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The list of the 10 films chosen for the prestigious AFI Awards is out, and it is good news for Barbenheimer. Both summer blockbusters _Barbie _and _Oppenheimer _are among the elite group
chosen for the 2023 list by the specially selected AFI jury of critics, filmmakers, scholars, and AFI Trustees. Also named are _American Fiction, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon,
Maestro, May December, Past Lives, Poor Things_ and the animated _Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. _The latter box office blockbuster is not only a rare animated feature making the list,
but also the rare sequel to do it especially considering that 2018’s _Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse _did _not _make the AFI list that year. Netflix is represented by two films —
_Maestro _and _May December _— and is the only distributor to have more than one of its movies on the list this year. No film in AFI Awards history since their establishment in 2001 has gone
on to win the Best Picture Oscar without first being on this list; the films often match the eventual majority of Oscar Best Picture nominees. Last year, seven films went on to Best Picture
nominations along with _All Quiet on the Western Front, Triangle of Sadness _and _The Banshees of Inisherin _which weren’t among the AFI top 10 (the list doesn’t include international
films); instead, last year’s list included non-Best Picture Oscar nominees _Nope, She Said_ and _The Woman King _(all three were shut out at the Oscars). _Banshees _did receive Special
Recognition from AFI since often international productions aren’t eligible. The same applied to 2021’s list where _Belfast _got Special Recognition, and Parasite when it won Best Picture in
2019. “As our nation and our world continue to navigate difficult times, AFI is honored to shine a proper light upon these works of art that lift us up and, ultimately, lead us to empathy,”
said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “That we do so without competition is AFI’s hallmark, and we are proud to gather this community of artists together – as one – to celebrate their
extraordinary contributions to our time.” The AFI Awards Honorees will be celebrated at a private luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills on January 12, 2024.