The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today that Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures' THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN, directed by AFI Life Achievement Award recipient and Academy Award®-winning director Steven Spielberg, will have its North American Premiere as the Closing Night Gala of AFI FEST 2011 presented by Audi. The film is based on the internationally beloved and irrepressible characters created by Hergé and stars Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. It is produced by Academy Award® winners Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy. From an original screenplay by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, the story follows the unquenchably curious young reporter Tintin and his fiercely loyal dog Snowy as they discover a ship carrying an explosive secret that may hold the key to vast fortune...and an ancient curse. Academy Award®-winning composer John Williams scored the film, with 2011 marking a collaboration between Spielberg and Williams that has enriched 25 of their films together.

"Steven Spielberg is a national treasure," said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. "He has written this nation's cultural legacy over four decades, he inspires artists and audiences alike and he honors us all by premiering THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN at AFI FEST, where we celebrate the very best the world has to offer for 2011."

Spielberg has an impressive history with AFI. He was the recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1995, the highest honor for a career in film; five of his movies rate among the greatest films of all time on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list: SCHINDLER'S LIST (#8), E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (#24), JAWS (#56), RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (#66) and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (#71); and he recently completed a one-hour special at the AFI Conservatory with friend and collaborator John Williams entitled TCM presents AFI's Master Class: The Art of Collaboration that will debut on Turner Classic Movies on November 15, 2011 and will explore the four-decade friendship and working relationship between the two artists, among the most prolific and influential collaborations in film history. In addition, both Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy serve on the American Film Institute's Board of Trustees, which is comprised of leaders of the motion picture and television communities and leaders from global goods and services companies and is chaired by Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO of the Sony Corporation. Spielberg has been an AFI Trustee since 1986, Kennedy since 1994.

AFI FEST, a showcase of the most highly anticipated films and performances of the year, kicks off awards-season with presentations that spotlight the works of film masters, moving image icons and breakthrough talents. For the third consecutive year, AFI FEST will continue its unprecedented offer of free tickets to all screenings, but only the Star Patron Package and Marquee Patron Package provide reserved access to red carpet galas such as THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN. These and other AFI FEST packages and passes - which ensure access to sold-out galas and other high-demand films and events - are on sale now at AFI.com/AFIFEST. AFI members receive a 10% discount on all festival passes. Information about AFI membership is available at AFI.com/membership. The American Film Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational and cultural organization, and packages and passes are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

Individual tickets to AFI FEST screenings and galas are now available online at AFI.com/AFIFEST and in person at the AT&T Box Office at the Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood. A limited number of tickets to sold-out films will be available online 24 hours in advance of the screening and at the AT&T Box Office the day of the screening. Rush lines for screenings begin forming one hour before the scheduled screening start times.

AFI FEST - celebrating its 25th year - will take place November 3 through 10 in Hollywood, California, at the historic Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

About THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures Present, in Association with Hemisphere Capital, THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN, directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish. Starring Jamie Bell (BILLY ELLIOT, DEFIANCE) as Tintin, the young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure, and Daniel Craig (QUANTUM OF SOLACE, DEFIANCE) as the nefarious Red Rackham.

Based on the series of books "The Adventures of Tintin" by Hergé, the film is produced by Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy.

Film stills of THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN are available for press use only and can be downloaded at flickr.com/photos/afifestpublicity/collections.

About the American Film Institute
AFI is America's promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers.

AFI provides leadership in film, television and digital media and is dedicated to initiatives that engage the past, the present and the future of the moving image arts. AFI programs include the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and Archive, the AFI Life Achievement Award, now in it's 40th year, AFI Awards, honoring the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year, AFI Fest presented by Audi, celebrating its 25th edition this fall, AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs, AFI Silver Theatre and the AFI Conservatory, which was named the # 1 film school in the world by The Hollywood Reporter.

Debuting on November 15, 2011, TCM presents AFI's Master Class: The Art of Collaboration, a series of one-hour specials - filmed in front of an audience comprised solely of AFI Fellows at the world-renowned AFI Conservatory - that features two long-time collaborators discussing films that have inspired them and films from their own portfolio of work together. The first special explores the four-decade friendship and working relationship between Steven Spielberg and John Williams, one of the most prolific and influential artistic collaborations in film history.

Additional information about AFI is available at AFI.com.