AFI Fest on Monday announced the films that received this year’s awards, with Clint Bentley’s Jockey from Sony Pictures Classics and the Tommy Oliver-directed Juice Wrld taking the narrative and documentary Audience Awards, respectively.
The Grand Jury Award winners for Live Action and Animated Short will be eligible for the Best Live Action Short and Best Animated Short Oscars.
“Bringing filmmakers and movie fans together to celebrate the moving image is at the heart of AFI Fest,” said Sarah Harris, Director of Programming for AFI Festivals. “The excitement of all festival goers to be together in the theaters once again was electric. This year’s festival has truly shown everyone the power of the art form to lift our spirits when it’s needed the most.”
The AFI Fest jury was composed of film curator and writer Kiva Reardon; Amanda Salazar, head of programming and acquisitions at...
The Grand Jury Award winners for Live Action and Animated Short will be eligible for the Best Live Action Short and Best Animated Short Oscars.
“Bringing filmmakers and movie fans together to celebrate the moving image is at the heart of AFI Fest,” said Sarah Harris, Director of Programming for AFI Festivals. “The excitement of all festival goers to be together in the theaters once again was electric. This year’s festival has truly shown everyone the power of the art form to lift our spirits when it’s needed the most.”
The AFI Fest jury was composed of film curator and writer Kiva Reardon; Amanda Salazar, head of programming and acquisitions at...
- 11/15/2021
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
AFI Fest announced its 2021 jury and audience award winners, with audience prizes going to “Jockey” and the documentary feature centered on the late rapper Juice Wrld.
“Bringing filmmakers and movie fans together to celebrate the moving image is at the heart of AFI Fest. The excitement of all festivalgoers to be together in the theaters, once again, was electric,” Sarah Harris, AFI Festivals’ director of programming said in a statement announcing the winners. “This year’s festival has truly shown everyone the power of the art form to lift our spirits when it’s needed the most.”
Director Clint Bentley’s “Jockey” earned the audience award for a narrative feature; the film stars Clifton Collins Jr. as an aging jockey with hopes to win one last title for his longtime trainer who has acquired what appears to be a championship horse, despite the years and injuries that have taken a toll on his body.
“Bringing filmmakers and movie fans together to celebrate the moving image is at the heart of AFI Fest. The excitement of all festivalgoers to be together in the theaters, once again, was electric,” Sarah Harris, AFI Festivals’ director of programming said in a statement announcing the winners. “This year’s festival has truly shown everyone the power of the art form to lift our spirits when it’s needed the most.”
Director Clint Bentley’s “Jockey” earned the audience award for a narrative feature; the film stars Clifton Collins Jr. as an aging jockey with hopes to win one last title for his longtime trainer who has acquired what appears to be a championship horse, despite the years and injuries that have taken a toll on his body.
- 11/15/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Resuming its traditional post as the last stand of the fall festival season, the American Film Institute’s AFI Fest will return to its traditional home at the Tcl Chinese Theatres in Hollywood, its first in-person fest since 2019. Per AFI president and CEO Bob Gazzale, the event will re-enter the scene with its sense of purpose intact.
“AFI Fest was created to fulfil a need, and that need seems to change every year, certainly during a global pandemic,” Gazzale says. “And what we determined early was that the goal of AFI this year was to manifest what we learned during the pandemic: that experiencing life with others is a joy. To laugh together, to experience a jump scare, to experience a story well told has always proven a tonic for dark times.”
Perhaps appropriately considering that mantra, the fest’s marquee lineup is heavy on festival favorites, musicals and crowd-pleasers.
“AFI Fest was created to fulfil a need, and that need seems to change every year, certainly during a global pandemic,” Gazzale says. “And what we determined early was that the goal of AFI this year was to manifest what we learned during the pandemic: that experiencing life with others is a joy. To laugh together, to experience a jump scare, to experience a story well told has always proven a tonic for dark times.”
Perhaps appropriately considering that mantra, the fest’s marquee lineup is heavy on festival favorites, musicals and crowd-pleasers.
- 11/10/2021
- by Andrew Barker
- Variety Film + TV
After opening the Venice Film Festival and continuing on to the New York Film Festival, Oscar winner Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers from Sony Pictures Classics will have a red-carpet premiere at this year’s AFI Fest at the Tcl Chinese Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 13.
