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MillimeterAbout the Broadcast Film Critics Association
Jan 5, 2005 5:40 PM
When Joey Berlin and Rod Lurie founded The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), the most immediate goal was to launch the Critics' Choice Awards in a matter of weeks. However the overarching goal was to gain some organizational respect for the red-haired stepchildren of the film criticism world.
At the time, in 1995, the established film critics' associations rarely accepted broadcast critics into their ranks. Berlin and Lurie—both broadcast critics themselves—felt it was a prejudice that needed to be redressed, or at least countered by giving the broadcast critics an association of their own. On the day the BFCA was formed, it instantly became the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada, and today represents 200 television, radio and online critics.
"Our collective membership is the primary source of information for today's entertainment consumers," the BFCA states on their official website at bfca.org. "The very first opinion a moviegoer hears about new releases at the multiplex or the art house usually comes from one of our members."
As a group, the broadcast critics attend in excess of 30,000 screenings each year. The BFCA members are proud of their ability to retain their Everyman perspective even as they see many more films than the average filmgoer and make their star-studded rounds. This ability to relate to mainstream audiences is one of the greatest strengths of the broadcast critics and it contributes to their striking ability to predict Oscar nominations and wins with the Critics' Choice Awards. Nominations are made by written ballot during a weeklong period in early December. There are no nominating committees; all members vote on nominees and honorees, another factor that aggregates the members' expertise.
Berlin, who became president of the association when founding president Lurie followed a career as a writer/director (The Contender), explains the standards laid out in the association's guidelines: "All film reviews represent the unique and honest opinion of the authoring member. Any attempt to influence a review beyond providing information is a violation of BFCA standards. 'Quotes' may only be provided from reviews that have been, will be or are intended to be broadcast or printed, and cannot be altered in any way without the expressed permission of the reviewer."'
At bfca.org there is a full history of the nominations and honorees of the Critics' Choice Awards, as well as detailed voting information for the past four years. As an additional service to moviegoers, each film is given a Critics' Choice Rating (on a 20-100 scale, 100 being the highest), based on the cumulative grade each film receives in the weekly balloting. Films that received a score of 85 or greater are endorsed as official "Critics' Choice" picks. More information on these ratings is available in the New Movies area of the site.
The BFCA is led by its president Joey Berlin, executive vice president John De Simio, and fellow board members Jim Ferguson, Mark Ramsey and Sara Voorhees. A portion of the proceeds from the awards presentation ceremony at the Wiltern LG is donated to charities including Starlight Children's Fund.
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.