Greta Gerwig Named Guest Artistic Director of AFI FEST 2023

Today, the American Film Institute (AFI) announced Oscar-nominated filmmaker and actress Greta Gerwig will serve as the Guest Artistic Director at AFI FEST 2023, which runs later this month from October 25-29.

Gerwig most recently directed and co-wrote this summer’s global cultural phenomenon, Barbie, smashing box office records and receiving worldwide critical acclaim. In 2017, Gerwig made her solo directorial debut with Lady Bird, earning Oscar nominations for Best Directing and Original Screenplay. She went on to write and direct the inventive adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, which was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture and an individual nomination for Gerwig for Best Adapted Screenplay.

As an actress, Gerwig’s early films include the indies Hannah Takes the Stairs which she co-wrote, and Nights and Weekends, which she co-directed, co-wrote and co-produced, before her breakout in Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg opposite Ben Stiller. She followed up the collaboration with Baumbach co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed Frances Ha, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Comedy or Musical, as well as Mistress America, and in 2019 starring in Baumbach’s most recent film, White Noise. Her additional acclaimed performances also include standout roles in Jackie and 20th Century Women.

“Greta Gerwig is devoted to cinema, and AFI is devoted to her,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “In 2010, she served on the Shorts Jury for AFI FEST – and across the years since then, AFI has been proud to celebrate Lady Bird and Little Women and now we are honored to welcome her home as Guest Artistic Director.”

Previous Guest Artistic Directors for AFI FEST include Pedro Almodóvar, Bernardo Bertolucci, Ava DuVernay, David Lynch and Agnès Varda.

The complete festival lineup, which can be found here, includes the World Premiere of Leave the World Behind, written and directed by Sam Esmail (AFI Class of 2004) and starring Academy Award winner Julia Roberts, Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke and two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali, will open AFI FEST on October 25. The World Premiere of Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story from directors Gelila Bekele and Armani Ortiz will be the Centerpiece film on October 27, and Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, the second directorial feature from the 9-time Academy Award nominee, chronicles the lifelong relationship between composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein (Cooper) and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein (Carey Mulligan), will close AFI FEST 2023 on October 29.

The 37th edition of AFI FEST will take place October 25-29 in Los Angeles. A limited number of passes are still available. AFI FEST 6-Ticket Bundles are on sale starting today on FEST.AFI.com, and individual tickets for all screenings will be available starting October 3. Additional passes and tickets information can be found at FEST.AFI.com.   

Top Sponsors for AFI FEST 2023 include Apple Original Films, Canva, Netflix, AMC Networks, Amazon Studios and Participant.