AFI & Universal Pictures Announce Week-Long BLACK STORIES MATTER Series

The American Film Institute (AFI) and Universal Pictures today announced the launch of a week-long AFI Movie Club event called "Black Stories Matter," spotlighting diverse and unique narratives from celebrated Black films. Born from a recent AFI/Universal collaboration honoring DO THE RIGHT THING and Academy Award®-winning director Spike Lee, the expanded partnership will pay tribute to notable films BLACKKKLANSMAN, GET OUT, GIRLS TRIP, LOVING and STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON with free digital movie rentals available all week. Enhanced AFI Movie Club content will feature new interviews with composer Terence Blanchard (BLACKKKLANSMAN), Malcolm D. Lee (GIRLS TRIP), cinematographer and AFI Alum Matthew Libatique (STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON), Ruth Negga (LOVING), writer Tracy Oliver (GIRLS TRIP), Ron Stallworth (BLACKKKLANSMAN) and more.

Each of the Universal films will be available to rent for free on Amazon, Apple, Charter, Comcast, Cox, Dish, FandangoNOW, Redbox, Verizon and Vudu, among others, beginning August 24 through August 30.

"For decades, Universal has supported thought-provoking stories and powerful perspectives that have served to enlighten, enrich and entertain," said Donna Langley, Chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, and AFI Trustee. "Through this partnership with AFI, we are proud to further shine a light on these distinctly important works that continue to so poignantly amplify today's conversation."

AFI Movie Club will enrich the free rentals by highlighting each day's film with a conversation between film critic Shawn Edwards and filmmakers and talent involved with the films; "Behind the Scene" featurettes about a specific scene examined by an artist from the film; and exclusive clips sourced from AFI's extensive archive of Master Class Seminars, as well as curated trivia researched from the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.

"The mission of AFI and the AFI Movie Club has always been to educate and inspire audiences - and to drive culture forward," said Bob Gazzale, President and CEO of the American Film Institute. "We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Universal and to further the conversation about stories that are culturally and nationally significant."

The moderated conversations, featurettes and exclusive AFI Archive material will be available on AFI.com/MovieClub and the AFI Youtube channel at YouTube.com/AFI.

Launched on March 31 with the goal to show audiences a world of art above anxiety, AFI Movie Club has announced a classic film a day as a way of connecting audiences with "movies to watch together when we're apart" and providing everyone with the means of engaging with this essential art form - and each other. The first title was THE WIZARD OF OZ, and was announced via special video introduction by Steven Spielberg. Since then, special guests introducing daily titles have included J.J. Abrams, Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jack Black, Kenneth Branagh, Millie Bobby Brown, Hanelle Culpepper, Robert De Niro, Benicio del Toro, Lena Dunham, Cynthia Erivo, Carl Franklin, Morgan Freeman, Danny Glover, Jeff Goldblum, Hugh Grant, Taylor Hackford, Jon Hamm, Asher Jelinsky, Eva Longoria, Leonard Maltin, Helen Mirren, Demi Moore, LaToya Morgan, Elisabeth Moss, Mira Nair, Brad Pitt, Natalie Portman, Issa Rae, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Roberts, Sarah Silverman, Alicia Silverstone, Sharon Stone, Emma Thompson, Kerry Washington and more.