The American Film Institute on Jan. 13 announced that award-winning filmmaker Lily Mariye (AFI DWW Class of 2000) has been named the AFI DWW+ guest artistic director for the Class of 2027.
AFI also announced the filmmakers selected for the AFI DWW+ Class of 2027. Founded in 1974 as the Directing Workshop for Women, AFI DWW+ is a tuition-free, year-long directing program, open to all applicants, that supports emerging narrative filmmakers through the production cycle of a short film, providing hands-on instruction led by industry experts. Eligible participants’ work is invited to screen for agents, managers, producers and executives in Los Angeles at the DWW+ Showcase in spring 2027.
The artists selected for the AFI DWW+ Class of 2027 are Sindha Agha, Mary Ann Anane, Arabella Anderson, Carolina Espiro, Anika Kan Grevstad, Christina YR Lim, Anna Remus and Maaman Rezaee.
“In this moment of evolution in the film and television industry, each of these candidates demonstrated the skill and tenacity to be selected through a rigorous application process,” said Susan Ruskin, dean of the AFI Conservatory and executive vice president of the American Film Institute. “The 50-year legacy of AFI DWW+ leverages a powerful reinforcing network effect to support this new talented cohort of directors. We look forward to working with them over the next 15 months under the guidance of our guest artistic director, Lily Mariye.”
“The first time I ever called myself a director was in AFI’s DWW+,” said Mariye. “Walking the halls of AFI, surrounded by the rich history of filmmakers and mentors, gave me the validation to proudly announce it to the world. I am now a full-time working TV and film director. Today I am honored to be named this year’s guest artistic director, to help guide this next group of amazingly gifted filmmakers.”
Mariye is a Directors Guild of America Award nominee for Amazon’s “Just Add Magic.” She is a film and television director, best known for AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and “The Terror: Infamy”; MGM+/Hulu’s “Godfather of Harlem”; Paramount+’s “The Good Fight”; Netflix’s “Partner Track”; ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder”; NBC’s “Chicago PD”; CBS’ “Elsbeth” and “NCIS: Los Angeles”; and Fox’s “Prodigal Son,” among many others.
“Model Minority,” starring Nichole Sakura (“Superstore”), was Mariye’s feature writing and directorial debut. It won 11 film festival awards around the world, including best film, best director, best new actress and best cinematography. Since its 2013 debut online at Hulu and Amazon, it has had over a million views.
Her short film “The Shangri-la Cafe” has shown in over 25 film festivals, winning awards for best short film and best screenplay. The cast included Montana Tsai, Joanne Takahashi, Christopher Chen and Albert Chien.
Mariye was named one of PBS’ Up and Coming Filmmakers of Color and received the Filmmaker of the Year Award from the National Organization for Women (NOW). As a writer, she has been a top 15% finalist for both the Nicholl Fellowship and the Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship.
Mariye is also an actor, best known for her role as nurse Lily Jarvik on the Emmy Award-winning TV series “ER” for 15 seasons, for which she won the SAG Award for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series four times. She has guest-starred in over 30 TV shows; Star Trek fans know her for her appearance in the first episode of “Deep Space Nine.”
She has appeared in many films such as “Extraordinary Measures,” “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” “The Shadow” and “The Doctor.” She is also an award-winning theatre actress, performing in New York, Los Angeles and regional theatres across the country.
Born in Las Vegas, Mariye graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in theatre. She resides in Los Angeles with her husband, four-time Grammy-nominated Concord Records recording artist/saxophonist Boney James, who also contributed to the soundtracks for “The Shangri-la Cafe” and “Model Minority.”
Mariye will act as a mentor for the DWW+ participants throughout the production cycle and industry showcase and oversee and direct the artistic curriculum, which is taught by film and TV professionals working at top levels within the industry, as well as experienced faculty from the AFI Conservatory.
As one of the longest-running and preeminent film and television workshops nationwide, AFI DWW+ has trained hundreds of artists whose directorial work has entertained global audiences and defined our collective cultural landscape.
Distinguished alums of the AFI DWW+ program include Maya Angelou, Anne Bancroft, Neema Barnette, Pippa Bianco, Tessa Blake, Tricia Brock, Ellen Burstyn, Rebecca Cammisa, Dyan Cannon, Dime Davis, Jan Eliasberg, Naomi Foner, Jennifer Getzinger, Lesli Linka Glatter, Lyn Goldfarb, Randa Haines, Siân Heder, Victoria Hochberg, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Matia Karrell, Maggie Kiley, Lynne Littman, Nancy Malone, Gandja Monteiro, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, Becky Smith, Cicely Tyson and Joanne Woodward.
Learn more at Conservatory.AFI.com/Innovative-Programs/.