Journalism, Cinema, and the Fight for Audience Attention
Program Runtime: Approximately 90 minutes
Moderator: Sanjay Singh
Panelists: Valerie Complex, Xero Gravity
What happens to film culture when fewer people are reading reviews, following traditional entertainment journalism, or even encountering movies through the same shared media channels?
WHO STILL PAYS ATTENTION? brings together journalists, critics, filmmakers and cultural voices for a candid conversation about the changing relationship between cinema, criticism, media and audiences.
The discussion will look beyond the usual explanations for the decline of traditional entertainment journalism and ask larger questions about how people discover culture today. How have social media, video-first platforms, algorithms, shortened attention spans, changing consumer habits and the fragmentation of audiences changed the role of the critic? What happens when filmmakers increasingly have to become their own publishers, marketers and media outlets? And if traditional systems of cultural discovery are weakening, what needs to take their place?
The panel will also explore the future of film journalism, the value of criticism in an increasingly personality-driven media environment, the relationship between journalists and independent filmmakers, and how stronger creative communities might rebuild some of the cultural infrastructure that has been lost.
Rather than treating the future of film journalism as simply an industry problem, the conversation asks a broader question: who still pays attention, why do they pay attention, and how do we build a culture worth paying attention to?
PARTICIPANTS
Sanjay Singh - Moderator
Sanjay Singh is a filmmaker, producer and founder of Nukhu, and President of the Nukhu Foundation. His work spans independent filmmaking, commercial production, exhibition, streaming and filmmaker development. Through Nukhu and Nukhufest, he has spent more than a decade exploring how independent filmmakers can build audiences, retain ownership and create sustainable paths for their work outside traditional distribution systems.
Valerie Complex
Valerie Complex is a journalist, film critic, screenwriter and filmmaker whose writing career spans more than a decade. Her work has appeared in publications including Deadline, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Collider, Condé Nast and Harper's Bazaar. A Black queer woman and military veteran, Complex brings a perspective shaped by film journalism, fandom, representation and an ongoing transition from writing about cinema to creating it.
Xero Gravity
Xero Gravity is a writer, critic, and community architect focused on diversity and inclusion in horror, sci-fi, and dark fantasy. Known as THEE Scary Movie Sista, she curates and hosts fundraisers, screenings, events, and club nights across the country. Her work also spans film criticism, podcasts, livestreams, and cultural commentary, bringing a distinct perspective to genre storytelling, fandom, representation, and the communities that form around cinema.
WATCH + VOTE
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This ticket provides admission for one guest to this Nukhufest 2026 program block.
View the full Nukhufest schedule, participating films, program descriptions, runtimes, and event details at https://www.nukhufoundation.org/calendar.
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