In the movie, two women, Janis and Ana, played respectively by Penelope Cruz and Milena Smit, coincide in a hospital room where they are going to give birth. Both are single and became pregnant by accident. Janis, middle-aged, doesn’t regret it and she is exultant. The other, Ana, an adolescent, is scared, repentant and traumatized. Janis tries to encourage her while they move like sleepwalkers along the hospital corridors. The few words they exchange in these hours will create a very close link between the two, which by chance develops and complicates, and changes their lives in a decisive way. Cruz won the Volpi...
In the movie, two women, Janis and Ana, played respectively by Penelope Cruz and Milena Smit, coincide in a hospital room where they are going to give birth. Both are single and became pregnant by accident. Janis, middle-aged, doesn’t regret it and she is exultant. The other, Ana, an adolescent, is scared, repentant and traumatized. Janis tries to encourage her while they move like sleepwalkers along the hospital corridors. The few words they exchange in these hours will create a very close link between the two, which by chance develops and complicates, and changes their lives in a decisive way. Cruz won the Volpi...
- 10/13/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The American Film Institute said Tuesday that it has added the world premieres of Apple Original Films’ Swan Song, starring two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, and Halle Berry’s directorial debut Bruised from Netflix to this year’s AFI Fest lineup.
When Netflix picked up Bruised at the Toronto Film Festival last year, the pic was in its unfinished form, and its debut in November will be the first time it’s being shown to moviegoers in polished form.
Swan Song and Bruised will screen in-person at the Tcl Chinese Theatre on Friday, November 12, and Saturday, November 13, respectively.
Swan Song reps Oscar winner Benjamin Cleary’s (Stutterer) feature directorial debut and follows Ali as a man diagnosed with a terminal illness who is presented with an alternative solution by his doctor (Glenn Close) to shield his family from grief. The pic also stars Naomie Harris, Awkwafina and Adam Beach. Cleary wrote the screenplay.
When Netflix picked up Bruised at the Toronto Film Festival last year, the pic was in its unfinished form, and its debut in November will be the first time it’s being shown to moviegoers in polished form.
Swan Song and Bruised will screen in-person at the Tcl Chinese Theatre on Friday, November 12, and Saturday, November 13, respectively.
Swan Song reps Oscar winner Benjamin Cleary’s (Stutterer) feature directorial debut and follows Ali as a man diagnosed with a terminal illness who is presented with an alternative solution by his doctor (Glenn Close) to shield his family from grief. The pic also stars Naomie Harris, Awkwafina and Adam Beach. Cleary wrote the screenplay.
- 9/28/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Fest runs November 10-14 in Los Angeles.
Updated: Halle Berry’s feature directing debut Bruised and Mahershala Ali and Awkwafina drama Swan Song will receive premieres at AFI Fest in November.
Netflix’s Bruised plays on November 13 and stars Berry as a washed-up Mma fighter struggling for redemption as an athlete and a mother. The film premiered at TIFF 2020 and gets its US premiere at AFI Fest.
Apple Orginal Films’ Swang Song from feature directing debutant Benjamin Cleary gets its world premiere on November 12 and stars Ali as man diagnosed with a terminal illness who is presented with an alternative...
Updated: Halle Berry’s feature directing debut Bruised and Mahershala Ali and Awkwafina drama Swan Song will receive premieres at AFI Fest in November.
Netflix’s Bruised plays on November 13 and stars Berry as a washed-up Mma fighter struggling for redemption as an athlete and a mother. The film premiered at TIFF 2020 and gets its US premiere at AFI Fest.
Apple Orginal Films’ Swang Song from feature directing debutant Benjamin Cleary gets its world premiere on November 12 and stars Ali as man diagnosed with a terminal illness who is presented with an alternative...
- 9/28/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Fest runs November 10-14 in Los Angeles.
Halle Berry’s feature directing debut Bruised and Mahershala Ali and Awkwafina drama Swan Song will receive their world premieres at AFI Fest in November.
Netflix’s Bruised plays on November 13 and stars Berry as a washed-up Mma fighter struggling for redemption as an athlete and a mother.
Apple Orginal Films’ Swang Song from feature directing debutant Benjamin Cleary plays on November 12 and stars Ali as man diagnosed with a terminal illness who is presented with an alternative solution by his doctor (Glenn Close) to shield his family from grief. The film also stars Naomie Harris,...
Halle Berry’s feature directing debut Bruised and Mahershala Ali and Awkwafina drama Swan Song will receive their world premieres at AFI Fest in November.
Netflix’s Bruised plays on November 13 and stars Berry as a washed-up Mma fighter struggling for redemption as an athlete and a mother.
