The American Film Institute (AFI) has unveiled the recipients of AFI Awards 2020.
Celebrating film and television arts’ collaborative nature, AFI Awards is the only national program that honors creative teams as a whole, recognizing those in front of and behind the camera. AFI Awards honorees include 10 outstanding films and 10 outstanding television programs deemed culturally and artistically representative of this year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image. AFI also recognizes Hamilton with an AFI Special Award, designated for a work of excellence outside the Institute’s criteria for American film and television.
Here’s a full rundown of AFI Award honorees:
AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR
- DA 5 BLOODS
- JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
- MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
- MANK
- MINARI
- NOMADLAND
- ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI…
- SOUL
- SOUND OF METAL
- THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
AFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR
- BETTER CALL SAUL
- BRIDGERTON
- THE CROWN
- THE GOOD LORD BIRD
- LOVECRAFT COUNTRY
- THE MANDALORIAN
- MRS. AMERICA
- THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT
- TED LASSO
- UNORTHODOX
AFI SPECIAL AWARD
- HAMILTON
“For 20 years, AFI Awards has been a moment to gather artists in one room with a singular goal–to create community over competition,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “This year we cannot gather but will instead celebrate each honoree by creating exclusive content to be shared with a global audience through AFI Movie Club, shining a proper light on excellence.”
AFI’s global Movie Club program will showcase the official selections beginning in February, with new and exclusive content released daily, including special guests from the honored works introducing the titles and AFI “Behind the Scene” conversations with filmmakers and actors. Honorees will be celebrated across all AFI platforms leading up to Feb. 26 when the tributes will culminate with a virtual benediction premiering on YouTube.com/AFI and AFI.com.
The AFI Awards celebration will be sponsored by Audi, a supporter of AFI programs for the past 17 years. To commemorate each of the AFI Awards recipients, Audi has created the AFI AWARDS Audi Scholarships initiative providing scholarships in the name of the honorees to women and BIPOC Fellows at the AFI Conservatory–for a total contribution of $250,000.
All of the honored works advance the art of the moving image, inspire audiences and artists alike, enhance the rich cultural heritage of America’s art form and make a mark on American society. When placed in an historical context, these stories provide a complex and rich visual record of our modern world.
AFI Awards selections are made through a jury process where AFI Trustees, artists, critics and scholars determine the year’s most outstanding achievements and provide artistic and cultural context for the selection of each honoree.
This year’s jury featured acclaimed artists including Debbie Allen, Cynthia Erivo, Rian Johnson, David Mandel, Marlee Matlin, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Wes Studi and Lulu Wang; renowned authors and scholars representing prestigious universities with recognized motion picture arts and television programs; film historians Mark Harris, Molly Haskell and Leonard Maltin; the AFI Board of Trustees; and film and television critics from media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, TV Guide and The Washington Post. The jury was chaired by AFI Board of Directors member Jeanine Basinger (chair emerita and founder of the Film Studies Department, Wesleyan University) and AFI Board of Trustees vice chair Richard Frank (former chairman of Walt Disney Television, president of Walt Disney Studios, president of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences).
