Sarah Knight Adamson Recommendation 2024 Toronto Film Festival:
Sarah Knight Adamson’s career as a film critic, radio personality and entertainment journalist began in 2007 by writing film articles for a Chicago suburban magazine—on April 2, 2009 her radio segment on WINDAM 560 in Chicago was launched. Since that time, she’s written for magazines, online and worked as the Regional Arts and Entertainment columnist for the TribLocal newspaper, the Chicago Tribune subsidiary. Today, as a free-lance writer she is very honored to have her articles appear on RogerEbert.com and to have had the pleasure of interviewing Ebert in 2011. Sarah’s an approved critic for Rotten Tomatoes; you can find her reviews for all three of her press outlets here: rottentomatoes.com/critics/sarah-k-adamson
Sarah K. Adamson is the film and television critic for the internationally syndicated radio show Hollywood 360. The 5-hour-per-week radio series is heard on 100+ radio stations coast to coast, including many of the largest affiliates in the nation. It is also a podcast globally and is listened to in 168 countries on American Forces Radio. TV Guide voted Hollywood 360 America’s #1 nostalgia radio series. Each week, Sarah’s weekly current film and TV segment is heard by millions of listeners.
A few of the larger stations include WINDAM560-Chicago, KRLA-Los Angeles, WNYM-New York, WWRC-Washington DC, WGKA-Atlanta, WWTC-Minneapolis, WGUL-Tampa, WLSS-Sarasota, and KNUS-Denver. Her recent radio podcasts are here: Hollywood 360 Radio Podcasts.
Sarah’s been a member of the Critics Choice Awards in Los Angeles since 2014 and covered the Film Awards in 2015 for Roger Ebert .com; she reports on the event annually, attending in LA.
Her interests are serving as a judge on film juries, film Q&A’s with talent, Red Carpet and talent interviews, film panel participation and attending Film Festivals. Her film jury experience includes the International 48 Hour Film Project, Chicago-2013, the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival-2013, 2019, 2020 the Mendocino Film Festival-2019, the Memphis Film Prize-2019, Indy Short International Film Festival, Indianapolis, IN-2020, No Malice Film Contest-2021, Film Fest 919 (Chapel Hill, NC) Advisory Board 2019-present. Sarah attends and promotes major Film Festivals, such as Cannes, Chicago International Film Festival, Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, Sundance, SXSW, Telluride, Toronto International Film Festival, Tribeca, and Whistler Film Festival; she’s also attended onsite screenings, writing or broadcasting reviews and interviews with talent.
Panel participation comprises the Chicago Public Library; ‘anti-heroes’ in comic books focusing on Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” and she recently served as a panel member of ‘Critical Mass: The Future of Film Criticism’ in April 2018 at the University of IL, at the Ebertfest Film Festival, and “How Do I Build My Brand (and Career) As A Filmmaker?” Memphis Film Prize 2019.
Sarah’s also taught a film criticism class in Chicago at Facets Cinémathèque for children ages 7-17. Her lengthy career (20 years) as a classroom teacher of gifted literature is a perfect match in critiquing children and family films. Her undergraduate degree includes a double major in Preschool and Elementary through Jr. High endorsement. Her coursework contains numerous Child Psychology and Child Development classes. She holds a Master’s Degree in Reading from Northern Illinois University.
As a member of both The Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Film and TV Association, she attends the annual Critics Choice Awards ceremony in LA.
Serving on the Executive Board for Variety Children’s Charity of Illinois; the past ten years, (2009-2019) Sarah has hosted the Variety IL fundraising event, the live telecast of the Academy Awards at a local theater. The garnered funds help buy adaptive bicycles and wheelchairs for special needs children.
In 2021, Sarah’s dream of becoming an accredited member of the Academy Awards Press was realized.
Meet Kathryn Rachford Our New Intern:
Kathryn Rachford, is a junior studying Computer Engineering with a minor in Mathematics at the University of Alabama, she is originally from the Chicago suburbs. Her plan is to return to Chicago and make her mark in the live music industry after graduation. Currently, she is the Director of Production at her college radio station and engages in stagehand work during the summers. Her passion for creative media, particularly the role of music and sound in films, is steadfast. In her free time, she enjoys playing the guitar or piano, baking gluten-free treats, and attending concerts. At Sarah’s Backstage Pass, Kathryn maintains the Instagram account, contributes her own written reviews, and records radio reviews heard on Hollywood 360 Radio Network. The radio network is syndicated on WINDam560, and over 100 major radio stations: WINDAM560-Chicago, KRLA-Los Angeles, WNYM-New York, WWRC-Washington DC, WGKA-Atlanta, WWTC-Minneapolis, WGUL-Tampa, WLSS-Sarasota, and KNUS-Denver. Her recent radio podcasts are here: Hollywood 360 Radio Podcasts. She is committed to enhancing her writing, critiquing, and radio skills, further solidifying her influence in the industry.
As a graduate from the University of Iowa, Alexi strives to use her Journalism/Mass Communication major, Psychology major, and Art minor to make a lasting impact in the Marketing/Advertising world. She lives in the Chicago area but enjoys traveling to LA and NYC whenever she gets a chance. Alexi has always had a strong passion for celebrities and all things Hollywood.
She is an old soul who has met over 200 celebrities; with Joan Rivers and Betty White as her favorites.
Since joining Sarah’s Backstage Pass in 2013, Alexi has interviewed actors, live-tweeted award shows, attended Red Carpet events and performed background research on various films. Her dream is to attend the Academy Awards one day. Alexi is shown here with Rachel Brosnahan on the Red Carpet after she completed an interview with her in October of 2018.