We are looking for participants for our second Critics Workshop in collaboration with Another Gaze – A Feminist Film Journal, which will take place during the 2022 festival (7th to 13th September).

Open City is committed to fostering a discursive space that brings together the next generation of filmmakers, critics and other professionals working in the field of non-fiction cinema. The Critics Workshop is an immersive five-day programme developed by the Another Gaze editorial team to discuss the methodologies and practice of a politically engaged film criticism. Together we will look at questions including the purpose of criticism, editing/the editor, formal experimentation, questions of ethics, and the place of the “I” in criticism. Led by Daniella Shreir, speakers at last year’s workshop included Another Gaze co-editor Missouri Williams, critics Simran Hans, Rebecca Liu and Emily LaBarge, and co-editor of London Review of Books, Alice Spawls. 

Another Gaze was founded in January 2016 to provide a nuanced forum for discussion about women as filmmakers, film subjects and spectators. In 2021 they launched Another Screen – an irregular streaming platform, streaming short-term programmes of films by women across modes of production and geographies, with new writing and translations about these works.

The workshop sessions will take place in-person at the Festival Hub in central London. The writing produced in the context of the workshop will be published daily on the festival website. The 10 selected participants will receive access to the festival programme (screenings, talks & other opportunities). 

The workshop is open to all genders, and applicants outside London are encouraged to apply. The festival can provide a small number of bursaries of £200 per person (please indicate in your application whether you require travel & accommodation assistance). Thanks to a small grant from the International Documentary Association, we are also able to provide accommodation and travel for two to three international applicants. 

Please check with your local FilmHub and ScreenSkills for additional bursary opportunities.

Requirements:

Applicants need to demonstrate an interest in film criticism and/or film journalism as well as the ability to speak and write fluently in English. No previous professional experience is necessary.

Please note that all the workshop participants will be expected to take part in sessions scheduled throughout the festival (exact schedule will be shared with the participants ahead of the workshop).

To apply:

Applications must include the following

• CV: A basic, one-page resume.
• One article or film review written in English (published or unpublished).
• A piece of critical writing (can be about any art form, not just film) that you find particularly compelling, with a short paragraph explaining why.
• An approximately 500-word statement about why you’d like to take part.

Please fill in this form and send the above supporting documents to: info@opencitylondon.com with the subject line ANOTHER GAZE CRITICS WORKSHOP by July 17th at 11.59PM (BST).

Successful applicants will be notified by 12th August.