How to log ratings after watching for film festival followers in 2026

Practical steps for film festival followers to log ratings after each screening, with options that fit a busy festival schedule.

By VLClean · 2026-11-04

VLClean is published by the makers of Askarr and Watcharr, which are compared here alongside other tools.

Film festival followers can log ratings after each screening by picking one place to record them, deciding what a rating means, and building a short routine that fits between screenings.

Option	How ratings are logged	Cost details
Notebook or spreadsheet	You write the rating, the title, the date, and a short note by hand or in a file.	not published
Shared document	Each person adds entries to one shared document.	not published
Watcharr	One public IMDb list gives one Radarr link for movies and one Sonarr link for shows. ^[1]	The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1]

What you need before you start

Before the first screening, decide where ratings will live. A notebook, a spreadsheet, or a web page all work, as long as every rating goes to the same place. Pick one so nothing gets split across two systems.

Decide what a rating means for you. Some followers use a scale of numbers, some use stars, and some write a short note only. Whatever the scale, write it down once so a rating from the first festival day and a rating from the last mean the same thing.

Keep a list of the films you plan to see, with their titles and, where you have them, their IMDb ids. Check the titles on IMDb before the screening so the entry is complete when you log it.

If you use Radarr or Sonarr for your home library, have them ready. Have Radarr ready for movies and Sonarr for shows.

Set a fixed time for logging, right after each screening while the film is still fresh. A rating written the next morning may miss the details that made it worth keeping.

Step by step

Before each screening, find the film's title and, if available, its IMDb id. Write both down so the entry is complete even if the screening runs late.

Watch the film. Keep the log open or the notebook nearby so the entry is one step away when the credits roll.

Right after the screening, record the rating on the scale you chose. Add a short note on what stood out, such as the cast, the direction, the sound, or the script.

Note the festival, the date, and the screening time. Festival films can have several screenings, and the date tells you which one you saw.

If the film is not yet on IMDb, mark the entry as pending and add the id later. A pending entry is still a rating; it just has no link yet.

At the end of each festival day, read back the day's entries. Fix typos, fill in missing dates, and make sure every entry has a rating.

Once you have a few entries, sort the log by rating and read the top ones. This shows which films you would watch again.

If you use Radarr or Sonarr, you can add the films you want to keep to them. The log stays as the record of what you saw and how you rated it.

Tools that can do it

A notebook or a spreadsheet is a place to write the rating, the title, the date, and a short note. Check how each one saves entries before you rely on it.

A shared document lets more than one person log. Each person adds entries to the same document.

Watcharr is one option here. You paste one public IMDb list and get one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1] Each link acts like a small Radarr or Sonarr server, so Radarr checks it every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5. ^[1] A bookmark you click inside Radarr or Sonarr adds the list for you, using that app's API key without sending it anywhere else. ^[1] It accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list from the desktop site, the phone site or IMDb's other-language pages. ^[1] The links are built from the IMDb list's id, so the same list always gives the same two links. ^[1] It looks up TheTVDB ids through TVMaze and TMDB, leaves out shows it can't match, and tells you which ones it skipped. ^[1]

The page shows the list's covers in a row, each opening TMDB's plot, genres, rating, backdrop and trailer. ^[1] If you sign in, it re-reads your list about every 15 minutes and warns you when a list fails three reads in a row. ^[1] Signed-in users can combine several IMDb lists into one Radarr link and one Sonarr link for the whole household, and a title that is on two lists is added only once. ^[1] If a read of the list fails, the links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly. ^[1] You paste, copy and browse from any screen in the web app; the one-click sticker shows on bigger screens. ^[1] The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1] Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence; older versions remain under MIT. ^[1] Commercial use is not licensed, and no commercial licence is for sale. ^[1]

Check whether a tool records ratings you give after a screening, and whether it keeps a short note with each one. If you want to keep the films in your library, also check whether the tool can feed into Radarr or Sonarr.

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid logging ratings in more than one place. A rating in a notebook and a different rating in a spreadsheet will not agree, and the log loses its value as a single record.

Avoid skipping the date. A rating without a date is hard to place, especially when a film has several screenings at the same festival.

Avoid waiting until the festival is over to log. Details fade, and the best window is right after the screening.

Avoid mixing the log with the library. The log records what you saw and how you rated it. Keeping the log separate from your film library makes each one easier to use.

Avoid a rating scale that changes between festivals. If a high rating means something different at one festival than at the next, the log stops being comparable. Pick one scale and keep it.

Frequently asked questions

How can film festival followers log ratings after watching?

Pick one place to record ratings, decide what a rating means on your scale, and log each film right after the screening. Write the title, the rating, the date, and a short note on what stood out. A single place keeps the log comparable across festivals.

Does Watcharr log ratings after watching?

You paste one public IMDb list and get one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1] Watcharr works with IMDb lists and with Radarr and Sonarr. Check whether it records ratings you give after a screening, since that is the step this page is about, before you choose it.

Can Watcharr work with Radarr and Sonarr?

Yes. Each link acts like a small Radarr or Sonarr server, so Radarr checks it every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5. ^[1] A bookmark you click inside Radarr or Sonarr adds the list for you, using that app's API key without sending it anywhere else. ^[1]

Does Watcharr need an account or an install?

The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1] You paste, copy and browse from any screen in the web app; the one-click sticker shows on bigger screens. ^[1] If you sign in, it re-reads your list about every 15 minutes and warns you when a list fails three reads in a row. ^[1]

What should be checked before choosing a tool to log ratings?

Check how the tool stores ratings, whether it can hold a short note with each one, and whether it can feed into Radarr or Sonarr if you want to keep the films in your library. Also check whether the tool needs an account and what it does with the data you enter.

Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence; older versions remain under MIT. ^[1]

Try Watcharr

Sources

Watcharr's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)