04-08-2015

FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project open call for participants!

    Applications are now open for the 10th FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project – a training programme for young critics and film journalists from Central and Eastern Europe coordinated by the Warsaw Film Foundation and FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics.

    This year’s workshop will be held during the 31st Warsaw Film Festival, including the 11th CentEast Film Market, between 9 and 18 October 2015. A group of young critics will be invited to the festival and have a unique opportunity to take part in one of the most prestigious film events in the region, meeting high-profile film professionals and contributing to the deliberation meeting that decides which film is awarded by the festival’s FIPRESCI jury.

    With more people writing about film than ever, standing out from the crowd can be increasingly difficult. The Warsaw Project is designed to help participants widen their tastes, to follow their interests, to place their own viewpoint in a broader cultural landscape, to develop their writing skills and self-confidence and to sharpen their critical thinking.

    The Project also provides a hands-on experience of attending a film festival in a professional capacity: participants will be pro-active in writing critical and journalistic coverage of the festival under the guidance of world-class professionals, and will be exposed to the realities and opportunities of film journalism.

    Participants will work under multiple deadlines, meet and network with fellow professionals, learn how to get their work commissioned by editors and will be encouraged to find new ways to write critically and creatively about the cinema and the world at large. The Project isn’t just designed to encourage an appreciation for films; it is designed to provide participants with a highly reactive breeding ground for intellectual thought as a noble and social enterprise in itself.

    The FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project is devised and coordinated by British critic Michael Pattison and New Zealand’s Berlin-based critic Carmen Gray. Both are experienced industry professionals, members of FIPRESCI and their regular publications include Sight & Sound, Dazed & Confused, Screen International, The Guardian, Vice, Fandorand others.

    Under their guidance, participants will be covering the festival and industry events, delivering film reviews and conducting interviews with directors and filmmakers. They will be encouraged to use their own initiative and will receive constructive, positive feedback about their work. The organizers will team-up with Film New Europe to give more exposure and promote emerging journalistic talents.

    Workshops are designed for critics under the age of 30 with proficient skills in written and spoken English. All participants are granted with travel and accommodation grants.

    Previous participants have gone on to contribute to major international film publications like Screen International, Indiewire, The Hollywood Reporter and Cineuropa. Please send your application including CV, self-introduction, and three samples of your published work to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Deadline: 10 September 2015.

    More information at: www.wff.pl