Boyhood in AFI's top 10 list

Coming-of-age epic, filmed over 12 years, also front-runner for Best Picture Oscar.

The American Film Institute has named the coming-of-age tale Boyhood, the sci-fi epic Interstellar and the civil-rights drama Selma among its top movies of the year.

The AFI actually chose 11 movies for its annual top 10 list.

The group's other choices were: Angelina Jolie's World War II drama, Unbroken; the wrestling drama Foxcatcher; the showbusiness satire Birdman; the Disney musical Into the Woods; the Los Angeles noir Nightcrawler; the jazz school drama Whiplash; Clint Eastwood's Navy SEAL thriller, American Sniper; and the World War II code-breaker tale The Imitation Game.

The honours mark a non-competitive reprieve from Hollywood's award season, as well as a preview of what the best picture category could theoretically look like at the Academy Awards. (The Oscars best picture category includes five to 10 films, depending on voting.)

Films that may vie for a best picture nod that the AFI overlooked include the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything, the Gillian Flynn adaptation Gone Girl and Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel.

In early awards, Richard Linklater's Boyhood, filmed over 12 years, has emerged as the front-runner. It was chosen as the year's best film by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Circle. The race will take another turn on Friday when nominations are announced for the Golden Globes.

The AFI also named its top 10 television shows of the year: The Americans, Fargo, Game of Thrones, How to Get Away With Murder, Jane the Virgin, The Knick, Mad Men, Orange Is the New Black, Silicon Valley and Transparent.