The American Movie Institute has revealed the brand new class of filmmakers chosen for its annual AFI DWW+ program, as IndieWire reveals. This system, working since 1974 out of the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles, is a tuition-free year-long workshop that helps rising narrative filmmakers; open to all candidates, it historically helps girls, non-binary, trans, and different underrepresented filmmakers. The AFI DWW+ supplies a platform and assist for all the manufacturing cycle of a brief movie, with best-in-industry hands-on instruction. The work is finally screened for brokers, managers, producers, and executives at a spring showcase.
The artists chosen for the AFI DWW+ class of 2027 are Sindha Agha, Mary Ann Anane, Arabella Anderson, Carolina Espiro, Anika Kan Grevstad, Christina YR Lim, Anna Remus, and Maaman Rezaee. (See the category of 2026 right here.)
AFI additionally introduced that award-winning filmmaker Lily Mariye (AFI DWW Class of 2000) has been named the AFI DWW+ visitor inventive director for the Class of 2027.
“On this second of evolution within the movie and tv {industry}, every of those candidates demonstrated the talent and tenacity to be chosen by way of a rigorous utility course of,” mentioned Susan Ruskin, dean of the AFI Conservatory and government vice chairman of the American Movie Institute. “The 50-year legacy of AFI DWW+ leverages a robust reinforcing community impact to assist this new gifted cohort of administrators. We stay up for working with them over the following 15 months below the steering of our Visitor Creative Director, Lily Mariye.”
“The primary time I ever referred to as myself a director was in AFI’s DWW+. Strolling the halls of AFI, surrounded by the wealthy historical past of filmmakers and mentors, gave me the validation to proudly announce it to the world,” mentioned Mariye. “I’m now a full-time working TV and movie director. Right now I’m honored to be named this yr’s Visitor Creative Director, to assist information this subsequent group of amazingly gifted filmmakers.”
Mariye is a DGA nominee for Amazon’s “Simply Add Magic” and has directed movie and tv, together with “The Strolling Useless,” “Godfather of Harlem,” “The Good Combat,” “Tips on how to Get Away with Homicide,” and extra.
Alums of the AFI DWW+ program embody Maya Angelou, Anne Bancroft, Neema Barnette, Pippa Bianco, Tessa Blake, Tricia Brock, Ellen Burstyn, Rebecca Cammisa, Dyan Cannon, Dime Davis, Jan Eliasberg, Naomi Foner, Jennifer Getzinger, Lesli Linka Glatter, Lyn Goldfarb, Randa Haines, Siân Heder, Victoria Hochberg, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Matia Karrell, Maggie Kiley, Lynne Littman, Nancy Malone, Gandja Monteiro, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, Becky Smith, Cicely Tyson, and Joanne Woodward.
Head to AFI’s web site for more information about this system and members.

