A critic’s takeaways from AFI Fest 2018 and what needs to change in 2019

This year’s AFI Fest was a whirlwind of amazing features, but did behind-the-scenes issue keep it from really connecting with others?

The awards season is finally starting to heat up, and with critics guilds and other film organizations starting to vote on what movies they want to give awards to — many of which we could see at next year’s Academy Awards — it means the film festival season is closed till next year.

The AFI Film Festival, held in Los Angeles earlier this month, marks the last film festival of the calendar year, giving critics their final chance to catch up on various indies and foreign language contenders while getting a glimpse of the few final blockbusters out there. This year saw the premiere of Mimi Leder’s On the Basis of Sex and Josie Rourke’s Mary Queen of Scots, both of which could be contending for awards in 2019. But as a critic on the ground, this year’s AFI Fest felt different.

Last year was my first time attending AFI Fest and it was nothing short of astounding. The staff was incredibly welcoming and accommodating, particularly considering I’m a disabled film critic. More importantly, AFI Fest was an event where access to celebrities was open and encouraged. Every event I applied for, including red carpets, was approved. I rubbed elbows with a ton of people I couldn’t believe I was standing near, let alone talking to.

Yet almost immediately, this year felt different at AFI, starting with the passes themselves. An elevated spate of “priority press” passes were announced, though none of the writers I spoke to knew of anyone who had one, and ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a problem but it did introduce an air of exclusivity that wasn’t present last year.

Though I was denied the ability to cover the red carpet for it, watching On the Basis of Sex in the magnificent TCL Chinese Theatre was a delight. Being invited to the afterparty is generally a press perk, though it is an included benefit of those who pay for top-dollar AFI Fest passes or are members. In the past, these parties have been a great chance for the celebrities and those associated with the film to mingle and get the Oscar buzz going on their films. Last year I was able to talk to Luca Guadagnino and Timothee Chalamet about Call Me By Your Name. This year, the stars were immediately whisked away to a private afterparty, away from the prying eyes of lookie loos. This theme was continued throughout the press, with Nicole Kidman, being honored for Destroyer, having an exclusive dinner with AFI’s top people.

Even at various screenings, plans seemed to change quickly with no announcement. Chuck Lorre spontaneously cut a scheduled conversation. Patty Jenkins, who was announced to show all the episodes of her new TNT series, I Am the Night, didn’t show up while audiences learned they would just be watching the pilot. Events are subject to change, but many festivalgoers felt they were getting less with little concern from festival heads about it.

Now, I understand I come at this from a place of privilege, and to complain about not being able to see celebrities sounds silly. Many of those who do attend AFI Fest are regular ticket holders who don’t often get invited to the numerous after-parties held for the celebrities and won’t notice what they’re missing out on. But to those who pay $2,500 a ticket or less, the change in tone was noticeable. Even if they didn’t attend the special events, there was an air of exclusivity to everything, from people being told to back up during the few events where celebrities interacted with the public, to a general feeling of “difference.”

When I posited this question online many cited the stress from the wildfires plaguing Malibu that week, while others theorized this was all a push towards enhanced security in the wake of several mass shootings.

I posit a different theory. With the recent announcement of L.A. Film Fest’s closure, AFI Fest becomes the de facto Los Angeles film festival. A push towards making it beneficial to the hoi polloi makes sense, to create an air of Los Angeles glamour. This is unfair to the numerous freelance press who cover the events, as well as the average passholder who spends a good chunk of change to attend, but, as they say, it’s L.A.

Hopefully, these changes were the result of growing pains — over the year AFI Fest changed festival presidents — and a more inclusive air will be perpetuated in 2019. Either way, this year’s AFI Fest was fun, but it was hard to shake a feeling of being an outsider.