Notable Alumni of American Film Institute Conservatory

Arts and media

• David Lynch 1946–2025

  Filmmaker and artist known for surrealist style

  Also attended: George Washington University, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

• James Horner 1953–2015

  Film composer and conductor

  Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, University of Southern California

• Darren Aronofsky 1969–

  Film director, screenwriter and producer

  Also attended: Harvard University

• Terrence Malick 1943–

  Film director and screenwriter

  Master of Fine Arts · Class of 1969

  Also attended: Harvard University

• Edward Zwick 1952–

  Filmmaker and producer

  Also attended: Harvard University

• John McTiernan 1951–

  Film director known for action films

  Also attended: The Juilliard School, SUNY Old Westbury

• Patty Jenkins 1971–

  Director of Monster and Wonder Woman

  Also attended: The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

• Janusz Kamiński 1959–

  Cinematographer and longtime Spielberg collaborator

  Spouse: Holly Hunter (Carnegie Mellon University)

• Katherine Helmond 1929–2019

  Actress known for sitcom Soap

  Also attended: Bob Jones University

• Paul Schrader 1946–

  Screenwriter and director of Taxi Driver

  Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, Calvin University

  Spouse: Mary Beth Hurt (University of Iowa, New York University)

• Andrea Arnold 1961–

  English film director, Oscar winner for Wasp

• Wally Pfister 1961–

  Cinematographer and director, Oscar winner for Inception

• Halyna Hutchins 1979–2021

  Ukrainian-American cinematographer

  Master of Fine Arts · Cinematography · Class of 2015

  Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

• Martin Brest 1951–

  Film director of Beverly Hills Cop

  Also attended: New York University

• Ari Aster 1986–

  Film director and screenwriter

  Also attended: Santa Fe University of Art and Design

• Robert Richardson 1955–

  Cinematographer known for Oliver Stone films

  Also attended: Rhode Island School of Design, University of Vermont

• Brad Falchuk 1971–

  TV writer and producer, co-creator of Glee

  Master of Fine Arts · Class of 1994

  Also attended: Hobart and William Smith Colleges

  Spouse: Gwyneth Paltrow (University of California-Santa Barbara)

• Todd Field 1964–

  Filmmaker who directed In the Bedroom and Tár

  Also attended: Mt Hood Community College, Southern Oregon University

• Rodrigo García Márquez 1959–

  Film and television director and screenwriter

  Also attended: Harvard University

• Mark Waters 1964–

  American film director

  Spouse: Dina Spybey (Ohio State University-Main Campus)

• Jeff Nathanson 1965–

  Screenwriter of Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal

  Also attended: University of California-Santa Barbara

• Sam Esmail 1977–

  Director, writer and creator of Mr. Robot

  Also attended: New York University

  Spouse: Emmy Rossum (Columbia University in the City of New York, Stanford University)

• Scott Silver 1964–

  Screenwriter and film director

• Robert Elswit 1950–

  Cinematographer, Oscar winner for There Will Be Blood

  Also attended: University of Southern California

• Amy Heckerling 1954–

  Film director, writer and producer

  Also attended: New York University

• Mimi Leder 1952–

  Film director of Deep Impact

• Jon Avnet 1949–

  Film director, writer and producer

  Also attended: Sarah Lawrence College

• Rick Rosenthal 1949–

  Film director of Halloween II

  Also attended: Harvard University

• John Dahl 1956–

  Film and television director of Red Rock West

  Also attended: Montana State University, The University of Montana

• Scott Frank 1960–

  Screenwriter and director, two-time Oscar nominee

  Also attended: University of California-Santa Barbara

• Charlie McDowell 1983–

  Film director and screenwriter

  Spouse: Lily Collins (University of Southern California)

  Mother: Mary Steenburgen (Hendrix College, Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater)

• Carl Franklin 1949–

  Film and television director and screenwriter

  Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

• Peter Deming 1957–

  Cinematographer of Mulholland Drive

  Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Melina Matsoukas 1981–

  Music video, film and television director

  Also attended: New York University

• Autumn Durald 1979–

  Cinematographer, Oscar winner for Sinners

  Also attended: Loyola Marymount University

• Matthew Libatique 1968–

  Cinematographer known for work with Darren Aronofsky

• Jack Fisk 1945–

  Production designer and director

  Child: Schuyler Fisk (University of Virginia-Main Campus)

• Jonathan Levine 1976–

  Film director and screenwriter

  Also attended: Brown University

• Sheldon Lettich 1951–

  Film director, screenwriter and producer

• Jace Alexander 1964–

  Former actor and television director

  Also attended: Circle in the Square Theatre School

  Mother: Jane Alexander (Sarah Lawrence College)

• Eva Lesmes 1961–

  Spanish screenwriter and film director

  Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

• Laura Ruohonen 1960–

  Finnish playwright and theatre director

• Andrew Wagner

  Film director of Starting Out in the Evening

  Also attended: New York University, Brown University

• Frank Mouris 1944–

  Animator and Academy Award winner for animated short

  Also attended: Yale University, Harvard University

• Gary Winick 1961–2011

  Film director and producer of 13 Going on 30

  Also attended: Tufts University, The University of Texas at Austin

• Alfonso Gomez-Rejon 1972–

  Film and television director

  Also attended: New York University

• Manny Coto 1961–2023

  Screenwriter and producer, Star Trek: Enterprise showrunner

• Jeremy Podeswa 1962–

  Canadian film and television director

• Susannah Grant 1963–

  American screenwriter, director, and producer

  Also attended: Amherst College

• Rachel Morrison 1978–

  Cinematographer, first woman nominated for Best Cinematography Oscar

  Also attended: New York University

• Steve Golin 1955–2019

  Producer; founder of Anonymous Content

  Also attended: New York University

• Zal Batmanglij 1980–

  Film director and screenwriter

  Also attended: Georgetown University

  Sibling: Rostam Batmanglij (Columbia University in the City of New York)

• Julie Dash 1952–

  Filmmaker, director and author

  Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

• Duke Johnson 1979–

  Stop-motion animation film director

  Also attended: Columbia College Chicago

• Drake Doremus 1983–

  Film director, screenwriter and producer

• Marshall Herskovitz 1952–

  Film director and producer, Producers Guild president emeritus

  Also attended: Brandeis University

• Frank Spotnitz 1960–

  TV writer and producer known for The X-Files

  Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

• Amir Mokri 1956–

  Cinematographer known for blockbuster action films

  Also attended: Emerson College

• Jonathan Sela 1978–

  French-born Israeli cinematographer

• Charlotte Brändström 1959–

  Swedish-French film and TV director

• Elizabeth Sung 1954–2018

  Hong Kong-American actress, director and screenwriter

  Also attended: The Juilliard School

• Jude Weng

  Television and film director