Press release from GALECA:
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics and Rotten Tomatoes, entertainment fans’ go-to resource for movie and TV recommendations, have extended the deadline and taken national The Crimson Honors, a new college film & TV criticism scholarship contest for BIPOC LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary students.
Initially focused on Southern California, the contest is now open to any eligible student at a public college/university in the U.S. GALECA will award the winners more than $6000 in financial assistance, funded by Rotten Tomatoes.
A “pink-ribbon” panel of GALECA members will review and consider all student submissions of film/TV criticism and/or commentary featured in a campus media outlet or personal blog in 2022. After deliberation, the panel will honor three students who demonstrate excellence in the craft.
The grand prize winner will receive $3000, with two finalists each collecting $1,500. All three winners will also receive $100 Fandango and VUDU gift cards to watch movies in theaters or at home, and a complimentary year-long GALECA membership, with opportunities to meet editors and Advisory Board members in the group.
“Our pilot program focusing on Southern California women and nonbinary students of color in the LGBTQ-plus community yielded a variety of ‘applications’ from people who blatantly ignored the criteria or responded with hateful, anti-LGBTQ messages,” said GALECA Executive Director John Griffiths. “Such a response only underscores to us just how much underrepresented views on the all-powerful screen are lacking, not just in professional media but on our college campuses. Movies and TV obviously have tremendous influence on society, so we all need to continue the push to make the world of entertainment journalism as diverse as America.”
Rotten Tomatoes’ support of GALECA’s Crimson Honors scholarship is the latest initiative in the brand’s Grants and Scholarships program, established in 2018 to increase inclusion in entertainment criticism and support the next generation of critics through donations to educational programs, film festivals’ inclusion initiatives, and other industry efforts.
Eligible candidates—including nonbinary persons or women of color who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer—must be students who have attended a public two-year or four-year college or university the United States and its territories.
Applicants may submit to GALECA up to 3 reviews or essays relating to film and/or TV, each originally published or posted in 2022 by an official campus media offering (newspaper, magazine, website, radio station, podcast, TV/radio program) or personal blog. In addition, applicants must also include a resume as well as a personal 300-word statement on why they feel entertainment criticism is important.
Applicants can submit all materials here or at galeca.org/crimson-honors by the deadline of 11:59 p.m. PT on April 1, 2023. All entrants will be notified that their submissions were received with winners being announced this summer.
For questions, contact info@galeca.org.
CRITERIA AND RULES
• Entries must be submitted to, and will be reviewed and judged by, GALECA.
• There are no entry fees.
• Contestants are women or nonbinary students of color who are also gay, lesbian, bisexual, and/or transgender, who attended a public college or university in the U.S. or its territories in 2022.
• They must include a resume as well as a cover letter with a 200- to 300-word (or so) statement on why they feel entertainment criticism is important. The cover letter should also include their name, college/university they attend/attended, the name of their campus media outlet or personal blog, the date(s) the submitted pieces were published/posted, their major/field of study, and contact information of a campus teacher or professor. Recommendations are not necessary.
• Applicants may submit one (1) to three (3) examples of their writing on film and/or TV that were published in a personal blog or official campus outlet (publication, website, podcast, TV or radio program) in 2022.
• Qualifying pieces must pertain to film and/or television and be critiques or essays (e.g., think pieces, commentaries).
• The films or programs covered in the student’s pieces need not explicitly contain LGBTQIA+ subject matter.
• Please note that materials sent will not be returned.
• Word documents or cut-and-pasted copy in email will not be accepted.
Submissions must be sent by April 1, 2023.
Please submit here or visit galeca.org/crimson-honors.
FAQs
I recently graduated. May I apply? Students currently employed by a non-student media outlet are not eligible. Editorial internships, however, are fine. Students must be currently enrolled or recently graduated from a public community college or university.
Can I submit work in a language other than English? Non-English language submissions are eligible, but please include an English translation along with the original piece.
What files types are accepted for submissions? Work can be attached in link, screenshot/PNG, PDF or JPEG form, with files named with contestant’s last name and a keyword for the subject matter.
Are non-written submissions accepted? Yes. Video or audio segments are accepted, and must be two (2) to five (5) minutes in length. Please submit a script along with a link to the posted piece. Please note the timestamp of the beginning of your piece. If the video or audio of your is no longer posted, you may be sent via Dropbox or post on YouTube or Vimeo.
For other questions, please email info@galeca.org and we’ll guide you.
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