'Borat,' 'Dreamgirls' Among AFI's Top 10

LOS ANGELES -- Sacha Baron Cohen's controversial comedy "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan" is one of the 10 best films of the year, the American Film Institute announced Sunday.

In the film, Cohen poses as a hapless Kazakh television journalist and exposes the hatred and bigotry of some of his interview subjects while filming a "documentary" for his people. Some of the people duped into doing "interviews" for the film have filed lawsuits.

Also on the AFI top 10 list are the '60s girl-group musical drama "Dreamgirls," the Sept. 11 docudrama "United 93," the fashion industry sendup "The Devil Wears Prada" and director Clint Eastwood's World War II epic "Letters From Iwo Jima."

The films are not ranked by the AFI. Others on the list include the animated penguin romp "Happy Feet," the bank-heist thriller "Inside Man," the quirky road-trip comedy "Little Miss Sunshine," the gritty classroom drama "Half Nelson" and the ensemble drama "Babel."

The list was chosen by a panel of 13 filmmakers, critics, scholars and AFI trustees. The films will be honored at a luncheon in Los Angeles on Jan. 12.

The announcement by the AFI comes on the heels of the notices by the National Board of Motion Pictures and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, which both named "Letters From Iwo Jima" as its top film of 2006.

This week, the Broadcast Film Critics Association and Golden Globe nominations will be announced. Monday, the New York Film Critics Circle will announce its top film and acting awards for 2006.