About

The Story of the Austin Film Critics Association.

Since its inception, the members of the Austin Film Critics Association have been doing their best to Keep Austin Weird. With upsets like Ellen Page’s win over Helen Mirren in 2006 and “The Dark Knight” besting “Slumdog Millionaire” in 2008, it’s no surprise the AFCA has been called everything from “wildly contrarian” (Entertainment Weekly) to “progressive…compared to their counterparts” (FEARnet). Either way, these Austinites have established themselves as a collective that everyone in Hollywood must keep an eye on come awards season.

Founded in 2005 by Cole Dabney & Bobby McCurdy, the AFCA has seen its membership grow from single digits to well over 30 members with a diverse roster of professional film critics who regularly review movies for daily newspapers, weekly alternatives, local radio, monthly magazines, and websites with international prominence.

Each December, AFCA members vote on the year’s best in film, celebrating excellence on both sides of the camera. Awards are given annually in a number of “Oscar” categories and several unique AFCA categories, including the Robert R. “Bobby” McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award, Best First Film, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Ensemble and Best Austin Film.

The various outlets our members contribute to include Austin American-Statesman, the Austin Chronicle, Austin360.com, Birth.Movies.Death, Cinapse, Daily Grindhouse, the Daily Dot, the Daily Texan, Double Toasted, Film School Rejects, FirstShowing.net, GotchaMovies, Hammer to Nail, Hill Country News, Horror’s Not Dead, KOOP 91.7 FM Radio, Movies.com, Nerdist, One Movie Punch, One Of Us, ScreenCrush, Smells Like Screen Spirit, and True View Reviews.