December 31, 2016
From the Desk of the President & CEO
And so here we stand upon a mountain — looking forward to 2017 and the 50th Anniversary of the American Film Institute. It is a moment to be marked across many moments — and a celebration to continue through 2019, when we will herald the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the AFI Conservatory. This…
November 11, 2016
Four AFI Conservatory Alumni Win Grants for Their Thesis Work
Today at AFI FEST, AFI will present its annual alumni awards to four AFI Conservatory graduates from the Class of 2015 for excellence in their thesis work, honoring the remarkable talents of each promising storyteller while propelling them forward to successful careers in film and TV. Director/producer Rick Rosenthal (AFI Class of 1973) will present...
November 7, 2016
AFI Conservatory Dean to Step Down at the End of the Academic Year
The American Film Institute today announced that Jan Schuette will depart as Dean of the AFI Conservatory at the end of the academic year. Schuette, who will have led AFI’s prestigious film school for three years, informed AFI this week that he intends to continue his work in academia and also resume his professional work…
September 15, 2016
AFI and 20th Century Fox Strike Partnership Aimed at Female Directors
Twentieth Century Fox Film and the American Film Institute have entered a new partnership to help increase the number of female directors working on major studio films. The initiative will provide alumnae of the AFI Conservatory Directing Workshop for Women (DWW) — the American Film Institute’s unique female filmmaker training program — the opportunity to…
September 1, 2016
Watch: Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz at AFI Conservatory 2016 Opening Day
Last week, first and second year AFI Fellows arrived on campus, and got to hear from two of their own alumni — Ed Zwick (AFI Class of 1975) and Marshall Herskovitz (AFI Class of 1975), respectively the director/writer and co-writer of JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK. Two months ahead of its October release, the film…
August 31, 2016
A Dialogue Among AFI Fellows
The AFI Conservatory convened its Fellows tonight for an open dialogue about the issues surrounding THE BIRTH OF A NATION. The conversation was led by Elvis Mitchell, one of our country’s most respected film historians and a member of the AFI faculty as well as AFI screenwriting alumna Brennan Peters. Keeping with the long-held traditions…
July 19, 2016
FRONTMAN Wins VIZIO + Dolby Vision Filmmaker Challenge
VIZIO, Inc. has announced today that AFI Conservatory Class of 2015 Cinematographer Todd Sheridan’s FRONTMAN (an AFI thesis film directed by Matthew Gentile, Class of 2015) is the winning selection in the VIZIO + Dolby Vision™ Filmmaker Challenge. FRONTMAN scored highest out of five finalists by a panel of judges. Clinching the top prize, Sheridan…
July 14, 2016
Congrats to AFI Conservatory’s Emmy-Nominated Alumni
Thursday morning’s 68th Annual Primetime Emmy® Awards announcement featured 22 AFI Conservatory alumni up for a total of 20 nominations. A record total of 50 alumni worked on 25 nominated programs — adding to a 2016 winning streak that has included 12 Television Critics Association Award nominations, three Cannes Film Festival prizes, five Academy Award®…
June 15, 2016
AFI Conservatory: Tradition and Change
At the opening of the AFI Conservatory in September 1969, founding director George Stevens, Jr., inspired the very first class of artists with remarks that ended, “Let us work to assure that we grow and change as film itself does.” Those words were echoed at Commencement on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 as 116 new storytellers...
May 2, 2016
AFI Conservatory Names 2016 Honorary Degree Recipients
AFI will confer Doctorate of Fine Arts degrees honoris causa upon Rita Moreno and Quentin Tarantino. They will be recognized for their contributions to film during the AFI Conservatory’s commencement ceremony on June 15, 2016, at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. One of only a handful of performers to have won all four major entertainment awards, the...
April 12, 2016
Watch: Ryan Murphy on FX’s AMERICAN CRIME STORY and the Half Foundation
During his recent visit to the AFI Conservatory as part of the Harold Lloyd Master Seminar series, television artist Ryan Murphy discussed his work as an executive producer of FX's AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON — and as a storytelling entrepreneur. Murphy addressed AFI Fellows with a candid introduction of his new foundation Half, an all-inclusive initiative to offer...
March 17, 2016
Meet the Next Generation of Film and TV Storytellers
Pictured above — THE ICEBOX team, L to R: Ariel Vida (production designer), Steph Perez (editor), Dani Medeiros (production designer), Daniel Sawka (director), Ian Holliday (cinematographer) On Tuesday night at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, the AFI Conservatory Showcase presented the extraordinary storytelling talents of the Class of 2015, with screenings of three jury-selected thesis films,...
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