AFI Conservatory alumni

David Keith Lynch was an American filmmaker, producer, actor, painter, and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, with his films often characterized by a distinctive surrealist sensibility that gave rise to the adjective "Lynchian". In a career spanning more than five decades, he received numerous accolades, including an Academy Honorary Award, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival, a Palme d'Or and Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival, two César Awards, and a (posthumous) Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement, in addition to nominations for four Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and nine Primetime Emmy Awards.

American filmmaker (born 1969)

American film director and screenwriter (born 1943)

American filmmaker and producer

American filmmaker

Polish cinematographer

American screenwriter and film director (born 1946)

American film director

English film director and actress

Ukrainian-American cinematographer and investigative journalist

American cinematographer and film director

American film director

American film director and screenwriter

American television writer, director and producer

American cinematographer

American actor and filmmaker (born 1964)

Colombian television and film director

American film director

American screenwriter

Egyptian-American director and writer

American television writer

American cinematographer

American film/television director and producer

American film director and screenwriter

American film director, writer and producer (born 1949)

American cinematographer

American music video, film, commercial and television director

American screenwriter and director

Charles Malcolm McDowell is an American film director and screenwriter. McDowell made his directorial film debut with the romantic thriller The One I Love (2014). He has since written and directed the Netflix drama films The Discovery (2017) and Windfall (2022).

American film producer (1961–2011)

American film and television director

American director

American film director and screenwriter

American cinematographer (born 1968)

American director, producer and writer (1961–2023)

actor, screenwriter, Film and television director

American cinematographer

Autumn Cheyenne Durald Arkapaw is an American cinematographer. For her work on the film Sinners (2025), she became the first woman of color to be nominated, and the first woman and first black person to win, an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. On television, she received a nomination at the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for Outstanding Cinematography for her work on the Loki episode "Lamentis" (2021).

American film and television director and writer

American film director and screenwriter

American filmmaker (born 1952)

Canadian film and television director

American filmmaker

American film and television producer (1955–2019)

American film director and producer (1945–2021)

director; writer

American film director

American actor

American film director, producer and screenwriter

American television writer and executive producer

film and TV director, producer and writer

cinematographer

American cinematographer

American film editor

South African film director

American film director

American film director, producer and screenwriter

Film Director

American film director

American screenwriter