Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival has opened applications for the fifth edition of its Young Critics Workshop, set to run November 16 to 20 in Budapest, inside the wider frame of the 23rd Verzió festival taking place November 16 to 25 across the Hungarian capital and cities nationwide.
The workshop targets aspiring and early-career film critics, journalists, writers, filmmakers and artists with an interest in documentary criticism. Participants will work through a writing-intensive programme built around peer and expert feedback, sharpening both writing and editing under festival conditions. The working language is English, and attendance at all on-site sessions is mandatory, with no remote option offered this year. An online introductory meeting will precede the in-person sessions.
Selected participants receive free accreditation to the 23rd Verzió festival, access to industry events, and the chance to build ties with critics and filmmakers from across the documentary community. Four places come with reimbursement for European travel and accommodation. A 50 euro enrollment fee applies to those selected, covering operational costs, while the application itself carries no fee.
Eligibility spans a broad swath of Europe, from Albania and Austria through to Ukraine, with Romania among the listed countries.
This year’s workshop will be tutored by Steve Rickinson, managing editor for Modern Times Review. Rickinson, based in Bucharest by way of Brooklyn and Amsterdam, brings an academic background from The New School for Public Engagement and the University of Amsterdam, along with a career that began co-founding the New York magazine Indiewood/Hollywood before extending into festival juries, panels, and workshops across Europe.
Applicants are asked to complete the official application form and submit a short film review or essay. Submissions not originally written in English should be translated, with the translation clearly indicated. There is no fee to apply.
The deadline for applications is August 31, 2026, with selection results communicated by email in mid-September. Questions can be directed to [email protected].
The Young Critics Workshop runs under the Doc Around Europe Generations project, supported by the Creative Europe Media programme.
