AFI Applicants 2025

[Chris W]

Anyone know the number of screenwriting fellows interviewed vs admitted?

The "How many are admitted who were interviewed?" percentage is in the Additional Statistics for Supporting Members section in the link below:

Admission statistics for AFI Conservatory ()

Acceptance rate, minimum GPA, SAT, GRE, and demographics of admitted applicants for AFI Conservatory calculated from our database of thousands of film school applications.

www.filmschool.org

 

[Austinnnnjb]

The "How many are admitted who were interviewed?" percentage is in the Additional Statistics for Supporting Members section in the link below:

Admission statistics for AFI Conservatory ()

Acceptance rate, minimum GPA, SAT, GRE, and demographics of admitted applicants for AFI Conservatory calculated from our database of thousands of film school applications.

www.filmschool.org

Lol I think I'm gonna pass on the "supporting member" fee... especially if I wind up having to pay for AFI.

 

[Chris W]

Lol I think I'm gonna pass on the "supporting member" fee... especially if I wind up having to pay for AFI.

No worries I know it's tight for some. It's the only way the site makes money and pays for itself however. I did introduce a way for people to share their Supporting Memberships with a friend or family member to make it more affordable for people.

 

[Austinnnnjb]

No worries I know it's tight for some. It's the only way the site makes money and pays for itself however. I did introduce a way for people to share their Supporting Memberships with a friend or family member to make it more affordable for people.

Word! And totally understand. I'm just glad this website exists! Super helpful!

 

[kingofsweaters]

Interviewed for Screenwriting this week. Interview was exactly 30 minutes, very relaxed and informal. Maybe a little too informal on my end. Talked a lot about writing, vision, and my other artistic pursuits. I'm also currently in the industry in another field, so they asked why film school etc. Really lovely people.

Anyone know the number of screenwriting fellows interviewed vs admitted?

Who were your interviewers. My feature workshop teacher did interviews this week so I’m curious haha.

Congrats! It really is an achievement just to interview. To answer your question, and I got confirmation on this for screenwriting specifically this week, they interview between 80-100 applicants. Then narrow that down by literally arguing why they believe their favorites deserve it amongst themselves.

Feel free to send me a direct message is you have any other questions!

 

[Austinnnnjb]

Who were your interviewers. My feature workshop teacher did interviews this week so I’m curious haha.

Congrats! It really is an achievement just to interview. To answer your question, and I got confirmation on this for screenwriting specifically this week, they interview between 80-100 applicants. Then narrow that down by literally arguing why they believe their favorites deserve it amongst themselves.

Feel free to send me a direct message is you have any other questions!

Ty! Messaged you and really appreciate it!

 

[MaxNoble]

Has anyone else gotten an interview invite? It kinda seems like they stopped sending them out lol.

Also how did everyone's interviews go?

They’ve stopped.

 

[Chris W]

Added this fun cinematography quiz last night. What score can you get?

Cinematography for Directors

Do you have the non-technical cinematography knowledge every director and cinematographer should have? Take the quiz designed by Tal Lazar, (@TalLazar), a cinematographer and educator for some of the top film schools. Read our interview with Tal...

www.filmschool.org

 

[abtfilms]

They’ve stopped.

I'll wait until to end of Feb. to lose hope in an interview lol. After all it seems like they do interviews in batches. Even with USC my interview invite came a lot later than other applicants.

 

[patty]

I mailed the admissions office, asking them whether it is the end all for the interviews. I reckoned I'm not alone who is anxious out of his wits, so I'm posting their response here:

This process is ongoing and takes place all throughout the month of February. If you do not receive an interview invitation by the beginning of March, then you can assume you won’t be offered admission into the program. However, at this time, we ask that you are patient.

Godspeed to all my fellow applicants!

