AFI Awards: ‘Judas and the Black Messiah,’ ‘Minari,’ ‘Bridgerton,’ ‘The Mandalorian’ among film and television winners

Erik Anderson January 25, 2021

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today the recipients of AFI AWARDS 2020. AFI’s global Movie Club program will showcase the official selections beginning in February, with new and exclusive content released daily, including special guests from the honored works introducing the titles and AFI “Behind the Scene” conversations with filmmakers and actors. The AFI AWARDS is the only national program that honors creative teams as a whole, recognizing those in front of and behind the camera.

For film, Da 5 Bloods, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Nomadland and Soul were among the selected winners as the best of 2020. In television, the honorees included The Good Lord Bird, The Queen’s Gambit and Ted Lasso. A special award was given to Hamilton.

“For 20 years, AFI AWARDS has been a moment to gather artists in one room with a singular goal – to create community over competition,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President & CEO. “This year we cannot gather but will instead celebrate each honoree by creating exclusive content to be shared with a global audience through AFI Movie Club, shining a proper light on excellence.”

The AFI AWARDS celebration will be sponsored by Audi, a supporter of AFI programs for the past 17 years. To commemorate each of the AFI AWARDS recipients, Audi has created the AFI AWARDS Audi Scholarships initiative providing scholarships in the name of each honoree to current women and BIPOC Fellows at the AFI Conservatory – for a total contribution of $250,000.

The AFI AWARDS tributes will culminate with a virtual benediction premiering February 26 on YouTube.com/AFI and AFI.com.

Here is the full list of honorees for film and television for 2020.

AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR

DA 5 BLOODS
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
MANK
MINARI
NOMADLAND
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI…
SOUL
SOUND OF METAL
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

AFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR

BETTER CALL SAUL
BRIDGERTON
THE CROWN
THE GOOD LORD BIRD
LOVECRAFT COUNTRY
THE MANDALORIAN
MRS. AMERICA
THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT
TED LASSO
UNORTHODOX

AFI SPECIAL AWARD

HAMILTON

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. All of the honored works advance the art of the moving image, inspire audiences and artists alike, enhance the rich cultural heritage of America’s art form and make a mark on American society.

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.