Rachel Morrison To Receive The American Film Institute's 28th Annual Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced that trailblazing cinematographer Rachel Morrison (AFI Class of 2006) will receive the 2018 Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal an award which honors outstanding achievements of AFI Conservatory Alumni in June 2018 ceremony.

This honor recognizes the extraordinary creative talents of AFI Conservatory alumni who embody the qualities of filmmaker Franklin J. Schaffner: talent, taste, dedication and commitment to quality storytelling in film and television. The presentation of the Schaffner Medal will take place at the AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute to George Clooney in Hollywood on June 7, 2018.

Morrison made history this year as the first woman ever nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Cinematography, for her work on MUDBOUND (2017). Morrison also broke ground as the first woman to shoot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the record-breaking blockbuster BLACK PANTHER (2018).


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Morrison's body of work boasts nearly 50 credits in less than two decades, including acclaimed films FRUITVALE STATION (2013); CAKE (2014); DOPE (2015); WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE? (2015); and CONFIRMATION (2016). She is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and the recipient of a Primetime Emmy® Award nomination, an ASC Award nomination and a New York Film Critics Circle Award.

About the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal
Over the course of a remarkable 40-year career, Franklin J. Schaffner earned a total of 28 Academy Award® nominations and the Best Director Oscar® for PATTON in 1970. Schaffner's association with AFI began in 1975, with his election to the AFI Board of Trustees, and lasted until his passing in 1989.

Recipients of the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal are David Lynch (1991), Edward Zwick (1992), Randa Haines (1993), Martin Brest (1994), Jon Avnet (1995), Carl Franklin (1996), John McTiernan (1997), Amy Heckerling (1998), Mimi Leder (1999), Terrence Malick (2000), Darren Aronofsky (2001), Todd Field (2002), John Dahl (2003), Patty Jenkins (2004), Paul Schrader (2005), Marshall Herskovitz (2006), Gary Winick (2007), Mark Waters (2008), Steve Golin (2009), Janusz Kamiński (2010), Steven Rosenblum (2011), Wally Pfister (2012), Stuart Cornfeld (2013), Anne Garefino (2014), Caleb Deschanel (2015), Lesli Linka Glatter (2016) and Frederick Elmes (2017).

About the AFI Conservatory
The AFI Conservatory has been named the #1 film school in the world. In 1969, the AFI Conservatory opened its doors to an inaugural class that included Terrence Malick, Caleb Deschanel and Paul Schrader. 


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Today, the AFI Conservatory offers a two-year MFA degree in six filmmaking disciplines: Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting. Aspiring artists learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on storytelling. Alumni of this elite program include Andrea Arnold, Darren Aronofsky, Julie Dash, Steve Golin, Patty Jenkins, Janusz Kamiński, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas and Robert Richardson, among others.

About the American Film Institute
The American Film Institute was established by presidential proclamation in the White House Rose Garden, and launched its national mandate on June 5, 1967 — to preserve the heritage of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. AFI's founding Trustees included Chairman Gregory Peck, Vice Chairman Sidney Poitier, Francis Ford Coppola, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Jack Valenti and George Stevens, Jr., as Director.

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