Monica Castillo is a writer, critic, and programmer based in New York City. She is the film critic for The A.V. Club. Her programming has screened at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, Boston Underground Film Festival, Jacob Burns Film Center, and the Paley Center for Media. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, NBC News, NPR, RogerEbert.com, Remezcla, Elle Magazine, The Guardian, The Wrap, Vanity Fair, Mashable, Marie Claire, Vulture, Variety,  Polygon, CherryPicks, The Village Voice, Cosmopolitan, and The Boston Globe among others. She served two terms as the New York chapter president and one term as Region 2 Director of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Monica has also spoken at or moderated events at South by Southwest, Sundance Film Festival, NAHJ conference, and several film festivals around the country; co-founded the Boston Online Film Critics Association, and volunteered as a mentor in the Online News Association student newsroom.

Monica completed her M.A. in Specialized Journalism – Arts at the University of Southern California as the school’s first film critic fellow and her B.A. in Sociology at Boston University. She can usually be found online talking about the film she just watched and sharing old movie clips.

Follow Monica on Bluesky, Instagram and LinkedIn. 

Selected works:
Reviews at RogerEbert.com
“Knives Out,” New York Times
Ana Mendieta obituary, New York Times
“Neon” interview, Los Angeles Times
“Killers of the Flower Moon,” NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour
Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings, Colorado Public Radio
Raoul Peck interview, Capital & Main
Angel Manuel Soto interview, Mashable