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Covering the Business of Film: Introduction to Film Journalism
Submissions open until February 20, 2022, for the Online Masterclass

As the moment of the beginning of the Festival is getting closer, we are proud to announce a masterclass covering the business of film, an introduction to film journalism. The course, that is going to be held by Davide Abbatescianni, on Saturday, March 5th, between 12:00 and 14:00 (GMT +2), aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the film journalist’s job, with a special focus on the editorial work pursued by trade publications.

The main subjects that are going to be treated during the masterclass are: The Film Journalist’s Job; Overview of the main European industry players, festivals and outlets operating in the field of film journalism; Overview of the daily working routine; Working for a trade publication: editorial guidelines and networking, Ideas about writing production/industry news; Pitches and sources; Film festival coverage: how to get ready, working in team, getting in touch with PR firms, remote festival coverage; Looking for a job: the importance of your CV, your portfolio/website, how to pitch/introduce yourself, tips for your cover letter, how to get started.

Taking part in this masterclass is possible if you send a CV, a short motivation letter and a short answer to the question What does it mean Film O’Clock to you? to the mail address: office@foc-iff.com, before February 20th. After receiving the submissions, the Festival board will select up to 18 participants from the countries in which Film O’Clock International Festival 2022 is held: Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Egypt, and South Africa. The course for the selected participants is free of charge.

This is the first year this masterclass is held, but our wish is for it to become a tradition and expand in the years to come, because we understand there is a real necessity to shed a light on film journalism and film criticism, to speak about how they both evolve and change, think about the challenges of the film industry in the modern world, and talk about the opportunities of cooperation when it comes to film festivals.

Davide Abbatescianni is a journalist and film critic based in Cork. He currently works as a foreign correspondent for the EU-funded magazine Cineuropa, where he regularly writes about European cinema. His bylines also appeared on other international publications such as The Calvert Journal, The New Arab, Variety, New Scientist, POV Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Filmexplorer, Film Ireland, Cinemafemme.com, the Europa Distribution’s blog and the Independent Cinema Office’s blog.
He is a film curator for the project Support to EU Film Festivals, whose primary mission is to enhance the quality of festivals organised by the delegations of the European Union worldwide. Occasionally, he works as a festival consultant and as an External Examiner in Film Studies for the International Baccalaureate. He is also a PhD Excellence Scholar in Film and Screen Media at University College Cork.

I will talk about my daily journalistic activity and provide insights about my approach to writing, from pitching to publication. Moreover, the course will touch upon festival coverage, editorial guidelines, and networking activities.

It is almost Film O’Clock! We are looking forward to meeting you again!