International Film Festival Rotterdam 2018 IFFR Trainee Program for Young Film Critics

Young and upcoming film critics from outside the Netherlands get less opportunities to explore and sharpen their knowledge and views on independent and experimental cinema. International Film Festival Rotterdam recognizes the important role of film criticism and supports journalistic talent with a trainee project for the next wave of film journalists: the IFFR Trainee Project Young Critics.

Project description

The IFFR Trainee Project for Young Film Critics, created in 1998, is our talent development programme that offers young (under 30 years), motivated and talented professional film critics from outside the Netherlands a chance to travel abroad, cover a major international film festivals and, in particular, get acquainted with International Film Festival Rotterdam and the broad range of independent cinema it

Trainee Programme

As a Trainee you are part of the editorial office of the festival, will have 2-3 expert meetings with experienced film critics, will cover the festival for your own affiliation, write a final festival report for the FIPRESCI website and of course enjoy the full pleasure of being at International Film Festival Rotterdam.

In the past editions, the Rotterdam film festival has welcomed trainee film critics from:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Denmark, Finland,France, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda, UK, Uruguay and USA.

IFFR is looking for participants for the 20th IFFR Trainee Project for Young Film Critics, taking place during its 47th edition (24 January – 4 February, 2018).

International Film Festival Rotterdam supports film making, film producing and journalistic talent on several levels: the main festival section Bright Future (including competitions for both features and shorts) presents recent works by first and second time filmmakers; Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund contributes to film projects in developing countries and co-production market CineMart organizes a trainee project for young film producers (Rotterdam Lab) in close collaboration with its partner organizations. Recognizing the important role of film criticism to the perception of independent cinema, IFFR organizes a trainee project for young film critics.

What to expect

Complimentary IFFR 2018 press accreditation
Budget hotel accommodation in Rotterdam
Partial refund of travel costs when traveling from outside Europe
A full schedule. IFFR wants its trainee film critics to really participate in the festival and interact with other industry professionals. The trainees will form a team, hosted by the IFFR Press Office and the festival editorial staff. You get to explore all aspects of IFFR (screenings, exhibitions, Q&A sessions, and debates) as part of the program and to cover for your own media
If your participation is successful and you have published reports that meet IFFR standards (in both quality and quantity) you get the opportunity to visit the next edition of the festival as an accredited journalist

Criteria for application

Age under 30 years
Fluent command of the English language (written and spoken)
Demonstrable experience in film criticism (print or online media)
Not yet established enough to profit from facilities as attending international film festivals outside your country
Have agreement(s) with relevant print and/or online media to publish reports on International Film Festival Rotterdam 2018

Application

If you like to join the programme during IFFR 2018 please send us the following:

CV
Motivation Letter
Three samples of your recent work
Recommendation Letter
Information about your affiliate (circulation, copies/page views etc.)

The deadline for submission is 1 November 2017.

Interested candidates should visit https://iffr.com/en/iffr-industry/press/young-film-critics