Becoming AFI

Jean Picker Firstenberg served as president and CEO of the American Film Institute from 1980 to 2007, overseeing the development of AFI as one of America's greatest national, cultural, and educational resources. She received an AFI Life Achievement Award for Service to the Institute and was named president emerita and a lifetime trustee. In 2016, Firstenberg was named to the California State University Board of Trustees by Governor Jerry Brown, overseeing the largest four-year public university system in the United States, with twenty-three campuses educating the most diverse student body in the nation. Prior to serving at AFI, Firstenberg spent four years as a program officer at the John and Mary R. Markle Foundation. She also served as director of Princeton University's Publications Office. Firstenberg is a summa cum laude graduate of Boston University's College of Communications. She has served on several boards, including that of Boston University (1984-1996), the George Foster Peabody Awards at Georgia University (1985-1997; board chair 1991-1997); and the United States Postal Service Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee (2002-2014; committee chair 2008-2014). She has won numerous awards and honorary degrees.

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

50 Years of AFI: A Timeline

Chapter 1: The Launch To Begin at the Beginning by Jean Picker Firstenberg

Chapter 2: Next Steps AFI in 1980: A New Decade, A New Director, A New Home by Jean Picker Firstenberg

Chapter 3: Film Education Training the Next Generation: From Center for Advanced Film Studies to the AFI Conservatory by James Hindman

Chapter 4: Women in Charge AFI Directing Workshop for Women: Give Them a Chance by Jean Picker Firstenberg

Chapter 5: Financial Realities AFI Funding: Growing Up and Standing Tall by Jean Picker Firstenberg

Chapter 6: Film Preservation Finding America's Film History by Jean Picker Firstenberg

The Final Word: AFI Catalog of Feature Films by Patricia King Hanson

Chapter 7: Technology's Influence As the World Turns: From Video to the Digital Revolution by James Hindman

Large Screen to Small Screen: AFI Enters the Video Age by Larry Kirkman AFI Introduces Apple to Creatives by Emily Laskin

AFI and the Digital World by Nick DeMartino

Chapter 8: Exhibition AFI's Commitment to the Silver Screen: As Films Are Meant to Be Seen by Jean Picker Firstenberg

AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center: 21st Century Exhibition Vision by James Hindman

Chapter 9: Developing a Public Vision American Film Magazine by Jean Picker Firstenberg

AFI Productions by James Hindman

Chapter 10: Major Moments Landmarks in AFI's Identity by Jean Picker Firstenberg

Chapter 11: Leadership Ensuring the Future: The Role of AFI's Board of Trustees by Jean Picker Firstenberg

Chapter 12: Today's AFI To 50 and Beyond by Jean Picker Firstenberg

Chapter 13: Themes and Lessons Looking Back to Look Forward by James Hindman

Appendix AFI Trustees
AFI Conservatory Mission, Core Values, Objectives and Commitments
AFI Conservatory Honorary Degree Recipients

Acknowledgments

About the Authors and Contributors