The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced the recipient of this year’s AFI Awards, which honor 10 outstanding films and 10 outstanding TV shows deemed culturally and artistically representative of 2022’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image. An additional honoree was selected for an AFI Special Award, designated for works of excellence that fall outside of the eligibility criteria for the AFI Awards.
“AFI Awards shines a light upon excellence in storytelling and the collaborators who bring these stories to the screen,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “This year, more than ever, celebrating the community of artists that realize these dreams is particularly meaningful — as they have lifted our spirits through the most challenging of times and proven the power of this great art form.”
Honorees will gather on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, for recognition at the AFI Awards’ annual private luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.
Here are this year’s honorees for film and television:
AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR
Avatar: The Way of Water
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Nope
She Said
TÁR
Top Gun: Maverick
The Woman King
Women Talking
AFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Better Call Saul
Hacks
Mo
Pachinko
Reservation Dogs
Severance
Somebody Somewhere
The White Lotus
AFI SPECIAL AWARD
The Banshees of Inisherin
AFI Awards celebrates film and television arts’ collaborative nature and is the only national program that honors creative teams as a whole, recognizing those in front of and behind the camera. All of the honored works advance the art of the moving image, inspire audiences and artists alike, and enhance the rich cultural heritage of America’s art form. When placed in a historical context, these stories provide a complex and rich visual record of our modern world.
AFI Awards selections are made through a jury process where AFI Trustees, artists, critics, and scholars determine the year’s most outstanding achievements and provide artistic and cultural context for the selection of each honoree.
This year’s juries — one for film and one for television — featured acclaimed artists including W. Kamau Bell, Colman Domingo, Siân Heder, Brad Ingelsby, Marti Noxon, Mario Van Peebles; renowned film historians L.S. Kim, Akira Mizuta Lippit, Leonard Maltin and Robert Thompson; members of the AFI Board of Trustees; film critics Janet Maslin, Shawn Edwards from the African American Film Critics Association, and film and television critics from outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Salon, TV Guide, and The Washington Post.
The juries were chaired by AFI Board of Trustees member Jeanine Basinger (Chair Emerita and Founder of the Film Studies Department, Wesleyan University) and AFI Board of Trustees Vice Chair Richard Frank (former Chairman of Walt Disney Television, President of Walt Disney Studios, President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences).
The 2022 recipients join a distinguished group of previous AFI Awards honorees whose works define the art form and contribute to our rich cultural legacy. Click here to view past AFI Awards honorees.
