AFI Awards 2021 honourees announced

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced the recipients of the AFI Awards 2021. AFI Awards honourees include 10 outstanding films and 10 outstanding TV programs deemed culturally and artistically representative of this year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image. Additional honourees were selected in a category for “Special Awards,” designated for works of excellence that fall outside of the Institute’s criteria of American film and television.

AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR

CODA

DON’T LOOK UP

DUNE

KING RICHARD

LICORICE PIZZA

NIGHTMARE ALLEY

THE POWER OF THE DOG

tick, tick… BOOM!

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

WEST SIDE STORY

AFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR

HACKS

MAID

MARE OF EASTTOWN

RESERVATION DOGS

SCHMIGADOON!

SUCCESSION

TED LASSO

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

WANDAVISION

THE WHITE LOTUS

AFI SPECIAL AWARD

BELFAST

SQUID GAME

SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)

“AFI is honoured to shine a proper light upon the most outstanding screen stories of 2021 and those who worked collaboratively to bring them to screens large and small,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “From soaring in spirit to dark and dangerous – from heartbreaking to hilarious – these are the stories that have united us in uncertain times and continue to drive culture forward.”

Honourees will gather on January 7, 2022, for recognition at the annual AFI Awards private reception at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA — an event favoured by the entertainment community for its informal intimacy and its inclusive acknowledgement of excellence.

Beginning January 8, 2022, AFI’s global Movie Club program will showcase the official selections with new daily content, including videos of special guests from the honoured works introducing the titles. AFI AWARDS official selections will be celebrated on AFI.com/MovieClub and across all AFI social media platforms.

Celebrating film and television arts’ collaborative nature, AFI AWARDS is the only national program that honours creative teams as a whole, recognising those in front of and behind the camera. All of the honoured 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.

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 honouree.

This year’s jury featured acclaimed artists including Lee Isaac Chung, Liz Hannah, Anjelica Huston and Ed Zwick; renowned film historians Annette Insdorf, L.S. Kim, Akira Mizuta Lippit, Leonard Maltin, Ellen Seiter and Robert Thompson; the AFI Board of Trustees; film critics Shawn Edwards from the African American Film Critics Association and Claudia Puig from Los Angeles Film Critics Association; and film and television critics from outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio, Rolling Stone, TV Guide and The Washington Post. The jury was chaired by AFI Board of Trustees member Jeanine Basinger (Chair Emerita and Founder of the Film Studies Department, Wesleyan University) and AFI Board of Trustees Vice Chair Richard Frank (former Chairman of Walt Disney Television, President of Walt Disney Studios, President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences).

The 2021 recipients join a distinguished group of previous AFI AWARDS honourees whose works define the art form and contribute to our rich cultural legacy. View all past AFI AWARDS honourees here.