July 13, 2026
Applications Now Open for AFI DWW+ Directing Program Class of 2028
APPLY NOW AFI is thrilled to announce the AFI DWW+ program is now accepting applications for the Class of 2028. Now in its 52nd year, AFI DWW+ is a tuition-free year-long directing workshop that educates emerging narrative filmmakers through the production cycle of a short film, providing hands-on instruction led by industry experts. As one...
May 31, 2024
Spotlight on THE CHI Director Stacy Pascal Gaspard (AFI Class of 2021)
With the Tribeca Film Festival right around the corner, we spoke to director and AFI Conservatory Alum Stacy Pascal Gaspard (AFI Class of 2021) who participated in the inaugural Indeed Rising Voices Initiative in 2021 and subsequently premiered her film SOÑADORA at the festival. The Rising Voices accelerator was established by Lena Waithe, and her...
February 1, 2024
AFI Conservatory Alum Ed Zwick Set to Publish New Memoir and Launch Book Tour
Mark your calendars! This month, readers will be treated to the upcoming memoir “Hits, Flops and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood,” written by Academy® and Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker and AFI Conservatory Alum Ed Zwick (AFI Class of 1975). This new imprint will be published on February 13, 2024, offering an exclusive, behind-the-scenes glimpse...
August 11, 2023
AFI DWW+ Now Accepting Applications for Class of 2024-2025
APPLY NOW AFI is excited to announce applications are now open for the next class of the AFI DWW+ program, a year-long directing workshop that educates traditionally underrepresented narrative filmmakers through the production cycle of a short film, providing hands-on instruction led by industry experts. In 2024, the program will celebrate its 50th anniversary. AFI...
April 1, 2022
Spotlight on Writer/Director Chloe Okuno
Upon graduating from UC Berkeley, writer/director Chloe Okuno (AFI Class of 2014) turned her attention to filmmaking, applying to the AFI Conservatory’s Directing program to help train and prepare her for the road ahead. While at AFI, she thrived, making the award-winning horror film SLUT and receiving the prestigious Franklin J. Shaffner Fellow Award. Inspired...
July 28, 2020
Watch: Cinematographer and Director Ernest Dickerson on Filmmaking
Ernest Dickerson established himself as a groundbreaking cinematographer on films such as SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT and DO THE RIGHT THING, and made his directing debut with JUICE, starring Omar Epps and Tupac Shakur. He went on to direct episodes of the critically acclaimed shows THE WIRE and THE WALKING DEAD and most recently directed…
April 6, 2020
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and Frederick Elmes on Filming HUNTERS and Advice for Aspiring Filmmakers
Growing up on the Texas/Mexico border in the ‘80s, director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s (AFI Class of 1995) first introduction to the work of legendary cinematographer Frederick Elmes (AFI Class of 1972) was a worn-out VHS tape of BLUE VELVET. Describing Elmes’ filmmaking as “hypnotic,” Gomez-Rejon continued his initiation with other films shot by Elmes – ERASERHEAD,…
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