For over 100 years now, films have left their mark on the world. The new technology of the 19th century, they have functioned as mass entertainment, sophisticated art, cultural documentation, social education.

For many, it is cinema's value as art that is perhaps its most interesting aspect. Which is not to say, of course, that this discounts mass entertainment films from such an equation. Divisions of art vs entertainment are ultimately spurious. And, furthermore, a film's value may lie on the political or religious or philosophical plane.

Films affect us. Is it a crime then to discriminate among them, to say that some mean to us more than others? Is not such an expression of our preferences an expression of our love? And cinephilia then seems to infect some of us as much as the films themselves – we become conscious of looking for our next great cinematic experience.

The top ten films of all time. An impossible question perhaps, but surely a nice dare to throw a cinephile's way. Of course, numerous compilations of these lists already exist, but we are conducting our own survey, of our readership, to see what emerges.

If you are a film writer, filmmaker, film programmer or simply a serious film lover with a developed “sense of cinema”, and you would like to participate in this poll, please refer to the notes on our page for contributors.