Award Season: AFI Announces Movies & Series Of The Year

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced the official selections of AFI AWARDS 2013 —10 outstanding films and 10 outstanding television programs deemed culturally and artistically representative of the year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image.

An almanac documenting works of excellence that mark a moment in time, AFI AWARDS is also the only national honor for the community’s creative ensembles as a whole, acknowledging the collaborative nature of the art form. Honorees are selected based on works which best advance the art of the moving image, enhance the rich cultural heritage of America’s art form, inspire audiences and artists alike, and/or make a mark on American society.

“AFI AWARDS is a moment for the most accomplished storytellers 0f 2013 to pause and be appreciated—not as competitors, but as a community,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President & CEO. “Acknowledging their collective contributions to America’s rich cultural legacy is both AFI’s national mandate—and our honor.”

Marking the 14th chapter in the American Film Institute’s ongoing chronicle, AFI AWARDS selections are made through AFI’s unique jury process in which AFI members, scholars, film and television artists, critics and AFI Trustees determine the most outstanding achievements of the year, as well as provide a contextual rationale for each selection.

This year’s juries—one for film and one for television—were chaired by producers and AFI Board of Trustees Vice Chairs Tom Pollock (former Vice Chairman of MCA, Chairman of Universal Pictures) for the movies and Rich Frank (former Chairman of Walt Disney Television, President of Walt Disney Studios, President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) for television, and includes award-winning artists such as Jon Avnet, Anne V. Coates, Roman Coppola, D.C. Fontana, Nancy Meyers and Noah Wyle; film historian Leonard Maltin; scholars from prestigious universities with recognized motion picture arts programs (Princeton, Syracuse, USC, Wesleyan); AFI Board of Trustees; and critics from leading media outlets such as Entertainment Weekly, The Huffington Post, Rolling Stone Magazine, Time Magazine, TV Guide, USA Today and more.

AFI will honor the creative ensembles for each of the selections at an invitation-only luncheon on Friday, January 10, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.