New York, NY (March 9, 2016) – The Film Society of Lincoln Center announces a call for entries for the fifth annual Locarno Film Festival Critics Academy, a workshop for aspiring film critics offered during the festival (August 3-13), produced in partnership with Indiewire and with support from Film Comment magazine and the Swiss Alliance of Film Journalists. The program, which has a U.S. component that takes place during the New York Film Festival, is designed to nurture promising film critics and journalists through coverage opportunities at festival screenings and events.

First launched during the 2012 Locarno Film Festival, the Critics Academy features candid discussions with working critics and other members of the industry and has proven to be a valuable platform for young writers hoping to launch their careers. Past participants have gone on to write for a wide range of publications, including The Atlantic, Brooklyn Magazine, Film Comment, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, Hyperallergic, Inc., LA Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, National Review, New Republic, The New York Review of Books, Paper magazine, The Paris Review, Remezcla, Vice, The Village Voice, Vulture, and more, and several have written books or are involved in film programming.

The Critics Academy will be comprised of 10 young international critics (four of whom will be selected by the Swiss Alliance of Film Journalists) who will work under the guidance of editors from Indiewire and leaders at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. The participants will cover the festival with film reviews, articles on sidebar events, in-depth reflections on the various program sections, and interviews with the festival’s guests.

While there is no specific age limit for applicants, the ideal candidate should have completed at least two years of college or have finished their academic studies no more than five years ago. They should also demonstrate a genuine interest in film criticism and journalism as a career goal.

Applications will be accepted from today through Monday, May 9 at midnight, with selected candidates notified by Friday, May 27. All applications must include a completed version of the form found at this link:  http://www.pardolive.ch/dam/jcr:85f01515-db70-4277-96f6-9902d13b711c/LSA-2016-Critics-Academy-Form.pdf

Applications must also include the following:
•    Motivational letter (300 words or less): Describe who you are and why you’re interested in this particular opportunity. If the applicant has produced any work beyond written criticism (such as podcasts or video essays), it is strongly encouraged to mention it here.
•    Curriculum Vitae (one page): The most recent version of the applicant’s résumé.
•    Three articles or film reviews written in English (Swiss participants may submit articles in German, French, or Italian): Please refrain from including lengthy academic papers or other scholarly materials that may not give an accurate reflection of the applicant’s capacity to succeed in this workshop.

Please send the individual components of your application as a series of attachments to [email protected]. You may also reach out to Eric Kohn with any questions surrounding the application process at [email protected].

FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER
Founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, the Film Society of Lincoln Center works to recognize established and emerging filmmakers, support important new work, and to enhance the awareness, accessibility, and understanding of the moving image. The Film Society produces the renowned New York Film Festival, a curated selection of the year’s most significant new film work, and presents or collaborates on other annual New York City festivals including Art of the Real, Dance on Camera, Film Comment Selects, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, New York African Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival, New York Jewish Film Festival, Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, and Scary Movies. In addition to publishing the award-winning Film Comment magazine, the Film Society recognizes an artist’s unique achievement in film with the prestigious Chaplin Award, whose 2016 recipient is Morgan Freeman. The Film Society’s state-of-the-art Walter Reade Theater and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, located at Lincoln Center, provide a home for year-round programs and the New York City film community.

The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from American Airlines, The New York Times, HBO, Stella Artois, The Kobal Collection, Variety, Loews Regency Hotel, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts. For more information, visit www.filmlinc.org and follow @filmlinc on Twitter.

For media specific inquiries regarding Film Society of Lincoln Center, please contact

Rachel Allen
[email protected]
212-875-5423

Lisa Thomas
[email protected]
212-671-4709