AFI Docs
The AFI Docs (formerly Silverdocs) documentary film festival is an American international film festival created by the American Film Institute and the Discovery Channel. It is held every year in Silver Spring, Maryland and Washington, D.C.. Started in 2003, the festival is held for five days in June at the AFI Silver Theatre as well as several landmark locations in Washington, DC. AFI Docs is dedicated to showcasing the best in documentary films.
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| Location | Washington, DC & Silver Spring, Maryland |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| No. of films | 103 (in 2017) |
| Website | afi |
Notable participants
AOL vice-chairman emeritus Ted Leonsis, BET co-founder Sheila Johnson, former Vice President Al Gore, Academy Award-winning film makers Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Barbara Kopple, LeBron James and Alex Gibney. Yoruba Richen won the audience award in 2013 for The New Black, her documentary about the African American community response to marriage equality initiatives.
Participating organizations
BBC, CPB, Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, The Ford Foundation, HBO, Latino Public Broadcasting, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Miramax, National Black Programming Consortium, National Geographic, PBS, the Sundance Institute, The Weinstein Company.
Response
AFI Docs has been called the "pre-eminent US documentary festival" (Screen International) and as "non-fiction nirvana" (Variety).
Advisory Board
The AFI Docs Advisory Board includes: Ken Burns, Davis Guggenheim, Chris Hegedus, Werner Herzog, Barbara Kopple, Spike Lee, Albert Maysles, Errol Morris, D A Pennebaker, Frederick Wiseman.
See also
- Wendy Braitman