Six Critics Welcomed Into the London Film Critics’ Circle

The UK Critics’ Circle Film Section is thrilled to announce six new members for 2018/19. Film Section Chair Anna Smith calls them “exceptional”. They are:

The majority of this year’s applications came from female film critics. This is a first in the history of the Circle, and officers hope that the surge in applications from professional female critics is a positive sign for the future of film criticism, which urgently needs a diverse range of voices. The Critics’ Circle is committed to addressing the historic imbalance in critical voices.

The Chair of the Film Section is film critic and broadcaster Anna Smith, who also currently serves as President of the Circle. In addition to the six new members, the Film Section membership is as follows:

Mark Adams; Kaleem Aftab; Tom Aitken; David Aldridge; Carol Allen; Paul Anderson; Geoff Andrew; Nigel Andrews; Stephen Applebaum, Nicholas Barber; Henry Barnes; Nikki Baughan; Ray Bennett; Phillip Bergson; Joanna Berry; Jason Best; Anne Billson; Anton Bitel; Matthew Bond; Laurence Boyce; Peter Bradshaw; Catherine Bray;  Geoff Brown; Dave Calhoun; James Cameron-Wilson; Nina Caplan; Peter Cargin; Ali Catterall; James Christopher; Cath Clarke; Jeremy Clarke; Roger Clarke; Nigel Cliff; Rich Cline; Robbie Collin; Richard Coombs; Quentin Cooper; Jonathan Crocker; Jane Crowther; Stephen Dalton; Michael Darvell; Hugo Davenport; Tom Dawson; Nicholas DeJongh; Rita di Santo; Emma Dibdin; Rob Driscoll; Tony Earnshaw; David Edwards; Angie Errigo; Leslie Felperin; Henry Fitzherbert; Nigel Floyd; Sloan Freer; Mariella Frostrup; Paul Gambaccini; Charles Gant; Ryan Gilbey; Matt Glasby; Jamie Graham; Carmen Gray; Marianne Gray; David Gritten; Fionnuala Halligan; Wally Hammond;  Billy Houlston; Tom Huddleston; David Hughes; Allan Hunter; Wendy Ide; Larushka Ivan-Zadeh; Nick James; David Jenkins; Sheila Johnston; Trevor Johnston; Dan Jolin; Alan Jones; Marshall Julius; Adam Keen; Harlan Kennedy; Mark Kermode; James King; George Kiritopoulos; Karen Krizanovich; Will Lawrence; Ed Lawrenson; Andy Lea; Matthew Leyland; Wendy Lloyd; Guy Lodge; Charlie Lyne; Geoffrey Macnab; Kevin Maher;  Derek Malcolm; Demetrios Matheou; Mike McCahill; Jenny McCarthy; Pauline McLeod; Sophie Monks Kaufman; James Mottram; Richard Mowe; Matt Mueller; Kate Muir; Kim Newman; Emma Norman; Neil Norman; Helen O’Hara; Hilary Oliver; Charlottte O’Sullivan; Elsa O’Toole; Ashanti Omkar; Andrew Osmond; David Parkinson; Phil Penfold; George Perry; Julian Petley; Laurence Phelan; Dee Pilgrim; Andrew Pulver; David Quinlan; Tim Robey; David Robinson; Jonathan Romney; Simon Rose; Deborah Ross; Mohammed Rouda; William Russell; Sukhdev Sandhu; George Savvides; Catherine Shoard; Brian Sibley; Leigh Singer; Adam Smith; Neil Smith;  Jason Solomons; Kate Stables; Francesca Steele; Mansel Stimpson; Francine Stock; Matthew Sweet; Robert Tanitch; Matthew Turner; Brian Viner; Ben Walters; Ivan Waterman; Rob White; Derek Winnert, Damon Wise; Adam Woodward; Neil Young.

NOTES TO EDITORS

For further information, contact Vice Chair Rich Cline: londoncritics@gmail.com

About the Critics‘ Circle:
Established in 1913, The Critics’ Circle is the oldest organisation of its kind in the world, with more than 400 members who work in the UK media as critics of art and architecture, books, dance, drama, film, and music. www.criticscircle.org.uk

Film Section: Membership Criteria:
When considering candidates to join the Film Section, the membership committee pays particular attention to rules 1 and 6 of the Circle.

Rule 6 says that invitations to join the Circle shall be issued only to persons engaged professionally, regularly and substantially for at least two years in the writing or broadcasting of criticism – and/or informed analytical features or programmes – on the relevant discipline (film, in our case).

Rule 1 states that among the objects of the Circle are: to promote the art of criticism and to uphold its integrity; to safeguard the professional interests of its members; and to promote the advancement of the arts.

The Film Section membership committee interprets these two rules to mean that potential members film journalists who are paid practitioners (in a staff post, on a contract or, more typically, professionally freelance), and for whom criticism and analytical pieces form a substantial part of their output. Beyond that, the committee is looking for excellence in the work submitted for consideration.

Film Section new member queries should be sent to critics.circle@gmail.com, where they will be forwarded to the membership committee. It should be noted that we have a large number of applicants every year and admissions to this section of the Circle are limited by number.

For more information about membership, visit: www.criticscircle.org.uk/film/membership-information/