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ABOUT AFI

AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE

The AFI Conservatory is a non-profit, 501 c3 organization with a mandate to champion the moving image as an art form. As such, AFI was most recently ranked at No.1 among all the film schools in the country by The Hollywood Reporter.

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Established in 1969, the two-year Master of Fine Arts program provides training in six filmmaking disciplines: Directing, Cinematography, Screenwriting, Production Design Editing and Producing. Admission to AFI Conservatory is highly selective, with a maximum of only 140 graduates per year. The AFI Conservatory is dedicated to celebrating excellence in the art form and to creating national education initiatives that inspire artists and audiences alike. A dedicated group of working professionals from the film and television communities serve as mentors in a hands-on, production-based environment nurturing the talents of tomorrow's storytellers. Over half of the incoming students are women, and nearly half are filmmakers of color. As students of this world-renowned organization, your donation is received directly by the AFI Conservatory and is 100% tax deductible. Once processed, our team receives your exceptionally kind donation direct to our production account to be used immediately toward locations, cast and crew fair pay rates, equipment and camera rentals, insurance and festival preparation upon final cut of the film.

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Our Recruitment Process

At Little Bird Film, we take our recruitment process seriously. We carefully review each application that we receive and select candidates who we believe would be a good fit for our team. If you are selected for an interview, we will contact you to schedule a time to speak with you further about your qualifications and experience.

NOTABLE ALUMNI
SCREENWRITING

Brad Falchuk- American Horror Story, Glee

Susannah Grant- Erin Brockovich, The Soloist

DIRECTING

David Lynch- Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet

Patty Jenkins- Wonder Woman, Monster

Darren Aronofsky- Black Swan, Requiem For A Dream

Todd Field- Eyes Wide Shut, TÁR

Terrence Malick- The Tree of Life, The red Thin Line 

Paul Schrader- First Reformed, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull 

Ari Aster- Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid

PRODUCING

Steve Golin- Spotlight, The Revenant 

Pieter Jan Brugge- Heat, The Insider

Daniel Dreifuss- All The Quiet on the Western Front

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Janusz Kaminski- Schindler’s List, Bridge of Spies

Robert Richardson- Hugo, The Hateful Eight 

Wally Pfister- Batman Begins, Inception, Memento

Matthew Libatique- Requiem For a Dream, Black Swan, Mother!

Rachel Morrison- Mudbound, Black Panther

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Sharon Seymour- Argo, The Town, Bad Santa

Andrew Max Cahn- The Hunger Games, The Hangover

Todd Cherniawsky- The Last Jedi, Star Trek: Picard

EDITING

Affonso Goncalves- Beasts of the Southern Wild, Carol

Christopher Gay- 12 Monkeys, Mad Men

Sarah Broshar- The Post, West Side Story, The Fabelmans

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