Michael Lumpkin, Director, AFI Festivals
Michael Lumpkin is a highly creative and effective executive leader with over 30 years of experience leading international media arts organizations. He joined the American Film Institute (AFI) as Director of the AFI DOCS Film Festival in January 2015. Under his leadership, AFI DOCS has become known for not only presenting the year’s best documentaries, but is also the only festival in the U.S. dedicated to screenings and events that connect audiences, filmmakers, policy leaders and major media outlets.
In 2017 Lumpkin spearheaded a groundbreaking partnership with NBC News’ Meet the Press, the longest running program on television, to launch the Meet the Press Film Festival in collaboration with AFI. The festival is presented in Washington, DC, and online at NBC News Digital, featuring short documentaries about policy and people with an emphasis on untold American stories.
In June 2018 Lumpkin became Director, AFI Festivals overseeing AFI DOCS, Meet the Press Film Festival andAFI FEST – the American Film Institute’s fall festival premiering the best films from across the globe to captivated audiences in Los Angeles.
Lumpkin previously served for six years as the Executive Director of the International Documentary Association, a non-profit membership organization dedicated to building and serving the needs of the documentary filmmaking community. He previously served as both Executive Director of Frameline and Festival Director for Frameline’s San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. Lumpkin co-produced the highly acclaimed documentary THE CELLULOID CLOSET and has participated as a juror for Sundance, Berlin and other film festivals.