Graduate Professional School Fair:
University of California, San Diego
Wednesday, October 15, 2008, from 10:30 am - 2:30 pm

Graduate Professional School Information & Recruitment Day:
Atlanta University Center Consortium
Henderson Student Center - Multi-Purpose Room-Upper Level
Wednesday, October 15, 2008, from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Meet with representatives from the American Film Institute's Conservatory Film program. AFI is a world-renowned institute, training the next generation of filmmakers. The Conservatory emphasizes fully planned and realized production. AFI Fellows collaborate on and collectlvely produce more than 120 short narrative productions each year, more than any other academic program.

Offering both a Master of Fine Arts degree and a Certificate of Completion, in six disciplines - Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design, and Screenwriting - this intensive graduate program parallels the challenges and expectations of the contemporary film, television and digital media professions.

Mark Waters receives the 18th annual Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal

The American Film Institute presented director Mark Waters with the 2008 Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal. Waters was presented with the medal as part of the AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Warren Beatty on June 12, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland.

Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO commented, "Mark Waters was a member of the extraordinary directing class of '92 at the AFI Conservatory, graduating alongside Darren Aronofsky, Doug Ellin and Todd Field. His is a distinct new voice in American film, and we are both proud of his contribution to the art form as well as all that lies ahead in his future."

The 17 prior recipients of the Schaffner Alumni Medal are David Lynch (1991), Edward Zwick (1992), Randa Haines (1993), Martin Brest (1994), Jon Avnet (1995), Carl Franklin (1996), John McTiernan (1997), Amy Heckerling (1998), Mimi Leder (1999), Terrence Malick (2000), Darren Aronofsky (2001), Todd Field (2002), John Dahl (2003), Patty Jenkins (2004), Paul Schrader (2005), Marshall Herskovitz (2006) and Gary Winick (2007).

Bob Gazzale and Mark Waters

2008 Honorary Degree

AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE 2008 HONORARY DEGREE RECIPIENTS

Caleb Deschanel, Jean Picker Firstenberg and Norman Jewison Honored at AFI Conservatory Commencement

Caleb Deschanel graduated from AFI's first class in 1971 and has gone on to become one of Hollywood's most celebrated cinematographers. His numerous award-winning credits include: THE BLACK STALLION, THE RIGHT STUFF, BEING THERE, THE NATURAL and THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST.

Jean Picker Firstenberg led AFI, America's national cultural arts organization, from 1980-2007--only the second person to head AFI since its creation 40 years ago--making her one of the longest serving chief executives of any nonprofit organization in the US. During Firstenberg's tenure, AFI dramatically expanded beyond its founding missions--to train America's next generation of moviemakers and preserve the nation's film heritage--to also become the largest nonprofit film exhibitor in the US, to mount major national celebrations of excellence in American film and television, and to evaluate and integrate new media in the world of film and television.

Norman Jewison's illustrious producing and directing career includes landmark films such as IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, A SOLDIER'S STORY and MOONSTRUCK. His films have received a total of 46 Oscar nominations, and in 1999 he received the Academy's prestigious Irving Thalberg Award. In 1986, Jewison established the Canadian Film Centre, citing AFI as an inspiration.

Previous recipients of AFI Honorary Degrees include Robert Altman, Maya Angelou, Michelangelo Antonioni, Steven Bochco, Ken Burns, Roger Corman, Roger Ebert, Nora Ephron, Chuck Jones, James Earl Jones, Quincy Jones, John Lasseter, Gena Rowlands, Thelma Schoonmaker and John Williams.

2008 Honorary Degree recipients Caleb Deschanel, Jean PIcker Firstenberg and Norman Jewison

Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskowitz present Jean Picker Firstenberg with an Honorary Degree

HONORARY OSCAR FOR AFI'S BOB BOYLE

A member of the Production Design faculty since 1982, legendary production designer Robert Boyle was awarded an Honorary Academy Award "in recognition of one of cinema's great careers in art direction."

Boyle has earned four Academy Award nominations in the art direction category for his work on NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959), GAILY, GAILY (1969), FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (1971) and THE SHOOTIST (1976). "Robert Boyle's career is truly worthy of this honor," said Academy President Sid Ganis. "From his multiple collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock to his top-quality work on so many other films, this is a master film artist and I couldn't be happier that an Oscar statuette will be presented to him."

Boyle's nearly 100 credits begin with Hitchcock's SABOTEUR (1942) and include SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943), IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953), THE BIRDS (1963), MARNIE (1964), HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (1967), IN COLD BLOOD (1967), THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1968), PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT (1972), PRIVATE BENJAMIN (1980), RHINESTONE (1984) and DRAGNET (1987). He also was the subject of the Academy Award-nominated documentary short THE MAN ON LINCOLN'S NOSE (2000).

Born in Los Angeles in 1909, Boyle trained as an architect. When the Depression cost him his job in that field, Boyle found work in films as an extra. In 1933 he was hired as a draftsman in the Paramount Studios art department, headed by supervising art director Hans Dreier. He went on to work on a variety of pictures as a sketch artist, draftsman and assistant art director before becoming an art director at Universal in the early 1940s. The 98 year-old Boyle has been teaching production design at AFI since 1983. A celebratory reception was held by the AFI Conservatory on January 8, 2008 in his honor.

Read Boyle's acceptance speech

For additional AFI Conservatory award season honors, visit: http://www.afi.com/education/conservatory/awards.aspx