AWFJ Members A to L

This current roster of the distinguished members of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists is presented in alphabetical order, with convenient links to each member’s AWFJ archive.

To connect to an individual member’s AWFJ archive click on her name in red. You may also access her index of articles by typing her name in Search.

ERICA ABEEL

Erica Abeel writes film features and reviews for indieWIRE.com, Filmmaker Magazine, IFC.com, and Film Journal. She is the author of five books, including the novel, Women Like Us, which was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. Her newest novel, Conscience Point, was published in fall 2008.

BETH ACCOMANDO

Beth Accomando is host of KPBS Cinema Junkie Podcast and author of the blog Cinema Junkie. She also programs film series and events as part of Film Geeks SD at venues such as Museum of Photographic Arts and Digital Gym Cinema. She loves horror, zombies, kaiju and film noir.

THELMA ADAMS

Thelma Adams is a prominent critic, bestselling author of The Last Woman Standing, Bittersweet Brooklyn and Playdate, co-producer of Feud: Bette and Joan, and an outspoken advocate for women’s voices in Hollywood. A two-time Chair of the New York Film Critics Circle, current AARP.org film critic and GoldDerby.com contributor, her work spans essays, celebrity profiles and reviews for many of the industry’s leading publications from the New York Times to Variety.

SARAH KNIGHT ADAMSON

Sarah Knight Adamson has been the film and television critic for the internationally syndicated radio show Hollywood 360 for 15 years. Her reviews are heard live weekly on over 100+ radio stations coast to coast. Her reviews, interviews, film jury work, and event coverage are on her website: SarahsBackstagePass.com. She is a freelance writer for RogerEbert.com, a critic for Rotten Tomatoes, and a past Academy Award press member.
 
 
ULKAR ALAKBAROVA

Ulkar Alakbarova has been writing about movies since childhood. She loves black-and-white cinema. She worked as an independent film journalist in Azerbaijan. Starting in 2013, she has worked as a Toronto-based film critic/interviewer. She is a founder of www.moviemovesme.com and regularly covers major film festivals, such as TIFF, Fantasia Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, New York Film Festival, Hot Docs and Sundance.

PEG ALOI

Peg Aloi is a currently a freelance film and TV critic based in Boston. She was a freelance film critic for the Boston Phoenix from 1997-2013. She’s taught film and media studies at Emerson College and SUNY New Paltz. She’s organized conferences, edited scholarly anthologies, and been a script consultant on feature films.

JOAN AMENN

Joan Amenn is a journalist from the Pacific Northwest. She’s Co-Editor of InTheirOwnLeague.com and contributor to FIlmotomy.com, and a member of GALECA and SIFF. She’s the mother of four and a master of sarcasm.

SANDIE ANGULO CHEN

Sandie Angulo Chen is a feature writer, film critic, and book reviewer. She’s written about movies and pop culture since high school, contributing to outlets like Common Sense Media, The Washington Post, EW, Moviefone, and Variety. She lives outside Washington D.C. with her husband and their three young cinephiles.
 
 
 
MARINA ANTUNES

Marina Antunes has been writing and discussing film for over 20 years. In 2008 she joined Quiet Earth, becoming Editor-In-Chief in 2014 until the site’s closure in 2023. She’s produced and hosted podcasts including Before the Dawn, a long-running podcast on the Twilight franchise, Girls on Pop, a podcast on film and popular entertainment from women’s perspective and After the Credits, a bi-weekly film podcast with 300+ episodes. She’s a member of the Online Film Critics Society, the Visual Effects Society and ACM SIGGRAPH.

 
EMMA BADAME

Emma Badame Aside from garnering for herself a one-time Jeopardy win, Toronto-based Emma Badame has parlayed her passion for film into a life-long career. Her work has been featured on Billboard.com, eTalk, The Mary Sue, Cineplex, CTV’s PopLife, The Canadian Press and more. She is currently the Managing Editor of That Shelf and is also a programmer with the Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival.
 
 
MARGARET BARTON-FUMO

Margaret Barton-Fumo has contributed to Film Comment since 2006. Her monthly online column, “Deep Cuts,” focused on the intersection of film and music. She has interviewed such directors, actors, and musicians as Brian De Palma, James Gray, Harry Dean Stanton, and Paul Williams, and has additionally contributed to Senses of Cinema and Stop Smiling. She is the editor of Paul Verhoeven: Interviews, published by the University Press of Mississippi.

