We are looking for participants for our third Critics Workshop in collaboration with Another Gaze: A journal of film and feminisms, which will take place during the 2023 festival (6th to 12th 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 cover questions of formal experimentation, ethics, the place of the “I” in criticism, the role of negative criticism, as well as more practical discussion of the editorial process, pitching and interviewing practices. Led by Daniella Shreir, speakers at previous years’ workshops have included Another Gaze co-editor Missouri Williams, critics Elena Gorfinkel, Simran Hans, Emily LaBarge, Rebecca Liu, Georgie Carr, Laura Staab, Morgan Quaintance, assistant editor at the New Left Review Caitlín Doherty, and co-editor of London Review of Books, Alice Spawls.

Another Gaze was founded in 2016 to provide a nuanced forum for discussion about women as filmmakers, filmic 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. In 2022 they launched a small publishing imprint, Another Gaze Editions.

Previous participants of the Critics Workshop have included early-career critics and programmers, post-graduates looking to develop their non-academic writing, and non-film writers who want to extend their practice to the moving image.

The 10 selected participants will receive free access to the festival programme (screenings, talks & other opportunities). The workshop sessions will take place in-person in central London, with lunch provided daily.

The workshop is open to all ages and genders. Applicants outside London are very welcome to apply but must be able to find their own accommodation. If you are in the UK, please check with your local FilmHub and ScreenSkills for 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 and writing tasks 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 (about any art form, published at any time) 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 23rd at 11.59PM (BST).

Successful applicants will be notified by 16th August.