American Film Institute (AFI) conferred a Doctorate of Fine Arts degree honoris causa for contributions of distinction to the art of the moving image upon Jamie Lee Curtis during the AFI Conservatory’s Class of 2024 commencement ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
The commencement celebrated the AFI Fellows’ completion of two years of intense study in AFI’s MFA program which is ranked the top film school in the nation. The 141 graduating filmmakers specialized in one of six disciplines – Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design or Screenwriting – and collectively created the equivalent of 10 feature films during their two years at AFI. The class features 67% female filmmakers, 45% domestic Fellows of color and 40% international filmmakers.
The ceremony began with opening remarks by Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO, welcoming the graduating Fellows and their friends and families.
John Carpenter, who cast Curtis in his 1978 horror classic Halloween marking her film debut, took to the stage to a standing ovation – and the iconic score Carpenter composed for Halloween – to bestow the honorary degree upon the acclaimed actress. He spoke about first meeting Curtis, “She was and is a force of nature.”
A montage of clips from Curtis’ well-known and renowned projects filled the TCL Chinese Theatre screen. When Curtis stepped to the podium, the audience gave her a standing ovation.
In accepting her AFI Honorary Degree, Curtis shared a quote that she loves, “Life hinges on a couple seconds you never see coming.” She concluded her speech offering the following advice to the Fellows, “Stay open, stay free, stay engaged, stay absolutely enthusiastic, don’t get lazy, fight for it, work for it, save the universe please, god bless you all, thank you.”
Curtis joins an esteemed group of distinguished past recipients, including Robert Altman, Maya Angelou, Saul Bass, Angela Bassett, Kathryn Bigelow, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Anne V. Coates, Ernest R. Dickerson, Clint Eastwood, Roger Ebert, Nora Ephron, Jodie Foster, Lesli Linka Glatter, Lawrence Herbert, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Kasdan, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Angela Lansbury, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Paul Schrader, Quentin Tarantino, Lily Tomlin, Robert Towne, Cicely Tyson, Haskell Wexler, John Williams and Michelle Yeoh.
Following Curtis, Susan Ruskin, Dean of the AFI Conservatory and Executive Vice President of AFI, addressed the Class of 2024 and praised their hard work, dedication and creativity.
AFI Class of 2024 Representative Allysa Lisbon then addressed the audience. Lisbon, a Cinematography Fellow, was selected by her classmates for the honor. She encouraged her fellow creatives to challenge themselves. “In a world where the only constant is change, what stories are we going to believe in? How will we direct the change we know is coming?”
Past Alumni of the AFI Conservatory, ranging from modern masters to bold new voices defining the state of the art form, include Andrea Arnold, Darren Aronofsky, Ari Aster, Deniese Davis, Sam Esmail, Brad Falchuk, Affonso Gonçalves, Susannah Grant, Liz Hannah, Patty Jenkins, Janusz Kamiński, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas, Polly Morgan, Rachel Morrison and Wally Pfister, among others.