American Film Institute Announces 2020 Honorees
BY SCOTTIE KNOLLIN
The American Film Institute has announced the recipients of the 2020 AFI Awards.
“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 & 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.”
The AFI Awards tributes will culminate with a virtual benediction premiering February 26, 2021, 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 each honoree to current women and BIPOC Fellows at the AFI Conservatory – for a total contribution of $250,000.
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 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. 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. The 2020 recipients join a distinguished group of previous AFI Awards honorees whose works define the art form and contribute to our rich cultural legacy.
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 Special Award
HAMILTON
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
