History

In 1990, a group of young reviewers and critics decided to form a body that aimed to evaluate works of art in various disciplines (film, theater, music, literature, visual arts and broadcast arts). Founding members include Mike Feria, Joy Barrios, Jojo Buenconsejo, Eric Caruncho, Melissa Contreras, Jaime Daroy, Joel David, Gin de Mesa, Patrick Flores, Francine Medina, Charlson Ong, Mozart Pastrano, Danilo Reyes, and Antonio Tinio. Each member specialized on one or more disciplines or “desks”. At present, only the Film Desk is existing.

The Film Desk of the Young Critics Circle (YCC) first gave its annual citations in film achievement in 1991, a year after the YCC was organized. In their Declaration of Principles, the members expressed the belief that cultural texts always call for active readings, “interactions” in fact among different readers who have the “unique capacities to discern, to interpret, and to reflect… evolving a dynamic discourse in which the text provokes the most imaginative ideas of our time.”

The Film Desk has committed itself to the discussion of film in the various arenas of academe and media, with the hope of fostering an alternative and emergent articulation of film critical practice, even within the severely debilitating culture of “awards.”