European Workshop for Film Criticism #8

The European Network for Film Discourse (The END) and short film magazine Talking Shorts are organising the 8th edition of the European Workshop for Film Criticism: two week-long workshop sessions for aspiring film critics set during film festivals in Leuven, Belgium (Leuven Short Film Festival, December 2025) and Vilnius, Lithuania (Vilnius Short Film Festival, January 2026).

The two workshop units will explore written film criticism and festival coverage in various lengths and formats. At Leuven, the focus will be on the “film review” and all that it can entail. What does it mean to write criticism? What is it, and what is it not? How can you incorporate as many varieties of experience and craft into a single text? What are the blind spots we’re working against and possibly even with? All of this will be explored through a craft approach: building possible answers to these questions from the written drafts of the participants themselves.

In Vilnius, the focus will be on essayistic long-form writing, building upon the preliminary answers and new questions encountered during the first leg of the workshop. Ours is an aesthetics of abundance without losing sight of focus and sharpness, as the guiding question will always be: what is a short film, and how does it work in the given programming context and the world in which we live?

The workshops will be held in English. There will be tasks assigned before each workshop, as well as additional editing between or after the workshops. Participants will receive 1:1 editorial guidance from the workshop’s tutor and guest mentors throughout the two festivals. A selection of their texts will be published on Talking Shorts.

Tutor
The tutor of this tandem workshop will be Michaël Van Remoortere. A writer and film critic, he has published both online and in print in a variety of magazines and platforms, including Talking Shorts and photogénie. Van Remoortere has a background in philosophy and literature and is interested in bringing these influences into the world of film criticism. Since 2023, he has taught Cinea’s Critics Workshop at Film Fest Gent. By the start of this workshop, he hopes to have finished the final draft of his first novel.

Application
The workshop is aimed at anyone over 18 who is interested in critical and discursive work about (short) films and can participate in both units of the tandem workshop:

2—7.12.2025
Workshop at Leuven Short Film Festival (Belgium)

21—26.01.2026
Workshop at Vilnius Short Film Festival (Lithuania)

The application is available for European residents who:

• are over the age of 18;
• have a strong interest and motivation to gain insight into journalistic and criticism practices;
• are eager to learn/be mentored by industry professionals;
• are proficient in English (speaking and writing);
• can attend the programme entirely, i.e., participate in both units of the tandem workshop in Leuven and Vilnius.

Apply now!

Applications are open from September 1 to October 5, 2025.
The results will be communicated by October 20, 2025.