La La Land, Moonlight among AFI’s best films of 2016

Modern musical La La Land, independent drama Moonlight and sci-fi movie Arrival were among the diverse genres selected as the year’s best films by the American Film Institute (AFI).

Modern musical La La Land, independent drama Moonlight and sci-fi movie Arrival were among the diverse genres selected as the year’s best films by the American Film Institute (AFI) on Thursday. AFI’s top 10 films and television shows of the year were announced ahead of next week’s Golden Globe nominations and Screen Actors Guild nominations, and help shape the contenders in Hollywood’s annual awards season.

The list also includes Denzel Washington drama Fences, Mel Gibson’s war movie Hacksaw Ridge, Western heist story Hell or High Water, grief drama Manchester By the Sea, Martin Scorsese’s Silence, Clint Eastwood’s Sully and Disney animated film Zootopia. La La Land and Moonlight are being touted by awards pundits as frontrunners in the Oscars best picture race.

 

The AFI list is compiled by critics, scholars, TV and film artists. The winners will be celebrated at a lunch on Jan. 6. Among the year’s best TV shows were HBO’s medieval fantasy saga Game of Thrones, crime mini-series “The Night Of” and political comedy Veep. Other shows were FX’s 10-part series The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, spy thriller The Americans and Donald Glover comedy Atlanta.

Netflix’s summer hit Stranger Things and British period drama The Crown also made the list, alongside NBC’s family saga This Is Us and AMC’s Breaking Bad spin-off, Better Call Saul. The AFI gave special recognition to ESPN’s five-part documentary series O.J.: Made in America.