American Film Institute AFI

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The American Film Institute or AFI is, "a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and digital media," according to its website. That's a mouthful, but doesn't come near explaining all that the American Film Institute (AFI) really does to promote the art of filmmaking and preserve America's rich cinematic history.

The AFI Conservatory

The Conservatory at the American Film Institute (AFI) is hailed as one of the most advanced training centers for filmmakers in the US. Since being founded in 1969, the AFI conservatory has graduated over three thousand directors, producers, editors, production designers, and cinematographers. Included in the ranks of AFI alumni are Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, Pi), Amy Heckerling (Johnny Dangerously, Fast Times at Ridgemont High), David Lynch (The Elephant Man, Twin Peaks, Dune), and producer of the recent Star Wars prequels Rick McCallum, among others. The impact of the AFI conservatory on American filmmaking in the past thirty-seven years is therefore undeniable.

American Film Institute (AFI) Awards

Each year the American Film Institute presents the AFI Awards to "honor excellence in the moving image arts" by awarding ten movies, ten television programs, and up to ten "moments of significance" in its awards ceremony. The AFI Movies of the Year often wind up being Oscar nominees as well, but because there are ten of them (and only five Academy Award nominees), the list often includes films that Oscar would not usually give a second look.

2005 AFI Movies Of The Year
  • Brokeback Mountain
  • Capote
  • Crash
  • The 40 Year-Old Virgin
  • Good Night, and Good Luck
  • A History of Violence
  • King Kong
  • Munich
  • The Squid and the Whale
  • Syriana

2005 AFI Television Programs Of The Year
  • Battlestar Galactica
  • Deadwood
  • Grey's Anatomy
  • House
  • Lost
  • Sleeper Cell
  • Sometimes in April
  • 24
  • Veronica Mars

AFI Film Preservation

The American Film Institute takes great steps toward preserving cinematic history by purchasing, restoring, and protecting copies of rare films. Funded solely by grants and donations, AFI preservation ensures that important pieces of film from long ago will remain available for years to come.

The AFI collection contains, in total, over 27,500 titles; motion picture features and shorts produced between 1894 and the present. The collection includes titles that many people today may never have heard of but which carry some historical significance in the world of cinema and television. The 1983 made for HBO movie Right of Way may not be remembered by many, but as the first onscreen pairing of Bette Davis and James Stewart, it is of definite interest to the AFI. Other recent AFI acquisitions include the 1908 version of The Count of Monte Cristo, the earliest film version of that Dumas novel, and A Fool and His Money, an almost completely unknown ten minute film short. The significance of A Fool and His Money is that it was directed by Alice Guy, the first female director and is likely the first film to feature an entirely African-American cast.


 


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