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 Photo
by Brigitte Lacombe/USA Network.
Meryl Streep
The Ultimate: American Film Institute
honors MERYL STREEP with the 32nd AFI Life Achievement Award in
June
This June at a gala tribute in the heart of the film and
television communities, Meryl Streep will be among friends,
colleagues and loved ones as the American Film Institute (AFI)
presents the acclaimed actress with the highest honor for a
career in film – the 32nd AFI Life Achievement Award.
The AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the AFI
Board of Trustees in 1973, and was the first award in the film
community to honor career achievement in the art form. Presented
to a single honoree each year, it acknowledges those whose
talent has in a fundamental way advanced film art; whose
accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics,
professional peers, and the general public; whose work has stood
the test of time; and individuals with active careers and work
of significance yet to be accomplished.
“I am honored to be selected by AFI for the work I love
doing,” said Streep. “The event is in June and that might give
me enough time to compose a list of all the people I’m beholden
to in my life and to whom I owe everything.”
The AFI Board of Trustees is an impressive, powerful group of
entertainment and media executives, film artists, scholars and
experts, chaired by Sir Howard Stringer of Sony Corporation.
“Meryl Streep is one of the great artists in the history of
American film,” commented Stringer. “Her talent, range and
determination to master her craft bring out performances that
sometimes border on the ethereal. In that sense, she is truly
peerless. It is AFI’s great honor to present its Life
Achievement Award to this truly gifted actor.”
“Meryl Streep is the ultimate film artist – for her
generation and for all generations,” said director/producer Jon
Avnet, chair, AFI Board of Directors and co-chair, AFI Life
Achievement Award Nominating Committee with Bob Daly, former
chair of Warner Bros. and managing
partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
TO ADVANCE AND PRESERVE
AFI is the preeminent national organization dedicated to
advancing and preserving film, television and other forms of the
moving image. For more than three decades, AFI’s programs have
been promoting innovation and excellence through teaching,
presenting, preserving and redefining this great American art
form.
AFI Conservatory
Since 1969, the AFI Conservatory has been training
aspiring filmmakers in a five-semester Master of Fine Arts
program. The philosophy of the Conservatory is to learn by doing
in a hands-on, collaborative environment. Professional
filmmakers serve as mentors to Fellows enrolled in the
disciplines of Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing,
Production Design and Screenwriting. In 2002, the AFI
Conservatory reached a milestone, achieving accreditation by the
Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of
the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, an
institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council on
Post-Secondary Accreditation and the U.S. Department of
Education. AFI began conferring Honorary Degrees in Fine Arts,
Humane Letters and Communication Arts in 1989.
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Clint Eastwood (above, left) joins
AFI executives and Montgomery County, Maryland officials
at the grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony for AFI
Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in downtown Silver
Spring, Maryland.
Celebrity cast members and filmmakers (above, right)
create red-carpet excitement at the annual AFI Los
Angeles Film Festival, also known as AFI FEST, one of
North America’s most highly regarded film festivals. |
New Media Ventures
Managing AFI’s online and digital production, distribution and
training activities, AFI New Media Ventures is creating a
“virtual AFI,” offering millions of film lovers worldwide the
opportunity to participate in AFI programs. AFI New Media
Ventures programs include online Web publishing, enhanced
television production and development, distance learning and
e-course development.
AFI Screen Education Center
The AFI Screen Education Center empowers teachers to use
filmmaking and media production as a way to engage students in
the study of traditional subject matter, giving them new tools
for expressing their knowledge and understanding. As AFI expands
the K-12 program from a demonstration project into a national
program, thousands of young people are learning to use digital
cameras and computer editing systems to tell stories and
demonstrate mastery of their studies. In the process, they are
preparing for the jobs of the future by becoming literate in the
language of the 21st century.
Preservation
Universally renowned as a historical and sociological document
on American life, the AFI Catalog of Feature Films consists of
15 volumes detailing American films, decade by decade. Volumes
include the ’10s, ’20s, ’30s and ’60s, as well as Film
Beginnings, 1893-1910 and Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in
American Feature Films, 1911-60. AFI’s Catalog department is
currently working on the decade 1971-1980, and the AFI Catalog
of Feature Films 1951-1960 is scheduled for publication in late
2004.
AFI remains at the forefront of our nation’s efforts to
preserve America’s incomparable film heritage, with the
preservation of classic films, the AFI Film Collection and the
AFI Silent Film Database.
AFI ON SCREEN
AFI ON SCREEN establishes the institute as the largest nonprofit
exhibitor in the US, with programs at the AFI Los Angeles
International Film Festival (AFI FEST); the AFI Silver Theatre
and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland; and the AFI
National Film Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival/AFI FEST
AFI FEST has been capturing the cultural diversity of Los
Angeles since 1987, while providing new and established
filmmakers with a crucial avenue of exposure to the film
community. As the nation’s premier international film festival
held in the world’s filmmaking capital, AFI FEST includes a
major international competition, regional showcases and special
events with its new location at the ArcLight Hollywood.
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
Opened in April 2003, the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
in Silver Spring, Maryland, offers a year-round program of the
best in American and international cinema, featuring an eclectic
mix of festivals, premieres, retrospectives, special events,
tributes, on-stage guest appearances and education programs.
Anchored by the rehabilitation of noted architect John Eberson’s
historic 1938 Silver Theatre, the AFI Silver Theatre and
Cultural Center is a 49,000-square-foot complex with three
theatres – one historic, two new state-of-the-art stadium-style
theatres – a café, a film-based retail outlet, office and
meeting spaces, and reception and exhibition areas.
SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary
Festival
A global showcase launched in June 2003, SILVERDOCS:
AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival is a major
competitive festival presenting documentaries in the magnificent
AFI Silver Theatre. With AFI as the producer and Discovery as
the principal sponsor, SILVERDOCS recognizes excellence in the
art of documentary film.
AFI National Theater at the Kennedy Center in
Washington, DC
AFI presents the best new movies and moviemakers at the AFI
National Film Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Programming includes first
run engagements, guest appearances, the European Union Showcase
and the Latin American Film Festival.
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