 
NIKKI BAUGHAN

Nikki Baughan   is based in London, and is the Reviews Editor of Screen International.. Formerly editor of Film Review and movieScope magazines, Nikki has also contributed to various print and online publications, including BFI, Sight & Sound, Empire and The List

 
ELISABETTA BIANCHINI

Elisabetta Bianchini is a Toronto-based journalist and is currently a senior editor with Yahoo Canada, with a focus on entertainment content, including TV and film reviews, interviews and features. She is also a member of the Critics Choice Association.
 

BETSY BOZDECH

Betsy Bozdech is the Executive Editor of Common Sense, for which she also reviews films. Her film reviews and commentaries also appear on Reel.com and Hollywood.com.

LAUREN BRADSHAW

Lauren Bradshaw Lauren Bradshaw is a film critic in the Washington, DC area. Her reviews are featured on Fangirl Freakout, The Tidewater News, The Farmville Herald, and several other publications. Lauren is a pop culture enthusiast and has been known to get way too emotionally invested in movies and television shows.

LIZ BRAUN

Liz Braun  Liz Braun has contributed entertainment stories in print and on radio and TV in Canada for 30 years. She served as film critic for the Toronto Sun and for the Postmedia chain of newspapers.

T. J. CALLAHAN

T. J. Callahan is resident film critic for The Sam Malone Show on AM 1070 in Houston. Since 2009, she’s critiqued films on KRMD (Shreveport), KILT (Houston), WCKT (Sarasota), The Liberty Eagle Radio Network and Radio Brave. She’s a proud member of Critics Choice Association, Houston Film Critics Society and a board member and 2017 inductee of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.

 
 
DIANE CARSON

Diane Carson, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, has reviewed films for over 35 years and has covered Cannes, Telluride, Toronto, Palm Springs, True/False, New York, and Sundance festivals. She writes for St. Louis Arts Scene in addition to AWFJ. Two of her articles on Buster Keaton were published in 2025’s Journal of Film and Video. A past president of the University Film and Video Association, she taught film studies and production at St. Louis Community College and Webster University. One of the founders of the St. Louis International Film Festival, she serves on juries, presents at cinema conferences, and writes film essays for academic journals.

 
CLOTILDE CHINNICI

Clotilde Chinnici‘s love for film began at a very young age with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first film she ever saw. Her passion for films truly sparked with Star Wars and Harry Potter. After graduating with a BA in Film, Clotilde started working in film production and entertainment journalism. Although most of her time is occupied by watching films, writing and talking about them to anyone who will listen, Clotilde enjoys reading and baking in her free time.
 

SARA CLEMENTS

Sara Clements is a Canadian film journalist. She has spent a decade writing for North American publications. She is also an editor for Next Best Picture. She enjoys tackling poignant themes of identity and resilience in her criticism, focusing on films that frame their narratives through a humanistic lens. Sara’s critique often involves empathetic scrutiny, and she incorporates cited research into her work whenever possible
 
CAROL CLING

Carol Cling served as the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s film critic for more than 30 years, reviewing movies and covering movie and TV production in Las Vegas, from Casino to CSI. An honors graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she also has studied film at the American Film Institute and the BBC.

LESLIE COMBEMALE

Leslie Combemale contributes frequently to MPA’s TheCredits.org, where she interviews filmmakers above and below the line, focusing on women and diverse voices. She is Senior Contributor at AWFJ.org. For 12 years, she was producer and moderator of the influential “Women Rocking Hollywood” panel at San Diego Comic-Con. She is a renowned cinema art expert and her film art gallery, ArtInsights has celebrated cinema art and artists for 35 years.
 
LINDA COOK

Linda Cook earned bachelor degrees in English and elementary education from Monmouth (Illinois) College, She’s a reporter and film critic at the Quad-City Times, and reviews films for NBC affiliate KWQC. She earned a master of criminal justice degree at St. Ambrose University, Davenport, and has been an instructor there for many years.

