BFI Film Academy: Writing Reviews

SHELBY COOKE is a film critic and curator, specialising in British culture and national identity on screen. She writes interdisciplinary, often combining her interests in other areas (such as performance art, theatre, music and internet culture) with cinema and other forms of visual media.

She has edited and contributed to four film criticism anthologies — SCREEN DREAMS (2021), Eating the Screen (2022), Queer Projections (2023) and Screen Britain (2024). She has written for various online and print publications including Little White Lies, Film Daze, the Indiependent and more. In addition to her writing, Shelby has also worked with the British Film Institute, the BBC, the Independent Cinema Office and more to lecture on and educate about film and media. She has been accredited press at the Toronto International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, BFI Flare, Raindance and more, as well as working as a festival judge.

Shelby is the current Head Curator and Editor-in-Chief of Film East, a multi-award-winning global film organisation that aims to educate and inspire the next generation of film enthusiasts by offering unique opportunities to connect through thought-provoking cinema. Her work for the group has been recognised around the world and has been nominated for six British Film Society Awards, winning Best Marketing and Publicity at the 2022 ceremony. Film East also won the ‘Together’ Award at the 2023 BBC Make a Difference Awards.

Shelby is also a member of the Film Criticism Association UK.