Apple Orginal Films’ Swang Song from feature directing debutant Benjamin Cleary plays on November 12 and stars Ali as man diagnosed with a terminal illness who is presented with an alternative solution by his doctor (Glenn Close) to shield his family from grief. The film also stars Naomie Harris,...
- 9/28/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Will Smith starrer “King Richard” will close the AFI Fest on Nov. 14 at the Tcl Chinese Theatre, the American Film Institute announced Wednesday.
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, the film follows Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, and his life raising the champion athletes. AFI graduate Robert Elswit is cinematographer on the Warner Bros. film.
After premiering at the Telluride Film Festival, “King Richard” quickly entered the awards conversation, particularly for Smith.
“AFI’s mission includes inspiring audiences, and ‘King Richard’ sets the bar for this year,” said Sarah Harris, Director of Programming at AFI Festivals. “Movies often deliver when we need them most, and now is the perfect time for this film to remind young people that nothing is out of reach, and that with perseverance and determination they can influence future generations.”
Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton co-star with Tony Goldwyn and Jon Bernthal,...
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, the film follows Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, and his life raising the champion athletes. AFI graduate Robert Elswit is cinematographer on the Warner Bros. film.
After premiering at the Telluride Film Festival, “King Richard” quickly entered the awards conversation, particularly for Smith.
“AFI’s mission includes inspiring audiences, and ‘King Richard’ sets the bar for this year,” said Sarah Harris, Director of Programming at AFI Festivals. “Movies often deliver when we need them most, and now is the perfect time for this film to remind young people that nothing is out of reach, and that with perseverance and determination they can influence future generations.”
Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton co-star with Tony Goldwyn and Jon Bernthal,...
- 9/15/2021
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Will Smith’s “King Richard,” in which he plays the father of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams, will close the 2021 AFI Fest, it was announced on Wednesday.
The Closing Night screening will take place on Nov. 14 at the historic Tcl Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
Reinaldo Marcus Green directed the film that was written by Zach Baylin and produced by Tim White and Trevor White’s Star Thrower Entertainment and Smith’s own production company Westbrook.
“AFI’s mission includes inspiring audiences, and ‘King Richard’ sets the bar for this year,” Sarah Harris, director of programming at AFI Festivals, said in a statement. “Movies often deliver when we need them most, and now is the perfect time for this film to remind young people that nothing is out of reach, and that with perseverance and determination they can influence future generations.”
“King Richard” follows Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams,...
The Closing Night screening will take place on Nov. 14 at the historic Tcl Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
Reinaldo Marcus Green directed the film that was written by Zach Baylin and produced by Tim White and Trevor White’s Star Thrower Entertainment and Smith’s own production company Westbrook.
“AFI’s mission includes inspiring audiences, and ‘King Richard’ sets the bar for this year,” Sarah Harris, director of programming at AFI Festivals, said in a statement. “Movies often deliver when we need them most, and now is the perfect time for this film to remind young people that nothing is out of reach, and that with perseverance and determination they can influence future generations.”
“King Richard” follows Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams,...
- 9/15/2021
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Running June 22-27, the AFI Docs festival will bring a smorgasbord of nonfiction offerings to the greater Washington, D.C., area, screening 77 features in both the nation’s capital and nearby Silver Spring, Md. As with almost every festival making a provisional return to in-person events this summer, AFI Docs is approaching its 19th edition as a hybrid fest, with online components making up for the limitations on physical capacity.
But as AFI Festivals director of programming Sarah Harris points out, the American Film Institute, which puts on the event, finds itself in the unusual position of organizing its third virtual festival since the start of the pandemic. AFI Docs was one of the first to go fully virtual last summer, and then the organization also put on its flagship namesake festival online in the fall, so “we knew we could build on that experience and make this one great,...
But as AFI Festivals director of programming Sarah Harris points out, the American Film Institute, which puts on the event, finds itself in the unusual position of organizing its third virtual festival since the start of the pandemic. AFI Docs was one of the first to go fully virtual last summer, and then the organization also put on its flagship namesake festival online in the fall, so “we knew we could build on that experience and make this one great,...
- 6/21/2021
- by Andrew Barker
- Variety Film + TV
AFI Docs, the annual nonfiction film festival in the D.C. region, returns on Tuesday as a hybrid of in-person events and virtual screenings, a format mandated by ongoing safety concerns over Covid-19. While the ability to host at least some screenings at the AFI Silver Theater parallels the reopening of movie venues in general, this year’s festival reflects ongoing caution and a deference for health and safety. The selections themselves point more to “personal stories and personal reflections,” in the words of Sarah Harris, the director of programming for AFI Docs, at a time when people are just now rediscovering human connection. “A lot of what the country needs is healing,” Harris said. “We are coming out of the pandemic, coming out of a lot of political trauma in D.C. We are looking to have that healing through this form of art.” The event includes 77 films from 23 countries,...
