Special EventFree & open · Est. 2015

KWFF Critics ChatThe CriticsChat

Every November, a handful of the country's best film writers pull up stools in a Key West saloon, order coffee, and talk honestly about the year in movies with whoever walks in. No stage, no microphone stands — just people arguing about films they love. Free since 2015.

Edition 01 / 05
2025

CRITICS PANEL

November 14, 2025 · 11:00 am - 1:00 pm · Hanks Hair of the Dog Saloon · Free

As Oscar season approaches and year-end top 10 lists are compiled, it’s once again time for the annual KWFF critics panel. Joining the conversation this year are guest pundits Addie Morfoot of Variety, David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter and Bilge Ebiri of Vulture.com/New York magazine. Each session dishes up lively discourse over the best and worst of the year’s cinematic output, notes on the awards race and personal favorites.

Addie Morfoot · VarietyDavid Rooney · The Hollywood ReporterBilge Ebiri · Vulture / New York magazine
Film critics seated around a table mid-conversation with the audience close by
Mid-argument, elbows on the table
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Editions
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Critics hosted
Free
Pull up a stool · no pass needed
01 · The Tradition

Just people talking about movies

Neighbors and festival regulars talking together at a Key West Film Festival gathering
01

Pull up a stool

No ticket, no pass, no assigned seats. Regulars show up half an hour early, order a coffee, and save a chair for the neighbor they met here last November.

Film critics seated around a table mid-conversation with the audience close by
02

Honest, not polished

Top-ten lists still being argued over, the films that got overrated, the one nobody saw, and the awards race as it actually looks before the campaigns take over.

Guests and filmmakers greeting each other at a Key West Film Festival event
03

In a saloon, not a lecture hall

Recent chats have run at Hank's Hair of the Dog Saloon; past years used Williams Hall, Viva Saloon and Rams Head Southernmost. Opinions mandatory, ties discouraged.

VarietyThe Hollywood ReporterRolling StoneTimeVulture / New YorkSlateIndieWireLos Angeles TimesTime Out New YorkThe Key West Citizen
02 · The Record

Every chat, every critic

Search by topic, critic or outlet, or filter by year — each card carries the original event details, venue, and who was at the table.

Topics5 of 5 editions
CRITICS PANEL 2025 poster
2025November 14, 2025 · 11:00 am - 1:00 pmHanks Hair of the Dog SaloonFree

CRITICS PANEL

As Oscar season approaches and year-end top 10 lists are compiled, it’s once again time for the annual KWFF critics panel. Joining the conversation this year are guest pundits Addie Morfoot of Variety, David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter and Bilge Ebiri of Vulture.com/New York magazine. Each session dishes up lively discourse over the best and worst of the year’s cinematic output, notes on the awards race and personal favorites.

At the table
  • Addie Morfoot
    Variety
  • David Rooney
    The Hollywood Reporter
  • Bilge Ebiri
    Vulture / New York magazine
10th Annual Critics Panel 2024 poster
2024November 15, 2024 · 10:30 amHanks Hair of the Dog Saloon

10th Annual Critics Panel

There’s no Key West Film Festival without the annual Critics’ Panel, in which leading film critics from across the US get together to talk about the year in movies – surprises, failures, trends and, of course, awards season picks, and just about anything else that springs from this collection of bright, inquisitive minds. Joining this year’s panel are: Stephanie Zacharek ( Time), Lovia Gyarkye ( The Hollywood Reporter), David Rooney ( The Hollywood Reporter), David Fear ( Rolling Stone) and Shirrel Rhoades ( The Key West Citizen).

At the table
  • Stephanie Zacharek
    Time
  • Lovia Gyarkye
    The Hollywood Reporter
  • David Rooney
    The Hollywood Reporter
  • David Fear
    Rolling Stone
  • Shirrel Rhoades
    The Key West Citizen
KWFF Critics Panel 2023 poster
2023November 17, 2023 · 12:00 pm - 1:00 pmWilliams Hall

KWFF Critics Panel

Join us as top film critics take a deep dive into the seismic changes in the industry this year. Key West Citizen’s Shirrel Rhoades will moderate this panel featuring David Rooney ( The Hollywood Reporter), Sam Adams ( Slate) and David Fear ( Rolling Stone).

No tickets required. Seating is first come, first served.

At the table
  • Shirrel Rhoades
    Key West Citizen · moderator
  • David Rooney
    The Hollywood Reporter
  • Sam Adams
    Slate
  • David Fear
    Rolling Stone
7th Annual Critics Panel 2021 poster
2021November 20, 2021 · 12:00 pmViva SaloonFree

7th Annual Critics Panel

Get insights on the best films of the year, early predictions of the Oscars, and thoughts on the general state of film criticism in a continually changing media landscape.

