Oscars Talk: Film Critics to Gather at The Lindsay; Cinephiles Invited
February 15 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Join the Oscars buzz on Sunday, Feb. 15, when noted film critics debate the ins and outs of the 2026 Academy Awards at The Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center.
Amanda Waltz, a local journalist and former Pittsburgh City Paper arts & entertainment editor, will once again moderate a wide-ranging conversation and Q&A with a panel comprising Pittsburgh Film Critics Association members Lindsey Bahr (Associated Press), Sean Collier (Shady Ave Magazine) and Megan McLachlan (The Contending). Josh Axelrod, The Lindsay’s Director of Communications and an active PFCA member, will also participate in this discussion.
This free, non-ticketed event will take place in The Lindsay’s Community Room on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m. These professional critics and journalists will provide their thoughts on this year’s Oscars race, films that seem to be over- or underperforming with voters, their ideal Oscars scenarios and much more.
Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in conversation with some of this region’s most prominent film aficionados.
Lindsey Bahr has been an Associated Press film writer and critic since 2014. This Pittsburgh native is a regular at Hollywood’s glitziest awards shows. Bahr covered the 2025 Oscars live from Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre. She plans to be there for this year’s ceremony as well.
Sean Collier is the editor-in-chief of Shady Ave Magazine. He spent 15 years with Pittsburgh Magazine, most recently serving as its managing editor and chief film critic. He’s also a stand-up comic, co-founder of Vigilance Theater Group, co-host of The Number One Movie in America podcast, and a regular on WDVE and Pittsburgh Today Live.
Megan McLachlan, a former Awards Daily contributor, recently co-founded the awards advocacy site The Contending. Her work also has appeared in Buzzfeed, Cosmopolitan, The Cut, Paste, Thrillist, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Washington Post.
The Pittsburgh Film Critics Association, formed in 2023 by 15 Western Pennsylvania-based critics, announced its second annual film awards earlier this year. Their Best Picture prize went to Sinners, writer-director Ryan Coogler’s Southern vampire thriller that was recently nominated for a record-breaking 16 Academy Awards.
Talking with these critics might prove helpful for anyone planning to enter The Lindsay’s annual Oscars Contest. The film buff who most accurately predicts the highest number of winners—matching the Academy’s Best Picture—will earn a non-transferable pass for free, unlimited movies for the rest of 2026! This contest just launched and will extend through Saturday, March 14, at 8 p.m.
The Lindsay will continue showing this year’s Oscar nominees throughout awards season. Hamnet and The Secret Agent are currently playing here, and they will be joined by fellow Best Picture nominees Train Dreams and Marty Supreme starting Friday, Jan. 29. We previously showed Best Picture nominees Sinners, One Battle After Another and F1: The Movie.
