Pioneering Program Includes Siân Heder, Lesli Linka Glatter and Dime Davis as Alumnae
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Los Angeles, CA, March 31, 2023 – Today, the American Film Institute (AFI) announced Shaz Bennett (AFI DWW Class of 2012) as the AFI DWW+ Guest Artistic Director for the Class of 2023-2024. Bennett was showrunner and executive producer on the final season of QUEEN SUGAR alongside creator Ava DuVernay, after both writing and directing on season six. Bennett’s debut feature film ALASKA IS A DRAG, which she wrote and directed, was released by ARRAY and is on Netflix. Her directing credits also include four episodes of BILLIONS (Showtime), ANIMAL KINGDOM (TNT), BOSCH (Amazon), ORDINARY JOE (NBC) among others. Her writing credits include THE GLADES on A&E, UnREAL on Lifetime and four seasons of Amazon’s BOSCH. She also co-wrote with Sydney Freeland the pilot SOVEREIGN for Ava DuVernay and Bird Runningwater for Warner Bros. Television and NBC. Previously, Bennett was selected as a participant for Ryan Murphy’s HALF program, Sundance Screenwriting Labs and Fox’s inaugural Franchise Directing program, and is an Alumni of the AFI DWW+ program.
“Shaz’s extensive knowledge and experience will be a tremendous asset for this year’s cohort of directors as they hone their skills as storytellers,” said Susan Ruskin, Dean of the AFI Conservatory and Executive Vice President of the American Film Institute. “Returning to the DWW+ program as the Guest Artistic Director, Shaz embodies the best of our AFI community and its dedication to helping the next generation of filmmakers.”
As the DWW+ Guest Artistic Director, Bennett will oversee and direct the artistic curriculum and serve as a mentor for the DWW+ participants through their production cycle and the industry showcase, as well as act as an ambassador on behalf of the program. Additionally, Bennett will participate in the strategy and planning for the DWW+ 50th Anniversary in 2024.
“AFI and DWW+ hold a special place in my heart. My feature directorial debut ALASKA IS DRAG came out of the short film, with the same title, made through this program. It was also where I met some of my closest friends, collaborators and mentors who have inspired me to be a better filmmaker,” said Bennett. “I’m thrilled to return to AFI and help guide the new participants toward their goals. We need their visionary voices to join the film conversation and to have them be in the room and on sets everywhere.”
AFI DWW+ is a year-long directing workshop that supports women and traditionally underrepresented narrative filmmakers through the production cycle of a short film, providing hands-on instruction led by industry experts. As previously announced, the AFI DWW+ Class of 2024 participants are Vanessa Beletic, Chloë de Carvalho, Desdemona Chiang, Naomi Iwamoto, Huriyyah Muhammad, Joanne Mony Park, Kerry O’Neill and Roxy Toporowych. The short films completed in the workshop will premiere at the annual DWW+ Showcase in Spring 2024.
Past participants include Academy Award® winner Siân Heder (AFI DWW Class of 2005), who wrote and directed the Academy Award®-winning film CODA; DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter (AFI DWW Class of 1982), whose critically acclaimed work as a producer and director on HOMELAND earned her Emmy®, PGA and DGA Award nominations; Dime Davis (AFI DWW Class of 2015),the first Black woman to be nominated for an Emmy® in the Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series category; and Hanelle Culpepper (AFI DWW Class of 2002), who directed the record-breaking pilot of STAR TREK: PICARD, making her the first woman director and the first Black director to launch a new STAR TREK series in the franchise’s history.
The AFI DWW+ program receives generous support from AT&T, Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation, Universal Pictures and Lifetime. Additional support comes from the Lewis Greenwood Foundation, Jean Picker Firstenberg Endowment, The Nancy Malone Endowment provided by The Bob and Dolores Hope Charitable Foundation, and other individual supporters committed to providing opportunities for historically underrepresented voices in the media arts.
AFI DWW+ is part of the AFI Conservatory’s Department of Innovative Programs, which also includes the Cinematography Intensive for Women. Through a range of learning opportunities, Innovative Programs serves a diverse community of aspiring visual storytellers to cultivate cutting-edge technological, digital, and media-making skills, bridge access to professional networks and place participants on an upward career trajectory. Read more about Innovative Programs on conservatory.afi.com/innovativeprograms/.
About the American Film Institute (AFI)
The American Film Institute (AFI) is a nonprofit organization with a mandate to champion the moving image as an art form. Established in 1967, AFI launched the first comprehensive history of American film and sparked the movement for film preservation in the United States. In 1969, AFI opened the doors of the AFI Conservatory, a graduate-level program to train narrative filmmakers. The Conservatory, which counts Deniese Davis, Affonso Gonçalves, Susannah Grant, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas and Rachel Morrison as Alumni, is ranked the #1 film school in America. AFI’s enduring traditions include the AFI Life Achievement Award, which honors the masters for work that has stood the test of time; AFI AWARDS, which celebrates the creative ensembles of the most outstanding screen stories of the year; and scholarly efforts such as the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and the AFI Archive that preserve film history for future generations. AFI exhibition programs include AFI FEST and year-round exhibition at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Maryland. AFI Movie Club is a destination for movie lovers from around the world to celebrate and engage with the art form every day. Other pioneering programs include workshops aimed at increasing diversity in the storytelling community, including AFI DWW+ and the AFI Cinematography Intensive for Women. Read about all of these programs and more at AFI.com and follow us on social media at Facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, YouTube.com/AFI, Twitter.com/AmericanFilm and Instagram.com/AmericanFilmInstitute.
About the AFI Conservatory
The AFI Conservatory opened its doors in 1969 to an inaugural class that included Terrence Malick, Caleb Deschanel and Paul Schrader. Today, the Conservatory offers a two-year MFA degree in six filmmaking disciplines: Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting. In a collaborative production environment, AFI Fellows learn to master the art of storytelling, collectively creating up to 175 films a year. Fellows actively participate in the entire life cycle of a film, from development through production and exhibition.
Alumni of this elite program, ranging from modern masters to bold new voices defining the state of the art form include Andrea Arnold, Darren Aronofsky, Ari Aster, Deniese Davis, Sam Esmail, Brad Falchuk, Affonso Gonçalves, Susannah Grant, Liz Hannah, Patty Jenkins, Janusz Kamiński, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas, Polly Morgan, Rachel Morrison and Wally Pfister, among others.
Press contact:
American Film Institute
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