 
 
GIULIA D’AGNOLO VALLAN

Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, film journalist and curator, is US Programmer for Venice Film Festival. She writes for “il manifesto”, Ciak, Marie Claire and L’Uomo Vogue, and Cahiers du Cinema and Film Comment. She wrote monographs on Eastwood, Carpenter, Milius, Altman and other directors. Her retrospectives have been in Italian festivals, Film Forum, Museum of Moving Image, American Cinematheque, Cinématheque Française and Brisbane and Melbourne Film Festivals.

 
MARCY DERMANSKY

Marcy Dermansky is the award-winning author of the novels Bad Marie and Twins. She has written reviews and feature articles about film for About.com, Focus Features, and Flavorpill. Her nonfiction has been published in the best-selling anthology in Goodbye To All: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York.

CHAZ EBERT

Chaz Ebert is CEO and President of The Ebert Company Ltd, and of Ebert Digital LLC, and Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of RogerEbert.com. She produces television, movies and plays at Ebert Productions. Co-Founded the Ebertfest Film Festival with Roger Ebert. Co-founded The Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation with the mission of increasing opportunities for Women, Children and People of Color. She is the author of IT’S TIME TO GIVE A FECK; Elevating Humanity through FORGIVENESS, EMPATHY, COMPASSION and KINDNESS.

 
LAURA EMERICK

Laura Emerick is the digital content editor for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Formerly she was the arts editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, where she served as the primary editor of film critic Roger Ebert. She is a graduate of Indiana University with a B.A. in journalism and environmental Science. Among her passions are opera and Latin music, which she covers as a freelance writer. Her all-time favorite movie is “Vertigo” (1958), with “The Leopard” (1963) and “The Sweet Smell of Success” (1957) following close behind.

CYNTHIA FUCHS

Cynthia Fuchs is Film and TV reviews editor at PopMatters.com and director of Film & Media Studies and Associate Professor of English, Film & Video Studies, African and African American Studies, Sport & American Culture, and Women and Gender Studies at George Mason University.

KAREN GORDON

Karen Gordon is a film critic, a founding writer at original-cin.ca, broadcaster, story editor/narration writer for lifestyle/documentary tv, IMAX, and award show scripts. She has ghost written three best selling cookbooks with celebrity chef David Rocco. Karen also works in strategic communications and branding, and is a media trainer and coach. She is on the board of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto, where she advises on media and building engagement.

 
 
BARBARA GOSLAWSKI

Barbara Goslawski is co-host/co-producer of Frameline. As a freelance writer and film critic for the past 30 years, she has contributed to numerous dailies and magazines including The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Film Encyclopedia, Box Office Magazine, as well as to several books. A veteran of the Canadian film industry, Barbara has worked in many key areas including distribution and programming, and has also served on various festival juries

SUSAN GRANGER

Susan Granger was a child actress in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien and Lassie. She studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. Her reviews and celebrity interviews appear in REDBOOK, PLAYBOY, FAMILY CIRCLE, COSMOPOLITAN, WORKING WOMAN, NY TIMES and worldwide through SSG Syndicate.

 
JENNIFER GREEN

Jennifer Green is a regular contributor to Common Sense Media, The Hollywood Reporter, Provoked Magazine and SUCCESS. She served as a correspondent in Spain for years and has written extensively about Spanish film. She launched the newspaper column and website Films from Afar in 2014 to curate international films available for home streaming. She has served on film festival juries across Spain and North Africa. She is also a Fulbright Scholar who teaches journalism and film to university students.

 
ROXANA HADADI

Roxana Hadadi is a TV critic at Vulture/New York magazine who also writes about film and pop culture. Her bylines have appeared at Criterion, RogerEbert.com, The A.V. Club, GQ, The LA Times, NPR, and various other outlets. She is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Top Critic and is also a member of the Critics Choice Association, Online Film Critics Society, Television Critics Association, and the Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association.

 
 
JENNY HALPER

Jenny Halper is EVP, Head of Creative at Maven Screen Media, where her credits include Eleanor the Great, American Honey, The Kindergarten Teacher, and many others. She has written for many places including the Boston Phoenix, AM New York, and AWFJ.org. She is a founding member of AWFJ.
 
