January 7, 2020
AFI Alum Scott Silver Scores BAFTA and WGA Nominations for JOKER
Congratulations to AFI alum and Academy Award®-nominated screenwriter Scott Silver who received a BAFTA nomination and a WGA nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing JOKER, alongside writer/director Todd Phillips. This marks his second BAFTA and WGA nominations, after he was nominated for Best Original Screenplay for THE FIGHTER in 2011. JOKER, which premiered at…
December 18, 2019
Alex Michaelides On Writing “The Silent Patient,” Uma Thurman’s Advice & Plan B Optioning the Movie Rights
When Alex Michaelides (AFI Class of 2004) released his first novel “The Silent Patient” earlier this year, he not only had a taut and spellbinding psychological thriller on his hands, but also a hit novel that debuted at #1 on The New York Times Best Sellers List. Michaelides studied English literature at Cambridge University, received…
November 13, 2019
AFI FEST Interview: Dr. Stacy Smith on the Erasure of Latinx in Film
The AFI Summit with Eva Longoria And Dr. Stacy Smith on the Erasure of Latinx in Film will take place at AFI FEST on Friday, November 15 at the Hollywood Roosevelt. It’s no secret that Latinos are overwhelmingly underrepresented both in front of and behind the scenes in Hollywood. However, this summer Dr. Stacy Smith…
November 12, 2019
AFI FEST Interview: QUEEN & SLIM’s Lead Actor Daniel Kaluuya
QUEEN & SLIM is the Opening Night film at AFI FEST on Thursday, November 14 at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood. QUEEN & SLIM is the powerful feature directorial debut of AFI alum Melina Matsoukas from a provocative and poetic script written by Lena Waithe. The film starts on a cold night in the…
November 11, 2019
AFI FEST Interview: RICHARD JEWELL Lead Actor Paul Walter Hauser
RICHARD JEWELL will screen as part of a Gala presentation at AFI FEST on Wednesday, November 20 at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood. Directed by Clint Eastwood and based on true events, RICHARD JEWELL is a story about what happens when what is reported as fact obscures the truth. The world is first introduced…
November 9, 2019
AFI FEST Interview: JUST MERCY Director/Co-Writer Destin Daniel Cretton
JUST MERCY plays as a Special Screening at AFI FEST on Saturday, November 16 at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood. Writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton is an indie darling with credits, including the award-winning drama SHORT TERM 12 and THE GLASS CASTLE — an adaptation of Jeannette Walls’ 2005 bestselling memoir. This spring Marvel came…
November 8, 2019
AFI FEST Interview: HALA Writer/Director Minhal Baig
HALA plays as part of the New Auteurs section at AFI FEST at the TCL Chinese Theatres on Monday, November 18 and Wednesday, November 20. Buy tickets to the screening here. Writer/director Minhal Baig has steadily proven herself a force within the independent film world with her first feature, ONE NIGHT, and now HALA, which…
November 6, 2019
AFI FEST Interview: AND THEN WE DANCED Writer/Director Levan Akin
AND THEN WE DANCED plays as part of the World Cinema section at AFI FEST at the TCL Chinese Theatres on Wednesday, November 20 and Thursday, November 21. Buy tickets to the screening here. Premiering in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, Levan Akin’s third feature, AND THEN WE DANCED, is about a young dancer struggling…
November 5, 2019
AFI FEST Interview: QUEEN & SLIM Writer Lena Waithe
Although initially known as an onscreen performer, Lena Waithe turned heads when she wrote the poignant Thanksgiving episode of MASTER OF NONE in which, over a series of Thanksgivings, a young woman embraces her sexuality as she struggles to come out to her family. Not only was the episode critically hailed, but it also earned…
November 1, 2019
Wondering What to See at AFI Fest 2019? Here are Some Programmer Highlights
This week's announcement of the full AFI FEST 2019 presented by Audi lineup marks the culmination of many months of screening, reviewing and whittling down thousands of film entries by our dedicated team of festival programmers. In the end emerges a dynamic showcase that includes world premiere Galas, rising new auteurs, a brand-new documentary section...
October 21, 2019
From the Big Top to the Rooftop: AFI Member Gerry Cottle Talks Growing up in the Circus and Founding Rooftop Cinema Club
Performing and entertaining is undoubtedly in Gerry Cottle Jr.’s blood. He is the son of not one, but two circus performers. His father ran away from home at 15 to join the circus where he eventually married Betty Fossett, the daughter of another circus showman. He grew up in the circus, but rather than get…
October 18, 2019
Congratulations to AFI’s Student Academy Award Winners
Last night at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored 16 student winners from colleges and universities around the world at the 46th Student Academy Awards® ceremony. “You are the future of film: a future that is diverse, international and very bright,” said David Rubin, the…
