Review 500 Competition

Review 500
  • Please note: The Review 500 Competition has replaced our previous Review of the Week competition. We'll have a brand new Review 500 page coming in the not-too-distant future.

Our brand new Review 500 competition combines film and education to develop literacy, boost attainment and improve critical skills in young people.

Writing critical reviews of films is a fantastic means of improving young people's writing skills, freeing them to flex their literacy muscles in a way that's fun and focuses on creativity rather than perfecting spelling and punctuation, ultimately helping young people to develop a unique voice of their own.

How to Enter

  • Please note: This competition is only available to Into Film Club members.

Review 500 gives young people the chance to get creative and adds a new dimension to their film watching. Once they've watched a film, encourage your club members to log in and post a review on the relevant film page on the Into Film website. To be eligible for Review 500, reviews should be no longer than 500 words, and all eligible submissions will be judged by the Into Film Team.

A winning review will be chosen every month, with the winner receiving a £20 Amazon voucher. Nine runners-up will each receive a £10 Amazon voucher, and all the chosen winners will receive a certificate and be entered into a grand draw for a special annual prize.

What's more, each winner will have their entry uploaded onto IMDb, the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie content, where their review will sit alongside professional film critics from around the world.

We welcome reviews in either English or Welsh language. Check out our Welsh-medium review writing guides. / Cofiwch bod modd adolygu yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg a bod modd defnyddio'r anoddau adolygu sydd ar gael yma.

If you have any questions regarding Review 500, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@intofilm.org.

What makes a winning review?

Hearing an explanation of the plot is one thing, but what we'd really like to hear is why you liked the film. How did the film make you feel? What was good about it, what was bad? How would you have improved the film?

Watch the video below to hear Radio One film critic Ali Plumb's top five tips on writing effective reviews.

If you want to delve deeper into review writing with your Into Film Club or in the classroom, our new Review Writing page collects all of our resources and helpful News and Views articles to help you support young people in developing their literacy skills through review writing.

Review 500 Winners

Each week we carefully select up to ten winning reviews from club members across the UK to be featured on the Review 500 winners page. Browse the winners' page to read the cream of the crop!

Our latest featured winning review is of Wonder written by Evie, aged 14.

When watching this film i found it clever how they split the film into the perspectives of all the different characters. So you don't just get one view of the story, you see what the other characters think.

Read the rest of Evie's winning review below...