The American Film Institute (AFI) is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act.[1]

Notable alumni: Several AFI Alums have received both national and international recognition. Among the notable alumni of AFI are: Darren Aronofsky, Miguel Arteta, Jon Avnet, Keith D. Black, Wally Pfister, Stuart Cornfeld, Bill Duke, Edward James Olmos, Carl Colpaert, Rodrigo García, Steve Golin, Patrick Creadon, Amy Heckerling, Marshall Herskovitz, Janusz Kamiński, Jonathan Levine, Matthew Libatique, Mimi Leder, David Lynch, Terrence Malick, John McTiernan, Paul Schrader, Frank Spotnitz, Mark Waters, Gary Winick, Edward Zwick, and Susannah Grant

Most Notably Janusz Zygmunt Kamiński (Polish pronunciation: [ˌjanuʂ kaˈmiɲskʲi]; born June 27, 1959) is a Polish[1] cinematographer and film director who started his career in the United States. He rose to fame in the 1990s following Schindler's List (1993). Since then, he has photographed all of Steven Spielberg's films.[4] He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his cinematography of Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan (1999). In recent years, Kamiński has also moved into the field of directing.

AFI Catalog of Feature Films The AFI Catalog of Feature Films, started in 1968, is an online database that preserves the history of American film in encyclopedic detail. A prime research tool for film historians, the catalog consists of entries on more than 50,000 films, from 1893 to the mid-1970s, documenting casts, crews, synopses and production notes. New catalog entries of the remaining 15,000 American feature films produced between 1974 and present day are incorporated every year.

AFI 100 Years… The popular AFI 100 Years… series, which ran from 1998 to 2008, and created jury-selected lists of America’s best movies in categories including Musicals, Laughs and Thrills, drove new generations to experience classic American films. The juries consisted of over 1,500 artists, scholars, critics and historians, with movies selected based on the film’s popularity over time, historical significance and cultural impact. Citizen Kane was voted the greatest American film twice.

Awards The AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute on February 26, 1973 to honor a single individual for his or her lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through motion pictures and television.

The Trustees initially specified that the recipient must be one who fundamentally advanced the art of film and whose achievements had been acknowledged by the general public as well as by film scholars and critics and the individual's peers. The Trustees also specified that the work of the recipient must have withstood the test of time.

Your Project You will first view the AFI film in which you signed up for in class. Be sure to take notes on the Cinematography, camera angles and scene. You will then create a presentation using any technology based application including Prezi, weebly, wikispace, etc. Full list herehere

Your presentation MUST be 3-5 minutes long (closer to 5 because there will be so much to talk about) Include one film clip that will help the class understand how and why this movie has made it into the AFI 100. Give the class a spoiler free review of the film including the target audience and its effect on (you) the viewer. Basic information on the film: Year of release Director Writers Actors Based off of novel or real life events/parody Style of film (documentary, classic or formalism)