Membership Guidelines

How to become a member of the Austin Film Critics Association.

The next period for applying to become a member of the Austin Film Critics Association runs from July 1st to August 15th, 2024. Our requirements are as follows:

1. You must reside in Austin, Texas. — You must publish an average of two theatrical or home-video movie reviews per month (print, audio or video), with a minimum of 300 words each, for a non-personal print, online or broadcast media outlet — and you must have been doing this for at least six months prior to applying for membership.
2. Once you are a member, you agree to participate in the group’s annual awards voting. This means you will need to watch as many of the awards-qualifying films as possible (via screener or special press screening) and vote via email in two rounds in December.
3. All non-officer members must serve on at least one committee, at least once, for every three years of membership.

If you believe you meet the requirements, please email austinfilmcritics@gmail.com with the following information:

1. Your name and mailing address (if you become a member, this is the address we will give to studios to use in mailing you screeners, and it can’t be a PO box). — Your current outlet(s) — How long you have been working as a film critic — How many of your reviews have been published in 2018/2019/2020 — A URL or URLs where we can find your reviews and verify you’ve been reviewing for six months or longer (some websites have URLs specific to contributors, which would be helpful)
2. Three reviews that our Selection Committee will read as part of the application and selection process. Ideally, the three should include one negative and one positive review. You can send the text of the reviews as an attachment, or send links to the reviews. If you are reviewing for a broadcast outlet, it helps to have the text of the reviews if you can provide it.