 

[MaxNoble]

I mailed the admissions office, asking them whether it is the end all for the interviews. I reckoned I'm not alone who is anxious out of his wits, so I'm posting their response here:

This process is ongoing and takes place all throughout the month of February. If you do not receive an interview invitation by the beginning of March, then you can assume you won’t be offered admission into the program. However, at this time, we ask that you are patient.

Godspeed to all my fellow applicants!

Thank you for this!

 

[JaredFilms378]

Did stephen lighthill invite anyone else to campus during their interview? He did to me and I'm trying to figure out if it's just something they do to everyone

 

[pandaexpresss]

interviewed for cinematography - did anyone else have a really short interview? Feel like i mostly got softball questions as well. feeling a little strange about it. they were super friendly though. if anyone comfortable sharing their experiance would love to know!

 

[eepybee]

interviewed for cinematography - did anyone else have a really short interview? Feel like i mostly got softball questions as well. feeling a little strange about it. they were super friendly though. if anyone comfortable sharing their experiance would love to know!

Hi! Mine for writing was 20 minutes, and that included a few questions I had for them. Not sure how that compares. But it flew by. I've been stressed about it because, while it was a super friendly, smooth, easy conversation, I worry I didn't impress them enough, or supplement my written application enough. In other words, I worry the interview didn't add anything (or enough) to my application. On the other hand, perhaps their primary goal really was to just get an idea of my personality/see how I hold a conversation/see how comfortable I am describing my ideas (obviously an important skill in this industry). It's hard to say exactly what they were looking for, but I think if you feel you were a good conversationalist, gave them an idea of your personality, and used those softball questions as opportunities to confidently express yourself then that's really the best you could do. I hope this is helpful!

 

[nikifish]

Hi! Mine for writing was 20 minutes, and that included a few questions I had for them. Not sure how that compares. But it flew by. I've been stressed about it because, while it was a super friendly, smooth, easy conversation, I worry I didn't impress them enough, or supplement my written application enough. In other words, I worry the interview didn't add anything (or enough) to my application. On the other hand, perhaps their primary goal really was to just get an idea of my personality/see how I hold a conversation/see how comfortable I am describing my ideas (obviously an important skill in this industry). It's hard to say exactly what they were looking for, but I think if you feel you were a good conversationalist, gave them an idea of your personality, and used those softball questions as opportunities to confidently express yourself then that's really the best you could do. I hope this is helpful!

Do you think their questions are difficult to answer? Did they ask for many details about your writing samples, like a specific scene or other professional aspects?

 

[tylerrjenkins]

Hi! Mine for writing was 20 minutes, and that included a few questions I had for them. Not sure how that compares. But it flew by. I've been stressed about it because, while it was a super friendly, smooth, easy conversation, I worry I didn't impress them enough, or supplement my written application enough. In other words, I worry the interview didn't add anything (or enough) to my application. On the other hand, perhaps their primary goal really was to just get an idea of my personality/see how I hold a conversation/see how comfortable I am describing my ideas (obviously an important skill in this industry). It's hard to say exactly what they were looking for, but I think if you feel you were a good conversationalist, gave them an idea of your personality, and used those softball questions as opportunities to confidently express yourself then that's really the best you could do. I hope this is helpful!

Yeah, mine for directing was shorter than expected too. I guess not necessarily a bad thing per se, as perhaps they just wanted to clarify a few things before admitting you/me. OR they realized fast that you/I were not a good fit for AFI and cut the interview short. We will see on March 12 LOL

 

[jordanrosephotos]

Just got an interview invitation for directing for late next week!

 

[pmj]

Just got an interview invitation for directing for late next week!

Congrats! Maybe that means another wave of notifications is going out

 

[Chris W]

New cinematography quiz just dropped.

Lens and Light

Understanding lenses begins with understanding light. Test your knowledge with the quiz designed by Tal Lazar Tal Lazar, (@TalLazar), a filmmaker and educator for some of the top film schools. Read our interview with Tal here:

www.filmschool.org

 

[patty]

Just got an interview invitation for directing for late next week!

HOPE IS ALIVE!