 
 
BETH HANNA

Beth Hanna is a cinephile and film writer living in Los Angeles, with a master’s degree in cinema and media studies from UCLA, and a bachelor’s degree in film studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She’s been an associate programmer for AFI FESTs, and oversaw thescreen education program, She programmed the American Cinematheque’s Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Luis Buñuel retrospectives in 2012.

 
ALEXANDRA HELLER-NICHOLAS

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas is a multi-award-winning film critic and author who has published nine books on cult, horror and exploitation cinema with an emphasis on gender politics, including the 2020 book ‘1000 Women in Horror, 1898-2018’ which was included on Esquire Magazine’s list of the best 125 books written about Hollywood. Alexandra is a contributing editor at Film International, a columnist at Fangoria, an Adjunct Professor at Deakin University, and a member of the advisory board of the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies (LA, NYC, London).

 
LEBA HERTZ

Leba Hertz reviews and writes features for the San Francisco Chronicle, and is editor of the publication’s movies section, and is arts and entertainment editor for Ovations and Sunday and Daily Datebook.

ADRIAN HORTON

Adrian Horton Adrian Horton is an arts critic for the Guardian US, where she has published film, TV and occasional theater reviews since 2019. Prior to her time at the Guardian, she worked as a local reporter and editor in Northwest Montana. She is from Cincinnati, Ohio and lives in Brooklyn.

KAT HUGHES

Kat Hughes is a freelance journalist, moderator and essayist specialising in horror and action cinema, and can regularly be found covering genre festivals. The deputy editor for THN, her writing credits also include JustWatch, Film Stories, and Dread Central. Kat also contributes to releases from Second Sight Films, Arrow Films and Vinegar Syndrome. When not writing, she hosts micro podcast Movies with Mummy alongside her seven-year-old daughter.
 
 

WENDY IDE

Wendy Ide is a London-based film critic for both the consumer press (The Observer and The Guardian) and the trade press (Screen International). She writes features and interviews and she regularly hosts panels and live events. Wendy is a regular on the film festival circuit and has previously consulted on festival programming for the London Film Festival and Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

 
 
ESTHER IVEREM

Esther Iverem is a writer, visual artist, and independent journalist. She produces and hosts “On the Ground: Voices of Resistance from the Nation’s Capital,” on Pacifica Radio. She’s written four books, including WE GOTTTA HAVE IT: TWENTY YEARS OF SEEING BLACK AT THE MOVIES. She’s a former staff writer for The Washington Post, New York Newsday and The New York Times, and received a National Arts Journalism Fellowship at Columbia University, and three fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, among other honors.

 
CORTLAND JACOBY

Cortland Jacoby is a critic and writer based in the DC area. Her work can be seen on Punch Drunk Critics, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Ranker, and Game Rant. While she writes a lot of reviews, she loves to conduct interviews and attend film festivals. She is also a member of the Washington Area Film Critics Association.
 
 
 
 
CHRISTINA JEURLING BIRRO

Christina Jeurling Birro is a freelance journalist, critic, and TV reporter. She hosts the podcast Pop Culture Confidential, featuring conversations with leading film and TV creators and stars alongside reviews and festival coverage. She appears weekly on Swedish television as a film and TV industry critic and commentator. A frequent festival and event moderator, she draws on 15 years of experience producing TV, including talk shows, current affairs, and long-form interviews. Christina was born in the U.S. and divides her work between the U.S. and Scandinavia.

 
MARYANN JOHANSON

MaryAnn Johanson freelances on film, TV, DVD, and pop culture, originally from NYC, now London-based . Her FlickFilosopher.com, which debuted in 1997, is among the most popular, respected, and longest-running movie-related Internet sites. She reviews films for US alt-weekly newspapers. She’s a member of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (Webbys), and Online Film Critics Society. She’s been a cultural commentator on BBC Radio, LBC-London, and US radio programs, and juried at the first Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Festival at the 2003 I-Con. She is the author of The Totally Geeky Guide to The Princess Bride, and is an award-winning screenwriter.

 
KIMBERLEY JONES

Kimberley Jones is a native of North Carolina and a graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas. She is editor-in-chief of The Austin Chronicle, a progressive weekly newspaper in Austin, Texas. She is a longtime film critic and member of the Austin Film Critics Association.