‘Borat’ makes AFI’s list of top films

The raucous mockumentary “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” starring Sacha Baron Cohen as the clueless, Pamela Anderson-obsessed Kazak TV reporter, was named Sunday by the American Film Institute as one of the 10 best films of 2006.

The AFI Awards selections in film and television are the organization’s almanac of the year’s outstanding achievements and memorable moments in both mediums. Two 13-jury panels -- one for movies and the other for television -- make the selections. The Times’ Kenneth Turan and Paul Brownfield were members, respectively, of the movie and TV juries.

Besides “Borat,” the AFI’s selections for the 10 outstanding motion pictures of 2006 are “Babel,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Dreamgirls,” “Half Nelson,” “Happy Feet,” “Inside Man,” “Letters From Iwo Jima,” “Little Miss Sunshine” and “United 93.”

Notably missing from the list were Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” and Clint Eastwood’s “Flags of Our Fathers.”

In television, the selections are “Battlestar Galactica,” “Dexter,” “Elizabeth I,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Heroes,” “The Office,” “South Park,” “24,” “The West Wing” and “The Wire.”

The AFI will honor the creative ensembles for each of the 20 award winners at a luncheon Jan. 12 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.