- 6/21/2021
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Delivering the opening remarks at the impeachment trial of President Trump, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) evoked the founding fathers to put impeachment in historical context. Schiff said that Alexander Hamilton had cautioned that a public official unfit for public office may one day get elected to “pursue his own interests.”
“When a man unprincipled in private life desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents, having the ability of military habits — despotic in his ordinary demeanor — known to have scoffed in private at the principles of...
“When a man unprincipled in private life desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents, having the ability of military habits — despotic in his ordinary demeanor — known to have scoffed in private at the principles of...
- 1/23/2020
- by Peter Wade
- Rollingstone.com
Just one day after a Chicago reporter made headlines for posting a rude letter from a viewer who told her she needed to lose weight for her job security, a fellow newscaster posted a sad milestone – Lauren Jones had finally gone one week without a viewer mocking her growing pregnancy belly.
"We are celebrating today because Lauren has gone one week without someone saying something mean to her about baby weight gain. That's a new record," her colleague at Louisville, Ken. station Wave 3, John Boel, posted on Facebook. "Big day is only 9 weeks away!"
Of course, that record quickly came...
"We are celebrating today because Lauren has gone one week without someone saying something mean to her about baby weight gain. That's a new record," her colleague at Louisville, Ken. station Wave 3, John Boel, posted on Facebook. "Big day is only 9 weeks away!"
Of course, that record quickly came...
- 3/31/2016
- by Julie Mazziotta, @julietmazz
- People.com - TV Watch
Just one day after a Chicago reporter made headlines for posting a rude letter from a viewer who told her she needed to lose weight for her job security, a fellow newscaster posted a sad milestone - Lauren Jones had finally gone one week without a viewer mocking her growing pregnancy belly. "We are celebrating today because Lauren has gone one week without someone saying something mean to her about baby weight gain. That's a new record," her colleague at Louisville, Ken. station Wave 3, John Boel, posted on Facebook. "Big day is only 9 weeks away!" Of course, that record quickly...
- 3/31/2016
- by Julie Mazziotta, @julietmazz
- PEOPLE.com
Just one day after a Chicago reporter made headlines for posting a rude letter from a viewer who told her she needed to lose weight for her job security, a fellow newscaster posted a sad milestone - Lauren Jones had finally gone one week without a viewer mocking her growing pregnancy belly. "We are celebrating today because Lauren has gone one week without someone saying something mean to her about baby weight gain. That's a new record," her colleague at Louisville, Ken. station Wave 3, John Boel, posted on Facebook. "Big day is only 9 weeks away!" Of course, that record quickly...
- 3/31/2016
- by Julie Mazziotta, @julietmazz
- PEOPLE.com
A pregnant Australian news anchor has a message for the body-shamers who called her "fat" and "ugly" – and she's not holding back.
"On behalf of all of the pregnant women out there who might be feeling a little bit chubby and a little bit flabby. On behalf of all of them, I want to say to the haters, get stuffed," Sarah Harris, Studio 10 co-host, said Thursday on the Australian morning show.
One day earlier, photos surfaced of Harris, 33, dressed casually and wearing no makeup. The talk show host, who is expecting a baby in December, says she "made the mistake of reading the comments.
"On behalf of all of the pregnant women out there who might be feeling a little bit chubby and a little bit flabby. On behalf of all of them, I want to say to the haters, get stuffed," Sarah Harris, Studio 10 co-host, said Thursday on the Australian morning show.
One day earlier, photos surfaced of Harris, 33, dressed casually and wearing no makeup. The talk show host, who is expecting a baby in December, says she "made the mistake of reading the comments.
- 10/6/2015
- by Char Adams, @CiCiAdams_
- People.com - TV Watch
The last thing a pregnant woman should have to worry about is defending her appearance to some Internet trolls who just aren't worth her time. Australian journalist Sarah Harris, co-host of Studio 10, was unfortunately put in that position when body-shaming haters criticized her looks after paparazzi photos showed the pregnant TV personality leaving a restaurant, dressed casually and without makeup. Harris wanted to address the critics, to hopefully empower other pregnant women and mothers out there too. "My first reaction when I saw these photos was 'oh my God,'" said Harris, of the Daily Mail pics. She then described the hurtful comments that some made about her body. "I...
- 10/1/2015
- E! Online
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