Pitch Us

Rough Cut is currently not accepting pitches for new pieces.

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Rough Cut accepts pitches for reviews, features, essays, interviews, and creative responses (including poems and video essays) to films. Before you pitch, make sure you read both this and our About page to familiarise yourself with our site and the kinds of work we’re interested in. We love film writing that is interesting in form as well as content, so feel free to pitch us something unique!

We welcome anyone to pitch to us, particularly writers who consider themselves emerging. At Rough Cut, we strive to give voice to those lacking a platform to express their ideas, and so especially encourage pitches from PoC, Indigenous people, women, people living with a disability, non-binary, and queer critics.

Please note that Rough Cut is entirely run by volunteers. For this reason, we are unfortunately not in a position to pay our writers. However, we endeavour to provide a supportive and thorough editorial process to help workshop and refine your piece should your pitch be accepted.

If you’re interested, please email roughcuteditorial@gmail.com with the subject heading ‘PITCH:_______’.

In your pitch, please include:

  • What you want to talk or write about, and why
  • The form or manner you wish express it in e.g. review, feature, video essay
  • Your areas of interest/expertise
  • Details of previous writing experience (if any) and 1-2 writing samples
  • A proposed filing date for your draft, should your pitch be accepted

Rough Cut focuses on Australian releases, festivals, and retrospectives, as well as films available on streaming sites (e.g. Netflix, Stan, SBS On Demand), so where possible, please pitch on films that will be readily accessible to the Australian public at the proposed time of publication. We will also consider pitches on books about cinema, by or about filmmakers, performers, or other film practitioners.

Please note that because Rough Cut is made up of a very small, passionate team, we are generally unable to respond to or provide feedback on unsuccessful pitches. It is our aim to respond to successful pitches within two weeks.

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with us at roughcuteditorial@gmail.com.