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Young Critics Workshop 2014

14 > 22 oktober 2014
Film Fest Gent

Young Critics 2014 (left to right: Fran Hoepfner, Bart Versteirt [mentor], Vito Adriaensens [mentor], Chris Frieswijk, Zack Miller, Adrew Lapin, Vanity Celis) © Bibi Euse

photogénie and Film Fest Gent proudly present the first Young Critics Workshop, open to 5 aspiring film critics (aged 18-26) from Belgium and abroad, offering them the opportunity to cover the 41st edition of this major international event (which takes place from 14 – 25 October), ranked among the top European film festivals by The Wall Street Journal and Variety, and get acquainted with being a member of the press at such an event.

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The selected participants will be invited to cover the festival by writing both short reviews of films in the official selection and an in-depth piece on a film that is not in competition at the Festival. Participants will also take part in Q&A sessions and press conferences.

The participants will be guided by international film critic Keith Phipps (The Dissolve) and the Photogénie team. Furthermore, the program includes informal talks with the Festival Director and members of his staff, as well as conversations with visiting critics and filmmakers, acquainting the young critics with the industry.

The reviews and articles of the participants may be published on Photogénie and on the Festival’s website.

The working language is English.

Applicants must be fluent in English, both spoken and written. The Workshop is open to writers between the ages of 18 and 26, who haven’t made criticism their (main) profession yet.

The Young Critics Workshop offers participants:

  • accommodation and breakfast in the historic city of Ghent, from October 14th until 22nd
  • lunch catered by the Festival
  • a full accreditation for the Festival
  • the chance to review films and events at the Festival, under the guidance of an experienced critic

Participants will be responsible for their own travel arrangements, most evening meals and all other expenses. Participants will also be required to provide their own laptop computer.

Applications must be submitted before 14 September, containing the following:

  • A motivation letter (500 words or less)
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • 3 writing samples of articles or film reviews in English (If the original texts are not in English, provide translations as a proof of your English writing skills)
  • A recent passport style photograph

The selected young critics will be informed by e-mail on 22 September.

Send your applications and inquiries to:

Bart Versteirt & Vito Adriaensens

editors

editor@photogenie.be

Partners

Published articles

The Young Critics

Andrew Lapin

(United States)

Andrew is a film critic and writer living in Washington, D.C. His criticism has been published in NPR, The Atlantic, The Dissolve, Tablet and other outlets. He is particularly fond of documentaries, the Coen Brothers and Scrabble.

Fran Hoepfner

(United States)

I am a 23 year old writer and editor based out of Chicago. I grew up on the reviews of Roger Ebert and have always loved the deep love of film Chicago has.

Chris Frieswijk

(Netherlands)

I’m Chris Frieswijk, a 26-year-old film lover from the Netherlands. I juggle my time between watching, writing about, and making films, at least when I’m not making music or am out travelling that is. Come to think of it, I spend most of my time trying to combine all these things I love so much, which I think I’ll be doing at FFG! At least most of them… Should be great!

Zack Miller

(Canada)

Zack Miller is a software developer moonlighting as a cinephile, although you’d never know that those roles weren’t reversed. He works, writes, and drinks good beer in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has a deep love of sight gags and his second language is subtitles.

Vanity Celis

(Belgium)

I’m a Belgian graduate in Theatre and Film Studies who dabbles in journalism and film criticism. I’ve probably seen more films than is considered healthy for any human being and love both the old and the new, the classical and the outré. I’m into visionary cinema that dares to cross the boundary between ‘high art’ and cult and kitsch.