AFI Project: 20/20

American Film Institute (AFI) Project: 20/20 is a program designed to enhance cultural exchange, understanding, and collaboration through filmmakers and their films from the U.S. and abroad. By sharing their work with audiences here and overseas, AFI Project: 20/20 filmmakers seek to foster cross-cultural understanding, promote appreciation of shared values and diverse perspectives, and underscore the importance of free expression.

The program cover (above) for the AFI Project: 20/20 visit to China's Beijing Normal University hints at the diversity of the participating independent films in the program. Unlike U.S. commercial films that have a strong presence overseas, the filmmakers in AFI Project 20/20 bring another perspective on America to foreign audiences, drawing on their own creative talents and interests as independent filmmakers.

Film provides an excellent vehicle for cultural diplomacy, engaging and connecting with diverse audiences in the U.S. and aboard. The invited films in AFI Project: 20/20 share an interest in reaching beyond generations, language, education and borders to engage audiences, revealing both a respect for differences and a shared humanity among cultures.

AFI Project: 20/20 is an initiative of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and the American Film Institute (AFI) supported through an unprecedented collaboration between the U.S. Department of State, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

AFI Project: 20/20

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