Passionate about film? Want to develop your critical skills or contribute to a vibrant, independent cinema platform?
TAKE ONE is always seeking enthusiastic, articulate writers with a fresh perspective on film, from festival favourites, mainstream blockbusters, and new takes on classics, to overlooked independent releases. Whether you’re experienced or entirely new to writing, we offer the opportunity to cover the things you love, develop your voice, or build your portfolio.
Showcase Your Critical Voice
At TAKE ONE, we’re dedicated to working with our writers. For new writers, our experienced editorial team will provide constructive feedback and guidance to help you refine your writing, develop your critical voice, and build a strong portfolio. Many of our past and current writers have successfully transitioned to paid freelance work on sites such as Little White Lies, Empire, and The Skinny, as well as to other positions within the film industry, including roles at Curzon, MUBI, the Glasgow Film Festival, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival. This commitment to development is further demonstrated through our collaboration with Anglia Ruskin University’s BA (Hons) Film programme, where we’ve mentored student critics for several years, sending them to Cannes, London, and Edinburgh. For experienced or established writers, we are delighted to hear about smaller or niche films and filmmakers, as well as pitches driven by your interests rather than commercial publishing trends.
Benefits & Opportunities
While we champion honest criticism and encourage you to bring attention to smaller, overlooked films and events, joining TAKE ONE offers a range of concrete advantages:
- Press Access Support: We can help secure press passes for major film festivals and complimentary press tickets at smaller festivals, with assignment letters or email requests.
- Review from Anywhere: Our writers frequently gain access to digital screeners for independent releases, allowing you to review films without the expense of travelling to screenings or festivals.
- Diverse Coverage: Contribute reviews, features, and interviews covering everything from specific genres and directors to short films, independent cinema, mainstream blockbusters, and the broader film industry.
- Networking & Partnerships: Our track record of partnerships with notable organisations like the Cambridge Film Festival, Edinburgh Short Film Festival, Anglia Ruskin University’s film programmes, Cinetopia, EH-FM, and Cambridge 105FM can offer opportunities for your direct involvement across the film community.
- Flexibility: We do not expect any commitment in terms of time or article count. If you are attending a major festival as a representative of TAKE ONE, we are usually happy for you to cover some films for other publications (perhaps give us first pick!).
Freedom & Focus
TAKE ONE operates as a volunteer-led, non-commercial project, funded by our founding editors. While we don’t currently offer payment for contributions, this model grants us complete editorial freedom. We can prioritise investing our time in what you want to cover, as well as pursuing thoughtful coverage of independent, lower-profile films, and supporting emerging filmmakers.
Any modest advertising revenue we generate is reinvested directly into expanding our coverage and maintaining the site. We will always explore growth opportunities, but for now, this model enables us to focus entirely on quality coverage and writer development.
Join The Team
Ready to Join the TAKE ONE team? We’re excited to hear from you! Here’s how to get started:
- Explore Our Site: Take some time to browse TAKEONECinema.net to get a feel for our style and the type of content we publish.
- Send Us an Email: Reach out to Jim at Jim[at]TAKEONECinema.net.
- If you have prior writing experience: Please include links to your published work.
- If you’re new to writing: That’s absolutely fine! We’ll typically discuss a trial article with you. We’ll work together on editing your piece, and if accepted, it will be your first published work with us.
- What to Expect Next: We receive a high volume of inquiries, so please be patient. We review every submission and will respond to you as soon as possible.
We look forward to hearing from you!