The AFI Conservatory is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that celebrates excellence in the art form and to create national education initiatives that inspire artists and audiences alike. 

At the AFI Conservatory, a dedicated group of working professionals from the film and television communities serve as mentors in a hands-on, production based environment nurturing the talents of tomorrow's storytellers. The Conservatory is consistently recognized as one of the world’s top film schools and was ranked at No.1 among all the film schools in the country by The Hollywood Reporter.

Established in 1969, the two-year Master of Fine Arts program provides training in six filmmaking disciplines: Directing, Cinematography, Screenwriting, Production Design, Editing, and Producing. Admission to AFI Conservatory is highly selective, with a maximum of only 140 graduates per year. They also join an impressive alumni roster of some of the most talented filmmakers working in the business today, including Patty Jenkins, Darren Aronofsky, Caleb Deschanel, Brad Falchuk, Rachel Morrison, Scott Frank, Janusz Kaminski, Mimi Leder, David Lynch, Terrence Malick, Robert Richardson, Edward Zwick and many more.

With an emphasis on narrative visual storytelling and personal expression, each class breaks into teams that mirror a real production environment. Those teams collaborate on and produce more films than any other graduate level film program.