K-drama 'Pachinko, 'Hacks,' 'Top Gun: Maverick' named American Film Institute Awards honorees
The American Film Institute (AFI), “a nonprofit organization with a mandate to champion the moving image as an art form” established in 1967, announced the 10 outstanding films and 10 outstanding TV programs selected as honorees of its AFI Awards 2022.
“AFI AWARDS shines a light upon excellence in storytelling and the collaborators who bring these stories to the screen. This year, more than ever, celebrating the community of artists that realize these dreams is particularly meaningful – as they have lifted our spirits through the most challenging of times and proven the power of this great art formal,” said ,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO.

One of the honorees for outstanding TV program is “Pachinko,” the intergenerational Korean drama starring Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung, Korean star Lee Min-ho and Kim Min-ha.
“Pachinko” recently bagged a nomination for Best Foreign Language Series at the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards, which will be held on Jan. 15.
“AFI AWARDS was created in 2000 to recognize the films and television programs which contribute to our collective cultural legacy. When placed in an historical context, these stories provide a complex, rich, visual record of our modern world,” according to the AFI website.
The honorees for the AFI Awards are chosen “based on works which advance the art of the moving image, inspire audiences and artists alike enhance the rich cultural heritage of America’s art form.”
A jury composed of scholars, artists, critics and AFI Trustees comprise the jury, which selects the winners.
This year’s juries — one for film and one for television — include W. Kamau Bell, Colman Domingo, Siân Heder, Brad Ingelsby, Marti Noxon, Mario Van Peebles; renowned film historians L.S. Kim, Akira Mizuta Lippit, Leonard Maltin and Robert Thompson; members of the AFI Board of Trustees; film critics Janet Maslin, Shawn Edwards from the African American Film Critics Association, and film and television critics from outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Salon, TV Guide and The Washington Post.
The juries were chaired by AFI Board of Trustees member Jeanine Basinger (chair emerita and founder of the Film Studies Department, Wesleyan University) and AFI Board of Trustees Vice Chair Richard Frank (former chairman of Walt Disney Television, president of Walt Disney Studios, president of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences).
This year’s honorees will be recognized at the annual AFI AWARDS private luncheon to be held on Jan. 13.
The AFI Awards 2022 honorees are:
AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR
- AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
- ELVIS
- EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
- THE FABELMANS
- NOPE
- SHE SAID
- TÁR
- TOP GUN: MAVERICK
- THE WOMAN KING
- WOMEN TALKING

AFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR
- ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
- THE BEAR
- BETTER CALL SAUL
- HACKS
- MO
- PACHINKO
- RESERVATION DOGS
- SEVERANCE
- SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE
- THE WHITE LOTUS

AFI SPECIAL AWARD
- THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN