The AFI are now in their 20th year so they're as old as our own Film Bitch Awards ;) Each year they choose 10 American movies to honor and 10 American television programs and then usually make one nod to non American things as they did this year with shoutouts to South Korea (Parasite) and the UK (Fleabag). Their nominating jury is made up of critics, movie people, and other luminaries and changes each year. But regardless of the individual voters you usually end up with something like the Oscar list. This year leans VERY December as if no other months held movies so the jury had extremely short attention spans. That said at least The Farewell and Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood are surviving those very very very short attention spans that always plague voters.
Here is the full list of this year’s honorees who will be honored at a luncheon in January...
AFI MOTION PICTURES OF THE YEAR
1917
THE FAREWELL
THE IRISHMAN
JOJO RABBIT
JOKER
KNIVES OUT
LITTLE WOMEN
MARRIAGE STORY
ONCE UPON A TIME IN… HOLLYWOOD
RICHARD JEWELL
We're disappointed that Richard Jewell which is... not good... keeps getting honors. It is... not good. You'll see for yourself on December 13th. Or if you're lucky, you won't! It would have been so nice to see something acclaimed from earlier in the year recognized instead like, oh... Ad Astra? Hustlers? Booksmart? Us? Or what about the very current A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood which is about 100 times more creative and nuanced than Richard Jewell or Ford v Ferrari which is the kind of solid mainstream example of stunning Hollywood craftmanship that people can only pretend Richard Jewell is... because it isn't. ("But Nathaniel, what are your true feelings about Richard Jewell? Why are you so vague?")
SPECIAL AWARD
PARASITE
AFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR
CHERNOBYL
THE CROWN
FOSSE/VERDON
GAME OF THRONES
POSE
SUCCESSION
UNBELIEVABLE
VEEP
WATCHMEN
WHEN THEY SEE US
Pretty great list of shows, eh?
SPECIAL AWARD
FLEABAG