Get Erik to Telluride!
Film festivals aren’t cheap. They especially aren’t if you are a self-funded effort and don’t rely on a well-known outlet to pay for your travel costs. I started AwardsWatch in 2013 as a passion project but it’s transformed into a real job that I love. Unfortunately, the revenue-generating elements of that can be few and far between.
Attending film festivals – I’ve been lucky to go to Cannes, AFI and Toronto in the past – is the best way for me to bring content to my readers and followers, content they want and that I want to give them. Going to Telluride has been a goal of mine and going this year as accredited press is a dream. But it does come at a cost.
Because AwardsWatch is my focus day to day, all day, it’s impacted my family quite a bit and at times has even caused undue burden. I am hoping that I am part of a community that can help me finalize travel plans so that I may attend Telluride and give AW readers the content they deserve.
I am shooting for a goal of $1000 to cover travel costs. If this goal is met and passed, any extra will be used to cover server costs (also not cheap!) as AwardsWatch increases in visibility and to ensure that viewability is accessible fast and immediately.
Here is the link to my GoFundMe. I thank you for your help and support from the bottom of my heart.
Erik
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- 2026 Cannes Film Festival Winners: Cristian Mingiu’s ‘Fjord’ Takes the Palme, Seventh Win in a Row for NEON - May 23, 2026
- Cannes 2026: Sandra Wollner’s ‘Everytime’ Wins Un Certain Regard Grand Prize - May 22, 2026
- ‘Coward’ Review: Belgian Soldiers Find Love in Lukas Dhont’s Hidden Romance Masterpiece [A] Cannes - May 21, 2026
Carrie Preston (‘Elsbeth’) on the Resurgence of Broadcast Television and What She Sees for Season 4 [VIDEO INTERVIEW] 
AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 345: Recapping the 79th Cannes Film Festival and Looking to the Awards Future 
‘The Beloved’ Review: Javier Bardem Makes a Meal Out of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Movie-Making Buffet [B] 
‘The Dreamed Adventure’ Review: Valeska Grisebach’s Observant Thriller Examines the Grey Zones of Morality [B+]