AFI Awards Announces Dates For 2021 Winners Reveal, Honorees-Only Event

The American Film Institute has scheduled its 2021 AFI Awards winners announcement for later this year, while an honorees-only event will take place early next year.

The AFI Awards revealed via its website Wednesday that it will reveal its lists of the top 10 most outstanding films and television shows this year on Dec. 8. The organization will hold its event for honorees on Jan. 7 in Los Angeles.

The AFI Awards, which was founded in 2000, aims to recognize the movies and television shows that contribute to the institute’s cultural legacy. A jury comprising scholars, artists, critics and AFI Trustees determines the official selections for this award-giving event.

As for the honorees-only event, it focuses on acknowledging those whose works “advance the art of the moving image, inspire audiences and artists alike and enhance the rich cultural heritage of America’s art form,” as per AFI.

After the honorees-only event in January, the organization is launching a 20-day tribute to each of the honorees by showcasing their new and exclusive content to the global audience via AFI Movie Club, according to Deadline.

AFI Movie Club is a platform that allows global audiences to attend virtual gatherings for the official selections of the organization. In these gatherings, participants will get to learn fun facts and join the behind-the-scenes discussions for each entry.

“AFI Awards is honored to celebrate a year of extraordinary storytelling that has inspired us to see the horizon beyond troubled times,” AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale said.

He continued, “This is an event with hugs and handshakes at its heart – and we look forward to gathering our honorees again, along with global audiences via AFI Movie Club, to shine a proper light upon the role art plays in advancing our culture in positive and profound ways.”

The announcement comes a couple of days after AFI created a scholarship in honor of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who died on the set of the Western-themed movie “Rust” after actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun while filming a scene.

“At AFI, we pledge to see that Halyna Hutchins will live on in the spirit of all who strive to see their dreams realized in stories well told,” the organization was quoted as saying by NPR.

The scholarship is for the Los Angeles-based film school AFI Conservatory, and it is going to honor Hutchins’ memory as well as provide support for aspiring female cinematographers, according to Hutchins’ husband, Matt Hutchins.