How do we write, read, and talk about films we love? How might we reconcile our unique experiences of films—the memories, dreams, desires, hopes, and fears that they conjure—with those of a mass audience? How might film criticism help us appreciate both the audiovisual richness of cinema and the expressive capacity of language? Who gets to be a critic, and how? Whose voices aren’t we hearing, and why? How does the history of film criticism—in tandem with the history of film—reveal societal trends and power dynamics? This intimate and rigorous seminar studies the work of canonical film critics alongside contemporary modes of film criticism (e.g., print/online journalism, video essays, podcasts, Letterboxd reviews, and social media posts). Students will create original work within a supportive workshop environment that emphasizes craft, practice, and revision; students will also have the opportunity to write and edit film criticism for the international undergraduate film journal, Film Matters.