Beyond the Review: Film Critics as Cultural and Political Voices
Monday 13 April, 15:00-15:45, Scandic Hotel - 3rd floor - Learning 1Film criticism is often treated as a judgment or a headline. But for many critics, especially when writing about politically charged or culturally specific cinema, it’s something much more complicated.
In this session, three critics from FIPRESCI talk openly about their work beyond the traditional review. Drawing from their experience engaging with films shaped by politics, displacement, and contested histories, they reflect on how criticism can affect how films are seen, understood, and remembered.
The conversation will move through questions of responsibility and power: how to bring context without taking over the film, how to push back against dominant narratives while still paying attention to craft, and how to write about films that arrive carrying heavy expectations. Moderated by film critic Elena Rubashevska, the discussion will unfold through a series of questions that guide the critics’ different perspectives while opening space for a broader reflection on the role of criticism today.
Presented as part of the Industry Days at Malmö Arab Film Festival, the session invites filmmakers, programmers, and industry professionals into a shared space of dialogue, where criticism is less about judgment, and more about listening.
Petra Meterc
Petra Meterc is a film critic and journalist based in Slovenia. She produces shows about cinema and literature at Slovene national radio, while also being a contributing film critic at Ekran magazine for Film and Television and KINO! magazine. She is also a part of the programming board of a few film festivals in Slovenia. She is a Berlinale Talent Press and IFFR Trainee Project for Young Film Critics alumna.
Schayan Riaz
Schayan Riaz is a freelance journalist from Berlin. His work has appeared in various international publications such as the Berliner Zeitung, Qantara, i-D Germany, VICE, The Express Tribune, Dawn Pakistan, and others. Currently he is working as Managing Editor of the online magazine the Diasporist. In his articles, reviews, and interviews, he mainly focuses on film. He has been a FIPRESCI member since 2018 and served on festival juries in Berlin, Mannheim-Heidelberg, Amman, Cairo and Rabat.
Ahmed Shawky
He is an Egyptian film critic, programmer, and elected president of the international film critics federation (FIPRESCI). Publishing weekly articles about the cinema and entertainment industry. He has also published nine books on Egyptian cinema. Shawky is also the president of Egyptian film critics association (EFCA). He is the head of CineGouna Funding, the industry program of El Gouna Film Festival.
He worked as an artistic director/ programmer for many film festivals including Cairo, Malmo, Aswan, Tripoli, Mumbai, among others. He acted as jury in various festivals such as Locarno, Shanghai, Eurasia, Transylvania, Macao, Luxembourg, Oran, and Taipei. Shawky was the president of the Cannes film festival 2022 FIPRESCI Jury and of the same Jury in Berlinale 2025.
Moderator: Film Critic Elena Rubashevska
Elena Rubashevska is a film critic, writer, and festival programmer, FIPRESCI Vice President. Member of the Golden Globes, The Critics Award for Arab Films Commission, and Ukrainian Film Critics’ Award voting committees. Author of a book about Ukrainian Poetic Cinema and a research of Czechoslovak films. Her particular area of interest lies in the field of documentary cinema with a strong visual component, as well as regional author cinema.