GoCritic! continues its partnership with the Animation Festival Network (AFN) with a workshop at the Anifilm International Festival of Animated Films in Liberec, Czech Republic, from 2-7 May 2023.

Up to six promising film journalists and critics will be selected, and their tutoring and accommodation expenses will be covered by the programme. Their articles will be published on Cineuropa and Zippy Frames, as well as the festival’s website.

The workshop will be tutored by Dutch film critic, philosopher and writer Dana Linssen, a returning mentor of the Talent Press programmes in Berlin and Sarajevo, the former editor-in-chief of de Filmkrant magazine, long-standing film critic for NRC Handelsblad, the founder of the Slow Criticism Project and a curator of the Critics’ Choice at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Anifilm is the largest event dedicated to animation in the Czech Republic, presenting current trends, methods, technologies and animation techniques to a wide audience. There are seven International Competition categories and five Czech Horizon categories in the National Competition. Festival visitors can enjoy a vast non-competitive film programme, as well as an accompanying programme consisting of exhibitions, music gigs and theatre performances. For film professionals, the festival offers an extensive industry programme focusing on animation, including VR and computer games.

Anifilm takes place in Liberec, the capital of the North Bohemia region, a cultural university city with a rich historical past that is surrounded by beautiful mountains, easily accessible and one hour’s drive from Prague. The festival is organised by the Citizens’ Association for the Support of Animated Film (Občanské sdružení pro podporu animovaného filmu zs) / OSPAF and by ANIFILM sro, an independent film company established in 1997.

The call for participants is here, and the deadline is set for 10 March. For more information and any questions, please contact gocritic@cineuropa.org.

GoCritic!@AFN is a training programme for emerging European film journalists and critics, organised by AFN – Animation Festival Network in partnership with Cineuropa and Zippy Frames, and co-financed by the European Union’s Creative Europe – MEDIA programme.