I am going to try and attempt Ponders' Anti-Criterion Challenge for 2026. The prompts and my potential picks are below. Wish me luck!

Progress: 16/52

Categories

✅ 1. On This Day in History- Watch a movie on the anniversary of its release
2. 1920s (Bonus Challenge: From a country with land in the Arctic Circle)
3. 1930s (Bonus Challenge: From a country in Europe)
4. 1940s (Bonus Challenge: From a country in Asia)
✅ 5. 1950s (Bonus Challenge: From a country in North America)
6. 1960s (Bonus Challenge: From a country in South America)
7. 1970s (Bonus Challenge: From a country in Africa)
8. 1980s (Bonus Challenge: From a country in Oceania)
9. 1990s (Bonus Challenge: From a country with territorial claims on Antarctica)
✅ 10. Cult classic or a film about a cult
11. Camp masterpiece or a film about camping
12. Art-house essential or a film about a museum
13. claira curtis’ Movies Where There Are No Men
14. Gregory Joseph’s Movies with Titles That Sound Like Soundcloud Rappers
✅ 15. Michelle Grondine’s eclipses, eclipses, eclipses
16. SqtSwade’s ?
✅ 17. Winner of a Teddy Award at the Berlin Film Festival
18. Winner of an Étalon de Yennenga at FESPACO
✅ 19. About a visual artist
20. In the public domain (Bonus Challenge: Released after 1929)
21. Directed by an indigenous director whose work you haven't seen before
✅ 22. Referenced in either the 1996 documentary The Celluloid Closet or referenced in the book by Vito Russo
23. Written about on Girls on Tops
✅ 24. Written about on Bright Wall/Dark Room
25. An actor plays two different characters
✅ 26. A documentary about its documentarian, a family member, or a similarly personal subject
27. Written by Sumie Tanaka
28. Written by Anita Loos
✅ 29. Has a dream sequence or drug trip
30. Ends in a shootout or a duel (Bonus Challenge: No guns)
31. L.A. Rebellion (Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers)
32. Taiwan New Cinema
33. Third Cinema
✅ 34. Hidden Gems: Highest Rated With Less Than 15K Ratings
35. TJ’s Struggles of the Global South
36. Directed by Emilio Fernández
37. Cinematography or Directed by Ernest R. Dickerson
✅ 38. Directed by an actor (Bonus Challenge: the actor directs themselves)
39. From a country you’ve never seen a film from before
40. From a collection you’ve never seen a film from before
41. 41. A sports film about a sport that is played at the Winter Olympics
42. A film released by the Arrow Films imprint
43. A film released by the Vinegar Syndrome imprint
44. A film released by the Second Sight imprint
✅ 45. Score composed by a band or musician not known for film scores
46. Costume or production design by a famous fashion designer
47. Adaptation of a Manga (Bonus Challenge: Live action)
48. Adaptation of a 19th-century stage play (Bonus Challenge: Changes the setting)
✅ 49. Title is just a first name
✅ 50. A thing that is inanimate in our world is alive in the movie (e.g., toys, cars, corpses)
51. Watch a movie without streaming it (Library! Theater! Physical media! Borrow from a friend!)
✅ 52. Someone holds a cat!