AFI Docs, the American Film Institute’s annual documentary celebration in the nation’s capital, has announced the Opening Night, Closing Night and Centerpiece Films for its 19th annual edition. As previously announced, this year’s hybrid festival will include limited in-person screenings at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, MD, as well as a full slate of virtual offerings. AFI Docs 2021 will open with the world premiere of Naomi Osaka, directed by Academy Award® nominee Garrett Bradley, and will close with Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt’s celebrated coming-of-age film Cusp. This year’s Centerpiece Screening will be Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, directed by Academy Award® winner Morgan Neville. AFI DOCS runs June 22–27, 2021.
“As the audience for AFI Docs has expanded beyond Washington, DC, to include an entire nation of movie lovers, we are particularly proud this year to celebrate films that unite us, exploring subjects from a tennis superstar to teenagers in Texas to a Renaissance man who brought people together through a shared love of food,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “At a time we need it most, it is the movies at AFI Docs that will inspire hope for us all in the future.”
The Opening Night screening of Naomi Osaka will be held on June 22 and will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Bradley, a Best Feature Documentary Oscar nominee this year for Time. (She directs commercials and branded content via production hose m ss ng p eces.) The Naomi Osaka documentary series spans a pivotal two years for the young tennis superstar, from the 2019 US Open through a tour of each of the Grand Slam tournaments as she not only works on her game, but also explores her roots and finds her voice.
The Closing Night screening of Cusp will be held on June 27. The coming-of-age documentary, which won the Emerging Filmmaker Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, follows three teenage girls for one wild, life-changing summer in their small Texas town as they grapple with what becoming an adult means, especially for young women.
The Centerpiece screening of Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain will be held on June 25 to commemorate what would have been Bourdain’s 65th birthday. The film follows the late culinary icon from his meteoric rise to fame with the best-selling “Kitchen Confidential,” through his revolutionary approach to what a travel show could be: bringing food, politics and personal histories together as he chased new adventures and fulfillment in his own life.
OPENING NIGHT SCREENING
Naomi Osaka: DIR Garrett Bradley. PRODS Lauren Cioffi, Katy Murakami and Sally Rosen. USA.
What does it feel like to be one of the best tennis players in the world? An intimate look inside the life of one of the most gifted and complex athletes of her generation offers insight into the tough decisions and ecstatic triumphs that shape Naomi Osaka as both an elite global superstar and a young woman navigating a pressure-filled world. World Premiere.
CLOSING NIGHT SCREENING
Cusp: DIRS Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt. PROD Zachary Luke Kislevitz. USA.
This coming-of-age documentary follows three teenage girls for one wild, life-changing summer in their small Texas town as they grapple with what becoming an adult means, especially for young women.
CENTERPIECE SCREENING
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain: DIR Morgan Neville. PRODS Caitrin Rogers and Morgan Neville. USA.
Roadrunner explores the life of the late storyteller, explorer and chef, Anthony Bourdain.
