Film O’Clock International Festival returns for its 2nd edition, between March 1-6, 2022, with a programme that includes simultaneous screenings in cinemas in Romania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Greece, Egypt and South Africa, as well as online events and debates.

One of the special events hosted by the festival is the Masterclass on Film Journalism, held by Davide Abbatescianni.

The masterclass aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the film journalist’s job, with a focus on what this profession entails and how the editorial work is carried out. The following topics will be covered:

• 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.

According to the organizers, the decision to hold such a masterclass was prompted by realizing that “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, Ireland. He currently works as a foreign correspondent for the EU-funded magazine Cineuropa, where he regularly writes about European cinema. He has also collaborated with 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 Support to EU Film Festivals, a project whose mission is to enhance the quality of festivals organized by the delegations of the European Union worldwide.

“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.” (Davide Abbatescianni)

Attending the online masterclass is possible if you send a CV, a short motivation letter and a short answer to the question, “What does Film O’Clock mean to you?”. Submissions are open until February 20, 2022. The festival board will select up to 18 participants from the countries in which the festival is held: Romania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Greece, Egypt and South Africa.

The Masterclass on Film Journalism will be held on Saturday, March 5th, and participation is free of charge. If you want to sign up, go to the Film O’Clock website.

Melissa Antonescu

Writer, photographer and videographer. For Films in Frame she writes news about the latest happenings in the film world and brings to the readers' attention the productions that can be seen at the cinema. When she's not writing articles, she's photographing people in a small studio or searching for new cake recipes.