Group photo credit: Carlo Pisani / SWI.
Notebook is thrilled to announce an editorial partnership with the Locarno Critics Academy: a one-of-a-kind summer workshop for emerging critics, and a crucial entry point into the craft of covering film festivals.
Throughout the ten days of the festival, participating critics will immerse themselves in the program and join a curated range of roundtables with writers, critics, curators, festival directors, and filmmakers. The Academy's co-organizers, Locarno's Christopher Small and Notebook's Chloe Lizotte, will mentor invited writers as they develop their festival coverage, from pitching to publication. The online Notebook will be a home for the critics' writing from Locarno, and they will also have the opportunity to pitch other participating outlets.
Notebook has been proud to publish writing by Locarno Critics Academy alumni and to support the next generation of film culture, a value shared by our publisher, MUBI. Previous workshop participants have gone on to write for a variety of international outlets, like Film Comment, The Guardian, IndieWire, Sight & Sound, Reverse Shot, Swissinfo, and Variety—and, to come full circle, many alumni have joined MUBI’s editorial team.
The application portal is open through April 15: learn more about the program and submit your application on Locarno’s website. The Critics Academy takes place from August 6 through 17.