AFI Awards 2005 Moments of Significance Announced

AFI Awards 2005 Moments of Significance Announced

Sixth Annual AFI Almanac Names 6 Moments of Significance in Film and TV for the Year

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Film Institute (AFI) today announced the second portion of the AFI AWARDS 2005 deliberation process -- the year's AFI Moments of Significance. These six noteworthy events were determined to have had an impact on the world of the moving image during the calendar year 2005.

Each year, AFI AWARDS adds another volume to the history of American film and television by documenting the collective opinion of the moving image communities, archiving the year's significant moments and honoring the talent and collaborative teams who have created the year's outstanding accomplishments. Ten AFI Movies of the Year and 10 AFI Television Programs of the Year were announced last week. A complete list of the 2005 official selections and the 2005 juries can be found at www.AFI.com.

AFI AWARDS 2005 selections were made through AFI's unique 13-person jury process in which scholars, artists, critics and AFI trustees discuss, debate and determine the most outstanding achievements of the year, as well as highlight these significant events that shape our culture. Two AFI juries -- one for motion pictures and one for television -- convened in Los Angeles for two days of deliberations.

AFI will honor the creative ensembles for each of the honorees at a luncheon on Friday, January 13, 2006, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, California.

CRITERIA

AFI Moments of Significance may include accomplishments of considerable merit; influences with either a positive or negative impression; trends, either new or re-emerging; anniversaries or memorials of special note; and/or movements in new technologies, education, preservation, government or other areas that impact the art film, television and digital media.

The Moments of Significance selections are listed below:

AFI MOMENTS OF SIGNIFICANCE

2005 MARKED BY CONTINUING CONSOLIDATION

And then there were six.

The film community continues to consolidate as both Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a force in American entertainment since 1924 and, in many regards, a symbol for the golden age of Hollywood, and DreamWorks, the youngest film and television studio, were bought by larger corporations.

Both MGM and DreamWorks were founded by movie mavericks -- from Louis B. Mayer to Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, & David Geffen -- and AFI hopes that this trend for consolidation will respect the rich history that marks our cultural legacy and encourage the creative spirit that drives the art form.

MOVIES AND TELEVISION PICTURE A POST 9/11 WORLD

2005 marked a fully found artistic reaction to 9/11 and the new realities created in its wake. Art not only has the ability to expose the complexities of the changed world we live in, but also to provide a unifying voice for a country trying to heal while still in conflict.

On television, shows like 24, SLEEPER CELL, RESCUE 9/11 and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA all dramatize terrorism, heroism and the struggle to find a common ground.

In theatres, the movies explored these themes in ways that effected audiences physically, intellectually and emotionally: Steven Spielberg's WAR OF THE WORLDS viscerally moved and terrified audiences with invaders from another world. George Clooney's GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK celebrated the challenge and bravery of independent journalists. THE MARCH OF THE PENGUINS, a French documentary that chronicled the journey of emperor penguins in Antarctica, proved the surprise hit of the year for its universal message -- the need to be part of a community that cares for each other.

THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE IN CRISIS

At the dawn of American film, there was magic in the moviegoing experience. Strangers came together in the dark and were awed by images of light and a story well told.

Over the first century of American film, great strides were made in this collective experience -- ongoing technological leaps in sound, color and projection. But in 2005, it became apparent that a steady downward trend in the experience was a harsh reality, and, in fact, that moviegoing might be at risk.

The reasons for this are vast and varied, including:

* the dramatically increased competition for leisure time from other
entertainments that can be delivered on-demand;

* the improvement of home entertainment technologies;

* the rise in video games, where an immersive experience is also
interactive;

* the increased availability of motion pictures via illegal downloads or
bootleg DVDs.

The coming years will bring new technologies to movie theatres, and AFI hopes that all parties will come together -- distributors, exhibitors and patrons -- to appreciate the value of the communal experience ... at a theatre near you.

TV BREAKS OUT OF THE BOX

The exodus became official in 2005 as television content migrated to multiple screen platforms. Most notably:

* Apple Computer introduced a new video iPod in concert with a content
distribution deal with ABC that made LOST and DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
available for download. Later, NBC Universal announced a deal to
deliver more than 300 episodes from prime time, cable, late-night and
classic TV shows via iPod.

* Twentieth Century Fox premiered a serial drama created specifically
for cellular phones based on its television drama 24. The 24
one-minute long "mobisodes" -- short for "mobile episode" -- are based
on the series.

* Time Warner and AOL announced the creation of a new broadband
network -- named In2TV -- that allows on-demand access to thousands of
episodes of classic television shows via the Internet.

In the wake of the popularity of digital video recorders, these technological breakthroughs meet the consumers' needs for content on demand, but also move the receipt of visual storytelling more dramatically toward an isolated experience, to the point where watercooler phenomena may soon be a term of the past.

TELEVISION AND HURRICANE KATRINA/DISASTER

Hurricane Katrina decimated America's Gulf Coast, and television brought images of American suffering to the world -- images that revealed the existence of an underclass not often seen on television and exposed the world's most powerful country in a deeply sad and unfavorable light.

In the days that followed, television was not a complacent reporter, but an active participant in the rescue and clean up. When it appeared that local, state and national governments could not respond in a timely manner to the needs of those in trouble, television put a spotlight on the contradictions between what officials were reporting and the images viewers' were seeing in their living rooms. Reminiscent of television's coverage of the 1968 Democratic Convention, this forged a new relationship between television and its audience.

The coverage of the hurricane also brought to light the limitations of the medium, where misinformation is embraced as truth and the rush to judgment is fueled by images and words out of context.

Ultimately, the coverage was a testimony to the power of television, to bring us together as a nation, ask difficult questions and offer solutions.

CONVERGENCE COMES OF AGE

America OnLine's exclusive on-line coverage of the multi-city Live 8 concert proved a seismic moment in global access to live events, a role that has evolved from radio to television and, now, to the Internet.

Over five million viewers logged on to the AOL Live 8 site, drawing a larger audience than MTV and ABC's primetime highlights special, which averaged 2.9 millions viewers. Additionally, in the following week, there were over 25 million on-demand plays of different performances from the concert.

The event has demonstrated how the Internet allows a breadth and depth of coverage not possible through traditional television broadcasting. On the day of the concert, fans could switch between events, see live updates, access full artist information, and share views with fellow fans. After the event, audiences could relive it on demand -- watching what they want, when they want it.

Technically, it's of note that AOL provided the largest number of simultaneous video streams in the history of the Internet without a single break, instilling a level of trust in the consumer that is essential in the migration from one technology to another.

About the American Film Institute

AFI is a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and digital media. AFI trains the next generation of filmmakers at its world- renowned Conservatory, maintains America's film heritage through the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and explores new digital technologies in entertainment and education through the AFI Digital Content Lab and K-12 Screen Education Center. As the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the US, AFI ON SCREEN encompasses the annual AFI FEST presented by Audi: AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival -- as well as year-round programming at ArcLight Hollywood and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, including SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival. AFI AWARDS, the annual almanac for the 21st century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year, while AFI's 100 Years . . . series has ignited extraordinary public interest in classic American movies. And, during the past 33 years, AFI's Life Achievement Award has become the highest honor for a career in film. Additional information about AFI is available at AFI.com.

Source: American Film Institute

CONTACT: Alison Deknatel, +1-323-856-7896, adeknatel@AFI.com, or Erin
Hurff, +1-323-856-7603, ehurff@AFI.com, both of American Film Institute

Web site: http://www.afi.com/

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