Viola Davis And Walter Murch To Receive Honorary Degrees At Afi Conservatory Commencement

Los Angeles, CA

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today it will confer a Doctorate of Fine Arts degree honoris causa for contributions of distinction to the art of the moving image upon trailblazing actress and producer Viola Davis and legendary film editor and sound designer Walter Murch.

Davis and Murch will be recognized during the AFI Conservatory’s commencement ceremony celebrating the Class of 2025 on Friday, August 8, 2025, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Viola Davis and Walter Murch – both masters of their craft – symbolize the standard of excellence AFI was founded to celebrate,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “Their contributions to the art form have inspired audiences around the world – as they will inspire this year’s graduates of the AFI Conservatory.”

Davis is a critically revered actress of film, television and theater and has earned EGOT status. Her extensive career includes her Academy Award®-winning role in FENCES, her Emmy®-winning role for HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER, her Tony Award-winning roles for “Fences” and “King Hedley II” and a Grammy Award for the recording of her memoir “Finding Me.”

Walter Murch

Murch is an Academy Award®-winning master editor and sound designer who began his career editing sound on Francis Ford Coppola’s THE RAIN PEOPLE in 1969. Murch earned his first Academy Award® nomination for THE CONVERSATION in 1974, was awarded his first Oscar® for APOCALYPSE NOW in 1979. In 1996, he won an unprecedented double Oscar® for Best Sound and Best Film Editing for THE ENGLISH PATIENT.

Film and television legends Davis and Murch join a distinguished group of past AFI Honorary Degree recipients, including Robert Altman, Maya Angelou, Saul Bass, Angela Bassett, Kathryn Bigelow, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Anne V. Coates, Jamie Lee Curtis, Clint Eastwood, Roger Ebert, Nora Ephron, Jodie Foster, Lesli Linka Glatter, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Kasdan, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Angela Lansbury, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Quentin Tarantino, Lily Tomlin, Robert Towne, Cicely Tyson, Haskell Wexler, John Williams and Michelle Yeoh.