Critics Campus

The Melbourne International Film Festival Critics Campus is an intensive, week-long program of panels, workshops and mentoring designed to provide emerging Australian screen critics with a unique platform to nurture their talents in a live festival setting. Following 12 highly successful editions, Critics Campus will return in 2026, taking place from Monday 10 to Friday 14 August as part of the festival’s 74th edition.

Established in 2014, Critics Campus has proved an invaluable incubator of emerging talent across the past decade, discovering and developing new voices in Australian screen criticism. As the media landscape continues to change and evolve, Critics Campus has responded in turn, driven by the idea that informed screen criticism is vital to a healthy screen culture and industry. In developing new and underrepresented voices, Critics Campus builds on its commitment to refreshing and growing the country’s critical landscape, to redefining the ways our writers consider the culture, and to preparing participants for successful careers in screen criticism and the arts.

Since its first edition, the program has grown in reputation and global reach, attracting A-list international critics, programmers and guests, and establishing a name for itself as one of the most well-regarded young critic workshops in the world. In 2026, eight selected participants will once again:

take part in mentoring sessions with eight leading Australian and international film critics
join a range of panels, workshops and live-editing sessions with some of the best critics – both in person and online – from around the world
have access to festival films, publicity materials, guests and networking opportunities at MIFF
be invited to attend screenings, social functions, galas and other festival events.

Head to Revue to read features, reviews and interviews by Critics Campus alumni, or check out our ‘Critics Campus: Where Are They Now?’ series (Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4).

“One of the gifts of Critics Campus has been a sense of belonging to an international community of film critics, whom I can learn from, collaborate with and whose work makes me feel excited about language. In a landscape where opportunities for emerging critics are limited, Critics Campus is a vital program.”
– Claire Ollivain, 2025 alum

“I’m incredibly grateful to have been a Critics Campus participant. The week of panels and workshops taught me so much about the craft of criticism. Just as importantly, receiving career advice from mentors boosted my confidence and illuminated pathways that once felt inaccessible.”
– Thomas Phillips, 2025 alum

“Critics Campus was easily one of the best weeks of my life so far. Through the discussion panels, workshops and peer-editing sessions I developed huge amounts of confidence as a writer. I hope Critics Campus continues for years and years to come.”
– Sophie Terakes, 2025 alum

“I feel very lucky to have something like this available to me on my doorstep. It exceeded my expectations, and I've come away feeling sharpened and inspired.”
– Austin Lancaster, 2024 alum

“I feel like I got so much meaningful insight out of the panels and working with my mentor. Critics Campus has also already brought about opportunities that I never would have expected and given me a sense of the next steps I want to take, which is really invaluable.”
– Grace Boschetti, 2024 alum

“A precious and rare opportunity to be fully immersed in the world of film criticism. While my mentor gave me such invaluable guidance, it was also incredible to connect and collaborate with my cohort: writers who continue to inspire and enliven my approaches to life and art today.”
– Indigo Bailey, 2023 alum

“An unforgettable experience. The most valuable thing I gained from the program was undoubtedly the relationships I was able to build … These connections helped me not only become a better critic, but also a more confident one too, knowing that I now had a network of fellow writers to support my work.”
– Kevin Bui, 2023 alum

““Critics Campus helped me regain my confidence as a writer and opened me up to new possibilities for both my writing practice and also for my career at large. I feel very grateful to have met talented, experienced critics who gave me such helpful lifelong advice. Now I know: strong vibes + strong inquiry = great criticism.”
– Lamya Nawar, 2022 alum

“Having been a mentee in 2016, I was thrilled to return to Critics Campus in 2021 – this time as a mentor. I still draw on those lessons I learned about criticism and craft almost six years ago, so the chance to share them with my own mentee was deeply fulfilling, both professionally and personally.”
– Aimee Knight, 2021 mentor and 2016 alum

“I’m so grateful for the experience – it’s been pretty unique and I feel like I’ve gotten a lot out of it. It’s been great hearing from professional critics, especially other critics who are queer and people of colour.”
– Merryana Salem, 2020 alum

“Critics Campus was such an invaluable and formative experience for me. The program was such an encouraging, enriching experience that has no doubt shaped my writing for the better.”
– Isabella Trimboli, 2022 mentor and 2019 alum

“Critics Campus was one of the best, most wonderful experiences of my short life. It opened my mind and writing up to possibilities I never imagined, and completely re-envisioned the way I see, read and approach criticism.”
– Debbie Zhou, 2018 alum

Principal Government Partner: VicScreen