Verzió Documentary Film Critics Workshop
*Call for Applications*
Budapest, November 11-15, 2025
Are you a film critic, journalist, writer, filmmaker, artist, or currently studying to be one? Are you interested in writing about documentary cinema?
We invite you to apply for the 4th Verzió Documentary Film Critics Workshop. The workshop is organized within the framework of the 22nd Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, taking place between 11–19 November 2025, in Budapest and in cities across Hungary.
You will have the opportunity to take part in a writing-intensive workshop with other documentary film enthusiasts from different backgrounds and cultures; receive valuable feedback from peers and experts to help polish your writing and editing skills in a supportive setting.
The workshop is open to aspiring and early-career film critics. Selected participants will receive free accreditation to the 22nd Verzió Film Festival, access to the industry events, as well as networking opportunities with other critics, filmmakers, and members of the international documentary community.
The working language of the workshop will be English. Attendance of all workshop sessions on site during the festival is required for participation. Online participation is currently not possible. Prior to the workshop, we ask you to attend an introductory meeting online.
Thanks to the Doc Around Europe festival network, we can offer reimbursement to participants for travel within Europe and accommodation for the duration of the workshop.
There is no application fee.
The enrollment fee is 75 € for selected participants which helps us cover the operational costs of this program.
Critics are currently eligible to apply from the following countries:
Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Greece, Romania, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland.
Tutor:
Steve Rickinson
Steve Rickinson is an alternative film, music, media critic and curator based in Bucharest, Romania, by way of Brooklyn, NY and Amsterdam, NL. He is the day-to-day operations manager, industry editor, and web manager for Modern Times Review: Cinepolitical Documentary Magazine. With an academic background from The New School for Public Engagement and the University of Amsterdam, Steve has studied media extensively, focusing on documentary film and activism, incorporating and promoting independent ownership across activities. His early professional days were spent co-founding and running the New York City-based magazine Indiewood/Hollywood while continuing to contribute to underground culture in international music, cinema, and political publications. These days, Steve travels the international documentary film festival circuit, participating in juries, panels, and workshops across the continent. He also curates alternative cinema events and writes for cultural organisations in his adopted home in Bucharest.
How to apply?
Please fill out this form and upload a short film review or essay.
If your submission was not originally written in English, please translate it to English and indicate that it is a translation.
Deadline: 31 August 2025.
Applicants will be notified about the selection results via email by mid-September. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at info@verzio.org.