The American Film Institute (AFI) announced that director/producer Lesli Linka Glatter–an alumna of the AFI Conservatory Directing Workshop for Women (DWW)–will receive the 2016 Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal. This honor recognizes the extraordinary creative talents of AFI alumni who embody the qualities of filmmaker Franklin J. Schaffner: talent, taste, dedication and commitment to quality storytelling in film and television. Lauding the remarkable talent of the artist affiliated with such influential series as Homeland, Mad Men and Twin Peaks, the presentation of the Schaffner Medal will take place at the AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute to John Williams in Hollywood on June 9.
Over the past three decades, Glatter has brought her deft directorial hand to films and honored television series including ER, Freaks and Geeks, Gilmore Girls, Justified, The Leftovers, The Newsroom, Ray Donovan, The Walking Dead and West Wing, among many others. Glatter’s honors include four Emmy® Award nominations, a Producers Guild of America Award nomination as well as six Directors Guild of America Award nominations and two wins for her work on Homeland and Mad Men. Her DWW film Tales of Meeting and Parting earned an Academy Award® nomination for Best Live Action Short in 1985. Glatter made her feature directorial debut in 1995 with Now And Then starring Melanie Griffith, Demi Moore, Rosie O’Donnell and Rita Wilson.
With Homeland set to return for season six in fall 2016, Glatter is also directing and executive-producing Six, a pilot about Navy SEAL Team Six for the History Channel.
The recipients of the Schaffner Medal represent an impressive community of working AFI Conservatory and DWW alumni. From among a community of nearly 5,000 AFI graduates, Glatter joins an esteemed group of past recipients that includes Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), Anne Garefino (South Park), Patty Jenkins (Monster), Janusz Kamiński (Bridge of Spies), David Lynch (Twin Peaks) and Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight Rises).
