The American Film Institute (AFI) has set the program for the inaugural AFI Summit that will take place at AFI Fest 2019. The lineup includes a conversation with producer, director, actress and activist Eva Longoria, and founder of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Dr. Stacy Smith to discuss the latest findings from the Initiative about the alarming lack of representation of Latinx individuals in film; an in-depth and wide-ranging conversation between Susan Ruskin, dean of the AFI Conservatory, and Ted Sarandos, chief content officer of Netflix; The Hollywood Reporter’s Indie Contenders Roundtable moderated by Scott Feinberg; the Los Angeles Times’ Doc Roundtable moderated by Amy Kaufman; a panel led by Brickson Diamond, chairman of Blackhouse, with three pairs of entertainment executives of color discussing diversifying the film industry; and Shoot the Book where film rights managers pitch their projects.
Doc roundtable
Kaufman moderates a session directors behind some of the most talked-about and acclaimed documentaries of the year including Alex Gibney (Citizen K), Eva Orner (Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator), Steven Bognar (American Factory), Roger Ross Williams (The Apollo), Feras Fayyad (The Cave), Waad Al-Kateab (For Sama), Lauren Greenfield (The Kingmaker) and Nanfu Wang (One Child Nation).
Latinx
Dr. Smith and Longoria delve into the latest findings from the Initiative that show an alarming lack of representation of Latinx individuals in film, both behind and in front of the camera–and address a solutions-driven path forward.
Execs of color
Blackhouse’s Diamond discusses the status of diversifying the film industry with three pairs of senior and junior executives who are serving in key roles in Hollywood.
Indie contenders
Panelists on the Indie Contenders Roundtable include Awkwafina (The Farewell), Sterling K. Brown (Waves), Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), Jimmie Falls (The Last Black Man In San Francisco), Jon Hamm (The Report), Florence Pugh (Fight With My Family and Midsommar), Kerry Washington (American Son) and Alfre Woodard (Clemency).
Shoot the Book
Organized by the French Embassy’s Cultural Services and the Institut Français, this panel moderated by Variety’s Steven Gaydos features international publishers presenting their latest thriller and crime novels that are available for independent producers and filmmakers to option.
Netflix’s Sarandos
Dean of the AFI Conservatory Ruskin sits down Netflix’s Sarandos for this private AFI Conservatory session for AFI Fellows.
AFI Fest 2019 takes place November 14-21, 2019, at historic theaters in Los Angeles. Screenings, Galas, and other events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres and the Hollywood Roosevelt and will open with the world premiere of AFI Conservatory alumna Melina Matsoukas’s Queen & Slim. The festival will close with the world premiere of Apple’s The Banker. The full festival lineup and schedule will be unveiled later this month.
Steve McQueen Shows Wartime London Through A Child’s Eyes In “Blitz”
It was a single photograph that started Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen on the journey to make "Blitz." As a Londoner, the German bombing raids on the city during World War II are never all that far from his mind. Reminders of it are everywhere. But the spark of inspiration came from an image of a small boy on a train platform with a large suitcase. Stories inspired by the evacuation are not rare, but this child was Black. Who was he, McQueen wondered, and what was his story? The film, in theaters Friday and streaming on Apple TV+ on Nov. 22, tells the tale of George, a 9-year-old biracial child in East London whose life with his mother, Rita ( Saoirse Ronan ), and grandfather is upended by the war. Like many children at the time, he's put on a train to the countryside for his safety. But he hops off and starts a long, dangerous journey back to his mom, encountering all sorts of people and situations that paint a revelatory and emotional picture of that moment. SEARCHING FOR GEORGE AND FINDING A STAR When McQueen finished the screenplay, he thought to himself: "Not bad." Then he started to worry: Does George exist? Is there a person out there who can play this role? Through an open casting call they found Elliott Heffernan, a 9-year-old living just outside of London whose only experience was a school play. He was the genie in "Aladdin." "There was a stillness about him, a real silent movie star quality," McQueen said. "You wanted to know what he was thinking, and you leant in. That's a movie star quality: A presence in his absence." Elliott is now 11. When he was cast, he'd not yet heard about the evacuation and imagined that a film set would be made up of "about 100 people." But he soon found his footing, cycling in and out of... Read More