AFI CONSERVATORY ALUMNUS
WINS BEST PICTURE OSCAR^®

SPOTLIGHT Producer Steve Golin
Takes Night’s Top Honor

AFI Alumni on Film Also Include Cinematographer
and Boston Globe Journalist

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, LOS ANGELES, CA, February 29, 2016 — The American Film Institute is proud to highlight the AFI Conservatory alumni featured in the 88th Academy Awards^®, which followed an unprecedented awards season run for AFI graduates. Producer Steve Golin (AFI Class of 1981) received the Best Picture Oscar^® at night’s end for SPOTLIGHT. The film’s credits also include cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi (AFI Class of 2002) with a special thanks to Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe journalist Michael Rezendes (AFI Class of 1999), whose character is played by Mark Ruffalo in the film.

Collectively, four AFI Conservatory alumni received a total of five Oscar^® nominations.

Also a producer on Best Picture nominee THE REVENANT, Golin’s previous awards season accolades for SPOTLIGHT include a Producers Guild Award nomination and, over the weekend, the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature.

Also nominated for 2016 Academy Awards^® were ANOMALISA director/producer Duke Johnson (AFI Class of 2006) for Best Animated Feature; AFI Conservatory thesis film DAY ONE, which was created entirely by AFI Class of 2014 alumni, for Best Live Action Short; and for Best Cinematography, THE HATEFUL EIGHT’s Robert Richardson (AFI Class of 1979), who has already won the award three times.

See the full list of AFI Conservatory alumni who worked on this year’s Academy Award^®-nominated films here.

As Previously Announced
Throughout the 2015-2016 awards season, AFI Conservatory graduates also received accolades including: 40 honors at AFI AWARDS 2015; a Film Independent Spirit Award; the 2016 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award; a Writers Guild of America Award; three Producers Guild of America Awards; two Golden Globe Awards; three Critics’ Choice Awards; an American Society of Cinematographers Award; two Gotham Awards; a Directors Guild of America Award nomination; and more.

About the AFI Conservatory
The AFI Conservatory offers a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree in six filmmaking disciplines: Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting. Aspiring artists learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on storytelling. Within the Conservatory is also a unique training program, the AFI Conservatory Directing Workshop for Women (DWW). AFI Conservatory’s alumni have been consistently recognized with all of the major industry awards — Academy Awards^®, Emmy Awards^®, guild awards — as well as the Tony Awards^®. Esteemed director, producer and screenwriter James L. Brooks serves as Artistic Director of the AFI Conservatory where he provides creative leadership for the elite film program. Proud supporters of the AFI Conservatory are American Airlines, the official airline of AFI and VIZIO, the official home theater sponsor of AFI.

About the American Film Institute
AFI is America’s promise to preserve the heritage of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. AFI programs include the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and the AFI Archive, which preserve film heritage for future generations; the AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film; AFI AWARDS, honoring the most outstanding movies and TV series of the year; AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies television events and movie reference lists, which have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers; year-round and special event exhibition through AFI FEST presented by Audi, AFI DOCS and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center; and educating the next generation of storytellers at the world-renowned AFI Conservatory. For more information about AFI, visit AFI.com or connect with AFI at twitter.com/AmericanFilm, facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, instagram.com/AmericanFilmInstitute and youtube.com/AFI.