September – October 2024
Do you want be a film critic or journalist? Are you writing film reviews for blogs or social media but have not been able to break through to more established publications or platforms? Apply now to the award-winning BFI London Film Festival 2024 Critics Mentorship Programme for your chance to be mentored by industry media professionals and have your work published by LFF media partners and the BFI.
We continue to look at how we can better serve writers from underrepresented communities by offering mentorship that can pave the way to future opportunities for paid work in the media. As in previous years, we will be offering the 2024 Critics Mentorship to mentees from underrepresented voices in film criticism.
For this year applicants should self-identify from the following underrepresented groups:
The BFI welcomes intersectionality across a number of areas. These include, gender, sexuality, age, religion, geographical location (nations and regions) and socioeconomic circumstances.
About the Mentorship Programme
Successful applicants will be invited to experience the 68th BFI London Film Festival (9-20 October 2024) as an accredited press delegate plus participate in an online Induction session on 9 September, where they will meet the BFI LFF teams, their lead mentors, fellow mentees as well as their paired mentors to be taken through the mentorship programme.
The mentorship programme will be intensive, running for 4 full days from 9-12 October 2024, with full access to press screenings and events, writing reviews and features plus additional interview opportunities and an array of networking opportunities. The LFF Critics Mentorship Programme won the 2022 Big Screen Award for Best Diversity & Inclusion Initiative.
Mentees will be paid the London Living Wage for work produced during the LFF and will have full press accreditation for the 12-day duration of the LFF (9-20 October 2024). Mentees from outside London will be eligible for accommodation and travel to participate in the programme.
By the end of the programme, participants will have improved their film journalism skills and understanding of the industry and will have gained professional work experience, new work for their portfolio, industry contacts and a document of confirmation of having completed the placement.
About You
Due to the demands of the programme and the availability of Lead Mentors, applicants must be able to commit to the full schedule of activity, in particular being available full time from 9 to 12 October 2024, including evenings. Please do not apply if you are unavailable on these specific dates.
Further details about the post can be obtained by clicking the links to the left.
The closing date for applications is 01 August 2024
Interviews will be held on 14 & 15 August 2024