Founded in 1975, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is a professional organization of Los Angeles-based, professional film critics working in the Los Angeles print and electronic media. Each December, LAFCA members vote on the year’s Achievement Awards, honoring screen excellence on both sides of the camera. Plaques of recognition are presented to winners during LAFCA’s annual awards ceremony, held in mid-January. Aside from honoring each year’s outstanding cinematic achievements, LAFCA has also made it a point to look back and pay tribute to distinguished industry veterans with its annual Career Achievement Award (which is announced in October), as well as to look forward by spotlighting fresh, promising talent with its annual New Generation Award. But LAFCA is not just about handing out awards. Over the past three decades, LAFCA has sponsored and hosted numerous film panels and events and donated funds to various Los Angeles film organizations, especially where film preservation was concerned. LAFCA members have also collectively been vocal about taking up causes they’ve felt passionate about, from drafting formal protests against censorship and colorization to lending their support to controversial films.