New John Williams Documentary to Premiere at AFI Fest

Music by John Williams, a documentary exploring the career of legendary film composer John Williams, will have its world premiere at the American Film Institute’s 38th AFI Fest on Oct. 23 in Los Angeles.

In 2016, Williams was honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award and became the first composer to receive this highest honor for a career in film. 

The film — produced by Lucasfilm Ltd., Amblin Documentaries and Imagine Documentaries — takes a comprehensive look at Williams’ unparalleled career, which includes 54 Oscar nominations and five wins. 

Williams’ movie themes have become iconic, including his work on Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Wars and many, many more. He won his first Oscar in 1972 for best scoring: adaptation and original song score for Fiddler on the Roof. His subsequent wins were for best original score for Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Schindler’s List. He was nominated as recently this year for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. 

The documentary features interviews with Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Kate Capshaw, Gustavo Dudamel, J.J. Abrams, Chris Martin, Ron Howard, Chris Columbus, George Lucas, Itzhak Perlman, Lawrence Kasdan, Yo-Yo Ma, Ke Huy Quan, James Mangold, Alan Silvestri, David Newman, Thomas Newman, Seth MacFarlane, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Branford Marsalis. 

“John Williams is an American icon with a true and timeless global impact,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO, in a statement. “One could say we are ‘over the moon’ to host the world premiere of the film, but that sentiment would hardly soar without the music of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”

Following the World Premiere at AFI FEST presented by Canva, Music by John Williams will have a limited theatrical release and will premiere on Disney+ on Nov. 1.