero was honored with numerous awards...
April 1, 2024
AFI Catalog Spotlight: The Recent Discovery of a Lost Silent Film
Roughly 75% of American silent films are believed to be lost forever, according to a report by the Library of Congress that used the AFI Catalog as a primary source,[i] but every once in a while this statistic is reconsidered as incredible discoveries are revealed within and outside of archives. One such finding – which...
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...
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...
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...
January 6, 2023
AFI Releases Landmark Study About the Contributions of Women to Early Cinema
Initiative Documents Hundreds of Previously Unrecorded Female Filmmakers for Film History Today, AFI released the results of their groundbreaking gender study focused on silent era films. The project, titled Women They Talk About after the 1928 feature film, is an initiative documenting the widely unrecorded contributions of female filmmakers in the silent film era and...
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...
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