Hyperreal Best of 2025 Voting FAQ

Have questions about Hyperreal Film Journal’s Best Movies of 2025 list? You’ve come to the right place!

What counts as a 2025 release?
Any film that was widely released, limited release, or otherwise premiered (such as at a festival or streaming platform) in 2025. 

Last year, you held voting in November. Can we include films from Dec 2024 on our list? What about films that are released after the voting period closes this year? What about restorations/re-releases that came out this year? 
We literally can’t stop you from voting for whatever you want. 

How do you choose the Top 10?
We use a ranked voting system. We ask you to submit your top 5 of the year in order. Your #1 pick receives 5 points, your #2 pick receives 4 points and so forth. The film that receives the most points overall becomes our #1 film and so on until we have filled all 10 slots.

How do you choose the Honorable Mentions?
The Hyperreal Film community has excellent taste, and we know there are many films that would never make it onto a list determined by popular vote—either because they’re underseen, or weren’t widely released, or simply were a little less popular overall. We go through everyone’s votes and hand select films that didn’t make the cut, but we feel deserve some of the spotlight.

Why is the End of Year list being published in January this time?
Normally, we open voting in November and publish the list in December before we go on our annual break. We’ve gotten feedback about December films being excluded as a result, so we’re trying out this new schedule! If it sucks we’ll go back to the old schedule next year. 

I don’t agree with your Top 10 picks! 
That is indeed the nature of popular voting.

How do you choose who writes the blurbs for each film?
You’ll see an option in the voting form to let us know you’re interested in writing about one or more of your picks! We reach out to folks individually from there. 

Can I write a blurb if I haven’t written for Hyperreal Film Journal before?
Yes! You’re welcome to let us know you’re interested in the voting form.

Who runs Hyperreal Film Journal, anyway?
The Journal team is made up of passionate volunteers from Austin and beyond, who share a love of helping writers and publishing great work about film. You can see the current Journal team on Hyperreal’s About page.