2022 AFI Awards: ‘Elvis,’ ‘TÁR,’ ‘Abbott Elementary,’ ‘Severance’ among the best of the year for film and television

The American Film Institute (AFI) has revealed its lists for the top 10 films and television shows of 2022 where Avatar: The Way of Water, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Fabelmans, Nope, She Said, TÁR, Top Gun: Maverick, The Woman King and Women Talking were their film choices, with The Banshees of Inisherin receiving a special award.

Streamers like found themselves on the outs with Emancipation (Apple), Bardo, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and White Noise (all Netflix) not making the AFI cut.

With yesterday’s National Board of Review announcement of the best films of the year, we have crossover with Avatar: The Way of Water, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Fabelmans, Top Gun: Maverick, The Woman King and Women Talking and, technically, The Banshees of Inisherin.

In television, Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Better Call Saul, Hacks, Mo, Pachinko, Reservation Dogs, Severance, Somebody Somewhere and The White Lotus were the best on the small screen.

“AFI AWARDS shines a light upon excellence in storytelling and the collaborators who bring these stories to the screen,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “This year, more than ever, celebrating the community of artists that realize these dreams is particularly meaningful – as they have lifted our spirits through the most challenging of times and proven the power of this great art form.”

Honorees will gather on Friday, January 13, 2023, for recognition at the annual AFI AWARDS private luncheon — an event favored by the entertainment community for its informal intimacy and its inclusive acknowledgement of excellence.

AFI AWARDS celebrates film and television arts’ collaborative nature and is the only national program that honors creative teams as a whole, recognizing those in front of and behind the camera. All of the honored works advance the art of the moving image, inspire audiences and artists alike and enhance the rich cultural heritage of America’s art form. When placed in a historical context, these stories provide a complex and rich visual record of our modern world.

AFI AWARDS selections are made through a jury process where AFI Trustees, artists, critics and scholars determine the year’s most outstanding achievements and provide artistic and cultural context for the selection of each honoree.

This year’s juries — one for film and one for television — featured acclaimed artists including W. Kamau Bell, Colman Domingo, Siân Heder, Brad Ingelsby, Marti Noxon, Mario Van Peebles; renowned film historians L.S. Kim, Akira Mizuta Lippit, Leonard Maltin and Robert Thompson; members of the AFI Board of Trustees; film critics Janet Maslin, Shawn Edwards from the African American Film Critics Association, and film and television critics from outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Salon, TV Guide and The Washington Post. The juries were chaired by AFI Board of Trustees member Jeanine Basinger (Chair Emerita and Founder of the Film Studies Department, Wesleyan University) and AFI Board of Trustees Vice Chair Richard Frank (former Chairman of Walt Disney Television, President of Walt Disney Studios, President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences).

AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR

• AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
• ELVIS
• EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
• THE FABELMANS
• NOPE
• SHE SAID
• TÁR
• TOP GUN: MAVERICK
• THE WOMAN KING
• WOMEN TALKING

AFI SPECIAL AWARD

THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN

AFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR

• ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
• THE BEAR
• BETTER CALL SAUL
• HACKS
• MO
• PACHINKO
• RESERVATION DOGS
• SEVERANCE
• SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE
• THE WHITE LOTUS