Applications Open for the Telefilm Canada Emerging Critic Award! (Closed)

The Telefilm Canada Emerging Critic for 2024 will be announced leading up to the TFCA Awards Gala.

The deadline for submissions has passed. Thank you to all who applied.

The Toronto Film Critics Association is an industry group. It is also an advocacy group concerned with the health of the critical industry. We recognize that even within the evolving media landscape there are institutional barriers to access and success, especially for underrepresented voices. We want to create a framework of support for aspiring film critics. The Telefilm Canada Emerging Critic Award is designed explicitly to help develop and promote the work of emerging film critics. With this annual fellowship, the TFCA hopes to help identify, cultivate and encourage a promising new voice by offering both a spotlight as well as career support for the calendar year as they seek to establish themselves in the critical field.

Over the course of the winning year duration, the emerging critic will receive:

  • Spotlight and recognition in the upcoming TFCA Awards Gala
  • Designation as “Telefilm Canada Emerging Film Critic of 2024”
  • A profile on the TFCA website for the duration of the year
  • The opportunity to contribute paid feature(s) for the TFCA website (written, podcast or broadcast medium)
  • Active mentorship and advice from members, with help in identifying reviewing/critical opportunities, advice on drafts as well as general strategy and career development
  • The opportunity to cover TIFF as an accredited member of the press on behalf of the TFCA website in fall 2024
  • A cash prize of $1,000, courtesy of Telefilm Canada

To apply for the Telefilm Canada Emerging Critic Award, writers/broadcasters must submit any feature-length criticism of a film or film performance written/broadcast in the calendar year of 2023. (Early 2022 links accepted.) Reviews need not focus on films released in 2023, and do not need to have been published by a professional outlet.

Application

Applicants must be residents of Ontario and 18 years or older but are otherwise not restricted by age. To be eligible, emerging writers/broadcasters must not be a working professional critic and may have no more than a few articles or clips in a professional media outlet. Candidates are not disqualified for having written or broadcast on personal blogs, amateur or student publications. One self-nominating submission is allowed per person, through the TFCA website portal.

The fellowship is open to all new voices who demonstrate a genuine interest and commitment to engaging in critical conversation about film, but the Telefilm Canada Emerging Critic Award especially hopes to encourage the development of emerging voices that are underrepresented in the larger field.

The TFCA is committed to reflecting the diversity of new and emerging critical voices. Eligible candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

The deadline for submission has passed. Thank you to all who applied.

The winner will be announced leading up to the TFCA Awards Gala on Monday, Mar. 4, 2024.