#The American Film Institute Reveals Top 10 Films Of 2021, Including Dune And West Side Story

AFI also designated Kenneth Branagh’s film, “Belfast,” Hwang Dong-hyuk’s hit Netflix series, “Squid Game,” and Questlove’s Hulu documentary, “Summer of Soul,” as recipients of the AFI Special Award for 2021.

In a press release, the institute revealed that this year’s jury included filmmakers such as “Minari” director Lee Isaac Chung, screenwriter Liz Hannah (“The Post,” “Mindhunter”), actress Anjelica Huston, and “Glory” director Ed Zwick. It also featured members of the AFI Board of Trustees and a number of renowned film historians, including Leonard Maltin, as well as various critics from the African American Film Critics Association, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio, Rolling Stone, TV Guide, and The Washington Post.

The American Film Institute came to many people’s attention back in 1998 when it released its first list of the 100 greatest American movies of all time. In the years following that, it unveiled a series of other “AFI’s 100 Years…” lists, covering different film genres and themes. In 2007, it did a 10th-anniversary update of its inaugural “100 Years…100 Movies” list, and since then, these annual best-of lists have become more of a tradition.