From the tutors words
Chronicle on The role of film criticism
by Marcia Moreira
Roger Koza
To like a film is not enough, one must like it for the right reasons. After putting together all the ideas presented during the workshop, it became clear that film criticism should not only know and understand the reasons behind a particular movie, but also act as mediator between the cinematographic work and the ordinary spectator.
The purpose of writing about a specific film is to help the reader understand what is important in a movie and what is not. In other words, before giving an aesthetic appreciation of the work as a whole, the film critic should focus on the subsequent rationalization or translation of logical and discursive terms usually linked to narrative. It is not important for a film critic to be right or wrong, but rather to know why he/she has a certain opinion and help others form their own opinions.
Besides mediator, the film critic is - first of all - a teacher who does not have all the answers but who can be an example in the process of finding those answers. Explaining and reflecting on a particular work as well as on other film critics’ works should encourage the reader to watch other films, and thus be able to analyse them.
Therefore, it is not the film critic’s role to write only his/her opinions, but to help develop his/her readers’ critical awareness. At the end of day, the film critic should have analysed without labelling, and should have argued without censorship. As Koza put it: “I may not be able to convince you, but at least I know I made you think about what you have seen and this is the greatest reward for a film critic”.
Roger Koza – Tutor, Film Critic and programmer
Mariángela Martínez Restrepo - Talent Press BsAs Coordinator
Clara Picasso -Text translator< br />
