chapter-bullet-o chapter-bullet-ob chapter-bullet chapter-bullet-b archive-arrow-down chapter-arrow content-link content-pic email facebook filter-arrow-down filter-arrow-up hamburger link listitem-arrow more-arrow-right print reveal-arrow-left reveal-arrow-right reveal-times search-arrow search times-filter twitter instagram view-grid view-list

Current Young Critics Workshop

Young Critics Workshop 2024

13 > 19 October 2024
Film Fest Gent

From October 13 until 19, 2024, photogénie and Film Fest Gent hold the eleventh Young Critics Workshop, welcoming five aspiring film critics (aged 18-26) to Belgium and guiding them in covering the 51st edition of this major international event.

Read moreRead less

The selected participants cover the festival by writing three reviews and one in-depth piece, guided by two alumni from previous editions, who have gone on to become members of the photogénie team. This year, the mentors are Savina Petkova (Young Critics Workshop 2018) and Michaël Van Remoortere (Young Critics Workshop 2016).

The reviews and essays written by the Young Critics can be found below.

The film critics

EMILY JISOO BOWLES

(UK / South Korea)

I’m a British-Korean writer, translator, and film programmer based in London. I’ve worked with Queer East Festival to curate short film programs, and I currently run a community cinema club called Jjambbong film, which is centred around participatory spectatorship and fansubbing lesser-seen Asian films. One day I hope to write truly transcendent film criticism.

THEO DU

(Hong Kong)

I grew up in Hong Kong, and am now based in Amsterdam. I have a Master’s in Film Studies from the University of Amsterdam and was involved with the UvA Film Club. While my academic interest in film remains, the world of criticism seems much more suited for my ever-flowing stream of dedications and diatribes. Been cultivating a steady diet of experimental films, B-movies, and films people might otherwise call ‘boring’. To use a vegetal metaphor, my favourite kind of films are like bitter melons: unpleasant and off putting for some, sweet and delectable for me and my friends.

MARINA ZIGNELI

(Greece)

I’m a film critic currently in my third year of PhD studies, researching the work of Maria Plyta, the first female Greek director. Earlier this year, I was part of the European Workshop for Film Criticism and, since 2022, I’ve been a film selector for the Women Over 50 Film Festival. My writings, in both Greek and English, have been featured in various online and print publications.

ANA ĐOŠEV

(Serbia)

As a 21-year-old musicology student and cinephile, “interdisciplinary” has been the keyword of my film criticism journey so far. Currently writing for the Serbian movie critic platform Filmoskopija, I do reviews and essays while also gaining hands-on experience at local film festivals. Believing that every creative outlet deserves a thoughtful approach, I don’t shy away from the campy and sometimes banal world of genre cinema, with a particular passion for horror films. My background in musical performance and theory fuels my writing, blending different artistic and cultural influences. For me, [film] criticism is all about bridging gaps between unthinkable opposites.

MATHEUS FELIX MELCHIORETTO

(Brazil)

Brazilian (although, as Carlos Drummond de Andrade said, it’s not certain such a thing exists). Graduated in Anthropology (though not an anthropologist). Currently translating the works of Charles Péguy. At some point of his youth decided for cinema.