STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON, THE BIG SHORT, STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS On AFI’s Top Films Of 2015

The American Film Institute  announced today the Official Selections of AFI AWARDS 2015, celebrating the year’s most outstanding achievements in the art of the moving image.

In addition to the 20 honorees of 2015, AFI also recognizes MAD MEN with an AFI Special Award, acknowledging its landmark contributions to America’s cultural legacy across nine years. In the history of AFI AWARDS, no other television program has earned as many honors.

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

“Since AFI’s founding in the White House Rose Garden 50 years ago, its mandate has been to celebrate our nation’s storytellers,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President & CEO. “This is the goal of AFI AWARDS — to bring together our community as colleagues, not competitors, and to shine a proper light on their collective efforts to entertain and enlighten the world.”

Marking the 16th chapter in the American Film Institute’s ongoing chronicle of the moving image in the 21st century, the 2015 entries join a notable pantheon of previous AFI honorees — works of significance that contribute to the rich cultural legacy and define the state of the art form. View the complete almanac here.

AFI AWARDS selections are made through a jury process in which AFI Trustees, scholars, film and television artists and critics 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 film and Richard Frank (former Chairman of Walt Disney Television, President of Walt Disney Studios, President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) for television. The juries featured award-winning artists such as Neal Baer (AFI Class of 1983), Marshall Herskovitz (AFI Class of 1975), Michelle MacLaren, Bennett Miller, John Ridley, Renee Tajima-Peña, Emma Thomas and Matt Williams; renowned authors and scholars, including Dr. Henry Gates, Jr. and Molly Haskell, representing prestigious universities with recognized motion picture arts and television programs; film historian Leonard Maltin; the AFI Board of Trustees; and film and television critics from media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, TV Guide, Variety and more.