Becoming AFI

For over fifty years, the American Film Institute has flourished as one of America’s great cultural entities. Its graduates, faculty, supporters, and trustees have included such acclaimed individuals as Steven Spielberg, Maya Angelou, Gregory Peck, Meryl Streep, Les Moonves, Patty Jenkins, David Lynch, Jane Fonda, Edward James Olmos, Shonda Rhimes, James L. Brooks, Michael Nesmith, Sir Howard Stringer, and many other respected leaders in the worlds of film, television, digital media, and philanthropy.

Written in a unique memoir style, Becoming AFI: 50 Years Inside the American Film Institute offers a candid look at how this remarkable organization has brought together aspiring filmmakers, outstanding educators, and visionary artists. The book details AFI’s journey to becoming the foremost national champion for moving images as a vibrant art form and a critical component of America’s cultural history.

AFI’s story is chronicled through in-depth essays written by those who have been involved in its adventures, growth, and successes: from its early years under George Stevens Jr.’s direction at the legendary Greystone mansion and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; through its period of incredible growth, under Jean Picker Firstenberg’s guidance, as an influential cultural institution at its landmark Hollywood campus; to its continued years of excellence under Bob Gazzale’s dynamic leadership.

Becoming AFI provides an insightful, behind-the-scenes look at how AFI—with passionate determination—overcame the hurdles of advancing technology, political shifts, and new audience dynamics to turn its aspirations into a substantial and highly successful organization. A tireless advocate of moving images as one of America’s most popular art forms, AFI is maturing into one of the world’s most respected educational and cultural institutions.

Jean Picker Firstenberg served as president and CEO of the American Film Institute from 1980 to 2007, overseeing the development of AFI as one of America’s greatest national, cul­tural, and educational resources. She received an AFI Life Achievement Award for Service to the Institute and was named president emerita and a lifetime trustee.

James Hindman, PhD, has spent his career in cinema and performing arts, creating and lead­ing professional and public education programs at major institutions. During his twenty-four years at the American Film Institute, where he served as co-director and chief operating officer, he was provost of the AFI Conservatory, which he nurtured through WASC accreditation.

Dana Gioia was appointed Poet Laureate of the State of California in 2015 by Governor Jerry Brown. An award-winning poet who has pub­lished five collections of poetry, Gioia served as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 to 2009.

Patty Jenkins made history in 2017 when she directed her second film, Wonder Woman, be­coming the first woman to direct a studio su­perhero movie and earning the biggest domestic opening of all time for a woman director.

David Lynch, born in 1946 in Missoula, Mon­tana. Eagle Scout.

Bob Gazzale has served as president and CEO of the AFI since November 2007. He first joined the Institute in 1992, holding various positions including director of AFI programs in New York and director of AFI productions in L.A. Since 2003, he has been the writer and executive producer of the AFI Life Achievement Award telecasts. He also created the format for the AFI AWARDS, an annual almanac of excellence, as well as AFI Night at the Movies. Gazzale was a principal in the team that created, produced, and wrote the AFI’s 100 Years… series, which has driven millions of people back to the classics of American film.

Nick DeMartino is a Los Angeles-based media and technology consultant who advises companies on strategy, content distribution, strategic partnerships, and marketing. He is chairman of the advisory board and senior advisor for the Toronto-based digital media accelerator IDEABOOST, and advisor to POV Partners, a private investment and operating company in the entertainment and media sector. Previously, DeMartino was the senior vice president for media and technology at the American Film Institute, where he created innovative programs like the AFI Digital Content Lab, which incubated more than ninety multiplatform applications with the biggest names in media. He was named No. 3 on the PGA/The Hollywood Reporter’s list of Digital 50 and was twice named among the most influential in broadband by the L.A. Business Journal.

Patricia King Hanson served as executive editor and project director of the AFI Catalog of Feature Films from 1983 to 2009. Prior to coming to AFI, she was the associate editor of Magill’s Survey of Cinema, Magill’s Bibliography of Literary Criticism, and Magill’s Cinema Annual. She has contributed dozens of articles on film to magazines, including British publications Flics, Stills, The Listener, and Moving Pictures International, and was a reviewer for the British trade publication Screen International.

Larry Kirkman is a professor of Film and Media Arts and dean emeritus of the School of Communication at American University. His pioneering work in public-purpose media has encompassed documentaries, social advertising campaigns, strategic communications for nonprofits, digital journalism, and communication policy. He is an executive producer in the Investigative Reporting Workshop and senior research fellow in the Center for Media and Social Impact.

Emily Laskin has held leadership positions in nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles for over thirty years. She has led talented teams at the American Film Institute, the L.A. Philharmonic, Art Center College of Design, Sundance Institute, and USC Marshall School of Business. She is currently senior vice president at Art Center College of Design. At AFI, Laskin supervised broad-based offerings of public programs held across the country and a wide range of national publications via the AFI Press, and was instrumental in securing the gift from Apple that created one of the first computer labs designed to explore applications appropriate to filmmaking.