Being a Film Critic in 2022: A Job with a Future?
March 25 2022
Presented by
In collaboration with
-
15h30
about 1 hour -
Bibliothèque Cégep Chicoutimi
The expertise of the film critic is undeniable. Cinephile, journalist, interviewer, author or columnist, there are many qualifiers for this extraordinary profession which can make or break a filmmaker’s career with one cutthroat or rave review.
But in this time of omni-present YouTube vlogs, hastily published online reviews, hack writing and articles without subjectivity or journalistic rigor, is there still a place for the film critic of yore? How does the up-and-coming critic nowadays make it work in the long run?
Daniel Racine has invited seasoned journalists from different continents to debate these questions.
ROUNDTABLE
Moderated by:
Daniel Racine - Film critic & programmer (Vues du Québec - Festival de cinéma de Florac)
Host of cultural events, programmer of festivals, and film critic for the magazines L'Actualité and Séquences, Daniel Racine has been present in the Quebec film industry for over than 20 years. He has collaborated with a number of cultural organizations, including Québec Cinéma, the NFB, SODEC, Telefilm Canada; festivals from here and elsewhere (Regard, RVQC, Vues du Québec, Longue vue sur le court, RIDM, FICFA, Ciné Vert), along with Funambules Médias, Ciné-Verdun, the Montreal Arts Council and others. Odds on you have seen or heard him on the airwaves of Radio-Canada, CIBL, TFO and MaTV, as columnist and host.
Panelists:
Jason Gorber - Editor in Chief (That Shelf) (Toronto, ON, Canada)
Jason Gorber is a film journalist and member of the Toronto Film Critics Association. He is the Editor in Chief/Chief Critic at ThatShelf.com and regularly contributes to POV Magazine, CBC Radio and RogerEbert.com. His writing has appeared in Esquire, The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Screen Anarchy (aka TwitchFilm), SlashFilm, HighDefDigest, Birth.Movies.Death, IndieWire and more. He has appeared on CTV NewsChannel, CP24, and many other broadcasters. He has been a jury member at the Reykjavik International Film Festival, Calgary Underground Film Festival, RiverRun Film Festival, TIFF Canada's Top 10, Reel Asian and Fantasia's New Flesh Award. Jason has been a Tomatometer-approved critic since its inception.
Justine Smith - Film critic (Cult MTL) (Montreal, QC, Canada)
Justine Smith is the screen editor at Cult MTL and regularly contributes to sites like Hyperallergic, Roger Ebert and Little White Lies, among others. Justine programs the Underground section at the Fantasia International Film Festival and is on the programming committee at Cinéma Moderne.
Michiel Philippaerts - Film critic (Talking Shorts) & Shorts Programmer (Film Fest Ghent) (Ghen, Belgium)
Michiel Philippaerts is a programmer and short film coordinator for Film Fest Gent, Belgium's most prominent annual film event. He has helped curate and organize several local film festivals in Ghent and served on the jury for the Dutch-Belgian Visser-Neerlandia Prize for Screenplay in 2018 and 2019. As a critic, he writes for Kortfilm.be and Talking Shorts. In 2021, Michiel became part of the short film commission of the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF).
But in this time of omni-present YouTube vlogs, hastily published online reviews, hack writing and articles without subjectivity or journalistic rigor, is there still a place for the film critic of yore? How does the up-and-coming critic nowadays make it work in the long run?
Daniel Racine has invited seasoned journalists from different continents to debate these questions.
ROUNDTABLE
Moderated by:
Daniel Racine - Film critic & programmer (Vues du Québec - Festival de cinéma de Florac)
Host of cultural events, programmer of festivals, and film critic for the magazines L'Actualité and Séquences, Daniel Racine has been present in the Quebec film industry for over than 20 years. He has collaborated with a number of cultural organizations, including Québec Cinéma, the NFB, SODEC, Telefilm Canada; festivals from here and elsewhere (Regard, RVQC, Vues du Québec, Longue vue sur le court, RIDM, FICFA, Ciné Vert), along with Funambules Médias, Ciné-Verdun, the Montreal Arts Council and others. Odds on you have seen or heard him on the airwaves of Radio-Canada, CIBL, TFO and MaTV, as columnist and host.
Panelists:
Jason Gorber - Editor in Chief (That Shelf) (Toronto, ON, Canada)
Jason Gorber is a film journalist and member of the Toronto Film Critics Association. He is the Editor in Chief/Chief Critic at ThatShelf.com and regularly contributes to POV Magazine, CBC Radio and RogerEbert.com. His writing has appeared in Esquire, The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Screen Anarchy (aka TwitchFilm), SlashFilm, HighDefDigest, Birth.Movies.Death, IndieWire and more. He has appeared on CTV NewsChannel, CP24, and many other broadcasters. He has been a jury member at the Reykjavik International Film Festival, Calgary Underground Film Festival, RiverRun Film Festival, TIFF Canada's Top 10, Reel Asian and Fantasia's New Flesh Award. Jason has been a Tomatometer-approved critic since its inception.
Justine Smith - Film critic (Cult MTL) (Montreal, QC, Canada)
Justine Smith is the screen editor at Cult MTL and regularly contributes to sites like Hyperallergic, Roger Ebert and Little White Lies, among others. Justine programs the Underground section at the Fantasia International Film Festival and is on the programming committee at Cinéma Moderne.
Michiel Philippaerts - Film critic (Talking Shorts) & Shorts Programmer (Film Fest Ghent) (Ghen, Belgium)
Michiel Philippaerts is a programmer and short film coordinator for Film Fest Gent, Belgium's most prominent annual film event. He has helped curate and organize several local film festivals in Ghent and served on the jury for the Dutch-Belgian Visser-Neerlandia Prize for Screenplay in 2018 and 2019. As a critic, he writes for Kortfilm.be and Talking Shorts. In 2021, Michiel became part of the short film commission of the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF).