In animation, the medium is the message. Join us, to unpack what that means at the 2026 edition of the Anibar International Animation Festival.

We invite you for an open workshop on film criticism. This is a practical introduction to film journalism within the festival context. Participants will be invited to sharpen the cinephilic gaze and to discuss the theory and practice of film criticism.

The session will be led by Amanda Barbour, an Australian film critic and president of Australia’s oldest online film journal, Senses of Cinema. The workshop will be held in English.

This activity is funded by the European Union. The content is the sole responsibility of Anibar and does not necessarily reflect the views of the EU.

Amanda Barbour

Amanda Barbour is an award-winning film critic and president of Australia’s oldest online film journal, Senses of Cinema. With a background in politics, she served as media adviser to the first Aboriginal Senator for Victoria in the Australian Parliament. She oscillates between theory and practice in art and politics. Both disciplines require a critical analysis of the author, audience and aesthetics of the stories that we’re told.