CRITICS CHAT 2020 poster
2020November 21, 2020 · 3:00 pmRams Head SouthernmostFree

CRITICS CHAT

Get insights on the best films of the year, early predictions of the Oscars, and thoughts on the general state of film criticism in a continually changing media landscape.

At the table
  • Carlos Aguilar

    Originally from Mexico City, Carlos Aguilar was chosen as one of 6 young film critics to partake in the first Roger Ebert Fellowship organized by RogerEbert.com, the Sundance Institute and Indiewire in 2014. Since, Aguilar’s work has appeared in prestigious publications such as Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Variety, The Wrap, Indiewire, Vulture, RogerEbert.com, The A.V. Club, MovieMaker Magazine, Remezcla, Filmmaker Magazine, Slate, Polygon, among others. He is a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA).

  • Eric Kohn

    Eric Kohn is the New York–based executive editor and chief critic at IndieWire, where he has worked since 2007. In addition to overseeing operations for IndieWire’s New York film team, he reviews numerous films throughout the year, oversees festival strategy, and reports on the industry. Eric travels to film festivals around the globe, interviews filmmakers. and managed IndieWire’s network for professional film critics, the Criticwire Network. Prior to joining IndieWire, Eric contributed to the New York Times and other outlets. Eric has been attending KWFF since 2013, and eloped with his wife Liz at KWFF 2017!

  • Ruben Rosario

    A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Miami-based film critic Rubén Rosario writes for the online sites Miamiartzine and Hudak on Hollywood. Between 2010 and 2014, he penned a weekly film column for Miami SunPost, and his work has also been published in The Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, as well as the websites CineSportsTalk and The Spool. In 2018, he was invited to become a Tomatometer-approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes. He has been a panelist on WLRN’s South Florida Arts Beat and is currently a cyberjournalist for WSVN-TV.

  • Tomris Laffly

    Tomris Laffly is a freelance film writer and critic based in New York. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), she regularly contributes to Time Out New York, Variety and RogerEbert.com, and her byline has appeared in Indiewire, Vulture and The Wrap, among other outlets. She has a special interest in the awards season, costume design and women in film, covers various film festivals throughout the year including New York Film Festival, Sundance and Telluride and tweets from @TomiLaffly.

  • David Fear

    David Fear is a senior editor and critic at Rolling Stone, and the former film editor of Time Out NY. His work has been published in New York Times Magazine, Village Voice, Esquire, Spin, NY Daily News, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Moviemaker, Nashville Weekly and numerous other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, as all writers must. This is David’s 4th year attending the festival.

  • Joshua Rothkopf

    Joshua Rothkopf is a freelance critic and journalist. He is the former film editor of Time Out New York, where he reviewed movies weekly from 2004 to 2020. His writing has appeared in syndicated Time Out publications around the world, as well as in The New York Times, London’s The Observer, Sight & Sound, Empire and In These Times, where he was chief film critic from 1999 to 2003. Rothkopf is a member of the National Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Circle, the latter of which he chaired from 2012 to 2014.

  • Shirrel Rhoades

    Shirrel Rhoades is the film critic for the Adams Publishing Group, appearing more than a dozen newspapers throughout the south — including Key West Citizen. He is a former film critic with the Florida Times Union. He has been a movie columnist with such publications as Looking Back and Good Old Days. Rhoades is a former publisher of Marvel Comics, a group publisher with Scholastic, and senior vice president with Readers Digest. He lives in Key West. RSVP

03 · On Camera
3 recordings

Watch the critics chats

Recorded sessions from the festival archive. Captions are on by default — switch the CC track or language from the player controls.

Critics chat archive

CC · Auto-captions (toggle in player)

2019 Key West Film Festival Critics Panel

The full morning session: national critics on the year in movies, the awards race ahead and the films they are still arguing about.

Chapters

More sessions

Open on YouTube (full caption settings) ↗
04 · Companion Series

Coffee with the Critics

Critic-curated morning screenings — a single film chosen and introduced by a visiting critic.

2021 · Key West Theater

Coffee with the Critics: Limbo

A Syrian refugee kills time and ponders his fate as he waits on a remote Scottish island for his asylum to be granted.

05 · In the Room
Festival archive
Photo wall

Eleven years of faces

Real photographs of the writers, the regulars and the neighbors who fill the room every November — click any frame to enlarge.

7 photographs
06 · Attending
3 questions

Before you go

No. The Critics Chat has always been free with no ticket required. Seating is first come, first served, and the room typically fills 20–30 minutes before start.

The chat traditionally runs on the Friday or Saturday morning of the festival. The 2026 date, venue and panelist list are announced with the full program in October 2026 — Marquee subscribers hear first.

Yes — the back half of every session is audience Q&A, and it is the reason regulars come back. Bring your own top-ten list if you want an argument.