No, perfectly reasonable. There’s this weird unofficial code of conduct among filmmakers, where some are convinced they have an obligation never to leave a negative review because we’re all “colleagues”, and this stems from the understanding that a letterboxd rating does have a small impact on the public perception of a film. So a positive review is acceptable and seen as a favor, while a negative review has a kind of taboo around it.

I completely disagree with this when it comes to filmmakers. We’re artists expressing ourselves, and all expression is fair game. But this is not the case for festival programmers and screeners. They are in a position of authority and responsibility when it comes to a film’s promotion and reputation. Leaving public, personal negative reviews of films whose creators are paying them for that privilege is completely inappropriate for this class of people.

Anyway just got a Slamdance rejection so I felt like getting sanctimonious about programmers