If you meet the eligibility requirements below and feel like a good fit with our membership, we would love to hear from you!

There is a form at the bottom this page for applying today. Once submitted, our Membership Coordinator will be in touch to let you know we’ve received your application, and share the next steps.

About the Application Process

Membership is always individual and at the discretion of the general membership.
Applications will be accepted from January 1st through April 30th.
Voting takes place at the Second quarterly meeting following receipt of your application.
Your application will be reviewed in confidence by the Governing Board, and if all eligibility requirements are met, it will be put before the general membership for consideration.
All applications, whether by application on one’s own or by invitation at the behest of an existing member, require 75% of the membership in favor in order to be accepted.

Eligibility Requirements

All members must publish or broadcast substantive reviews or critical commentary that:

Exhibit considerable depth and breadth of knowledge in cinema
Demonstrate professional-level quality
Cover newly-released films
Are presented/published on a regular basis
Involve considerations of artistic merit and entertainment value

Analysis from a specifically doctrinal or moral perspective does not qualify, nor do reviews of DVDs and/or videos.

Eligibility May Be Established in a Variety of Ways

1. Print

Reviews bear your by-line and appear in one or more accredited, professional publications with a total minimum circulation of 7,500. You have published a minimum of 40 individual reviews, and remain current by publishing, on average, at least 2 similar reviews of new films per month, or no less than one substantial longer piece of commentary or criticism that looks at film in a broader context.

Simple title listings with summaries do not qualify as reviews. If your publication prints reviews by more than one critic, you as an individual contributor must meet the above requirements in terms of by-lines, archived reviews, and remaining current.

2. Broadcast

You regularly broadcast on a radio and/or television outlet of substantial viewer- or listenership; such outlet(s) may be either commercial or public. You routinely broadcast critical commentary on recently-opened films in one or more segments each week.

A mere listing of weekly openings with incidental remarks does not qualify, nor does general entertainment reporting.

3. Internet

You publish reviews on a stand-alone site of professional quality devoted exclusively to film and DVD. The site must attract, on average, of at least 5,000 unique viewers per month. Blogs, sites hosted on free servers, and sites on which film reviews are secondary to the site’s main focus do not qualify.

You have a minimum of 75 archived reviews, and remain current by publishing, on average, at least 2 reviews of new films per month or no less than one substantial longer piece of commentary or criticism that looks at film in a broader context.

If a site hosts reviews by more than one critic, the site must meet the viewer requirement and you as a contributor must meet the above requirements in terms of archived reviews and continuing publication.

Meet More Than One?

If you fall into more than one of the three outlet categories, you must meet the requirements of your primary category (e.g. a print critic whose reviews also appear on the ancillary web site must meet the print requirements).

Once You’re a Member

Upon being accepted, you agree to:

Submit your annual dues of $50 in a timely fashion upon being notified of acceptance
Maintain your membership in Good Standing
Abide by the Ethics Guidelines at all times

Maintenance of Good Standing

To remain in good standing members must:

Submit their annual membership dues of $50 at or by the Q1 meeting each year
Remain current in their publishing as described in their category’s requirements above
Regularly update the Society web site
Vote in the Society’s end-of-year award balloting
Publicize the year end award results
Participate in any other pertinent Society business

Ethics Guidelines

The following ethics guidelines apply to all members of the Houston Film Critics Society. Any breach of these guidelines may be punishable by censure or expulsion.

HFCS members will at all times refrain from:

Deliberately plagiarizing of materials from other writers
Stealing goods or services from studio representatives, theaters, or other HFCS members
Using HFCS membership to demand special treatment (this includes demanding promotional items for personal use, demanding extra screening passes, or demanding free passes to films that have already opened)
Allowing gifts or favors to influence the content of reviews
Reviewing films you have not seen
Reviewing films in which you, or someone you know well, has a creative or financial interest without disclosing this information in the review
Threatening or harassing artists, studio representatives, theater owners/employees, or other HFCS members
Falsely claiming to be an official representative of the HFCS
Unauthorized recording of theatrical releases
Unauthorized copying and/or sale of studio screeners, including (but not limited to) internet distribution.

Apply Now

You may provide up to five links to samples of your work below. A sample can be a review, a substantive article, a broadcast clip, an archive page of your work at a particular site, and so on. Please always enter the actual, full web address in the link field. If you would like to submit a pdf or other such “highlight reel” attachment, we are happy to receive that, and it can be sent along after we’ve been in touch. If you have any questions, please feel free to include them in the message body. We look forward to hearing from you!