📹 #NETWORKandChill recommends watching short drama 🗣️ The Critic by @StellaVelon
— BFI NETWORK (@bfinetwork) December 22, 2020
After playing the role of a woman who struggles with drug & alcohol addiction, an actress gets interviewed by a critic 📝 and her polished surface unravels 😲
Watch it here:https://t.co/rxhXujbnIm pic.twitter.com/07UcjX18NP
Online Premiere on Omeleto
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An award-winning actress faces her harshest critic during an interview gone wrong. | The Critic http://youtu.be/99vwLjvknN8 & http://omeleto.com/254466/
“An award-winning actress has just won acclaim for her performance as a woman who struggles with drug and alcohol addiction. But then she is interviewed at her home by a particularly combative critic. And as she's pummeled with questions, the interview goes awry, and her carefully polished surface begins to unravel. Writer-director Stella Velon's psychological drama is a tightly focused narrative, focused on a key shift in consciousness in one woman who has spent much time and effort building a fortress around a troubled past and finds it crumbling around her. The writing and narrative scope focus on one interaction, but the intense laser-like beam of attention is not just about limiting time and space in the story. It's also built into the psychological intensity of the unusually open, confrontational and rigorous interaction that an interview can provide, which offers a depth of focus that the unnamed (and mostly unseen) critic takes advantage of -- and which rattles the cool, elegant image and composure of the actress herself. The visuals, too, establish that sense of close-focus confrontation, where the camera often frames close-ups and detail shots of the interview. Close-ups usually provide intimacy and emotional access in filmic storytelling, but here they also have the claustrophobia of relentless focus. Halfway through the film, though, the film makes a shift, signaled in the story's events and the changing film language. We see footage of the interview being recorded on video, as well as looser, wider framings, and the emotions become wilder in expression as well. As the film reveals its full hand, what unites the different strands is Velon's performance, which stays truthful and precise, no matter what twist or turn is happening. She's able to balance the line between defensive steeliness and fragility, and when her defenses fall, she gets at the core of shame, self-loathing and profound sadness that fuels both the actress and the story. "The Critic" highlights one of the most primal pleasures of watching films and televisions: the hypnotic allure of watching a compelling face feel and express emotions, often in a way that makes them more legible and understandable to ourselves. The characters may or may not be immediately relatable -- we may not be award-winning actresses ourselves -- but many struggle with the feeling of being unworthy, or feeling guilt at escaping a tragic fate that has consumed others. "The Critic" takes these tangled knots of emotions and re-weaves them into a multi-layered story with suspense and drama, provoking thought and reflection on our own dark secret spots of vulnerability.”
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Interview with Arpa International Film Festival
Watch actress, writer, and director Stella Velon and lead actor Alan Smyth’s interview with Arpa International Film Festival, where ‘The Critic’ is nominated for the Best Short Film award. The 23rd edition of the festival will take place November 12-22, 2020 on Seed & Spark. Get your festival passes here.
W3 Awards - Gold Winner for Best Individual Performance (Stella Velon)
‘The Critic’ was named a 2020 Gold Winner at the 15th W3 Awards in the Video Features - Best Individual Performance (Stella Velon) category.
The W3 is sanctioned and judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA). AIVA members include executives from organizations such as Spotify, Majestyk, Big Spaceship, Tinder, Conde Nast, Disney, Microsoft, Wired, and many others.
Other Gold winners in the Video category this year include SingleCare’s ‘Feeling Presidential’ national ad campaign starring Martin Sheen, and James Arthur feat. Travis Barker music video ‘YOU’ from Sony Music Entertainment, among others. Less than 10% of the 3000 plus entries in the 15th edition of the awards were selected as Gold winners.
Congratulations to our team!
To learn more visit the winners gallery here: w3award.com/winners/gallery.
Interview: The Webby Awards
Actress/writer/director Stella Velon and producer Jean Gabriel Kauss of The Punk Floyd Company spoke with The Webby Awards about how ‘The Critic’ was made. The short earned Stella a 2020 Webby nomination for Best Individual Performance and has won over 20 festival awards to this day. Read the interview here.
The American Reporter: Stella Velon’s Star Performance in “The Critic” Recognized with a 2020 Webby Awards Nomination
"The Critic showcases a major talent in the world of short film." — Laurence Bennie, Medium
“Budding film makers need to look no further than The Critic for a first-rate example of short screen storytelling. Deftly capitalizing on a simple premise, with a tension-crackling script that is always surprising, topped with a compelling central performance, The Critic showcases a major talent in the world of short film.”
Interview Indie Activity: Stella Velon, First-time Director on Award-winner, The Critic.
California Herald: Stella Velon nominated for the 2020 Annual Webby Awards. Other celebs include Emily Hampshire, Post Malone, and Trevor Noah
Film Daily: Feature
Here’s why you should vote for ‘The Critic’ in the Webby Awards
Newstrail: Stella Velon (“The Critic”), Trevor Noah, The Hollywood Reporter, Post Malone and other big names nominated for the Annual Webby Awards
Stella Velon Nominated for Best Individual Performance in the 2020 Webby Awards | Vote by May 7th
On April 28th, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 24th Annual Webby Awards with Stella picking up a nomination for Best Individual Performance for THE CRITIC.
Hailed as the “Oscars of the Internet” the Webby Awards are the leading international award rewarding excellence across the internet and in online film & video. As a nominee, Velon is among the top 10% of 13,000 entries worldwide and has been singled out as one of the five best in the world in that category!
The other nominees in the same category are Fka Twigs ('Honey Boy'), Emily Hampshire (‘Schitt’s Creek’), Leslie Grace (Latin GRAMMY® nominee), and writer-comedian Gastor Almonte.
Viewers can vote for the Webby People's Voice Award through May 7th from anywhere in the world. The winners will be announced via a virtual celebration on May 19th, dubbed the Webbys From Home. Last year, people cast over 3 million votes from 230+ countries and territories worldwide, and the site was visited by over 5 million people.
‘The Critic’ among Winners of the 2019 Independent Film Awards
“Written, directed by, and starring Stella Velon, The Critic is an indie short that, painted in vibrant colors and rife with symbolism and underlying meaning, is an emotional ride that is immediate and powerful.”
– Mark Ziobro | THE MOVIE BUFF
Interview with Stella Velon at Catalyst Content
Stella talks to Keely Gelineau during the 2019 Catalyst Content Festival (in Duluth, MN) about the genesis of the short and what’s next for the feature version of the film.
Velon took home the Best Breakout Performance Award there.
Watch the interview below.
Scotland Premiere: HB Film Festival | Winner Best Story
At our Scotland premiere in the beautiful town of Paisley, ‘The Critic’ received the Best Story Award at the HB Film Festival.
‘The Critic’ Wins a Runner-Up Award at Amazon’s All Voices Film Festival
Selected by a jury that includes the co-Head of Movies at Amazon Studios (Julie Rapaport), Head of Diversity at Amazon Studios (Latasha Gillespie) and Founder and CEO of IMDb (Col Needham), we are extremely proud to announce that ‘The Critic’ is the recipient of one of the four First Prizes (or runner-up awards) at Amazon Studios’ inaugural All Voices Film Festival for U.S. filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds.
Thank you to the judges and to all of those who supported our entry during the initial festival window (June 3 - 24, 2019) by viewing and reviewing the film on Amazon Prime Video!
Watch it now: http://bit.ly/thecritic-amazonprime
Annual Grand Jury Prize & Best First-Time Filmmaker
At its Palm Springs premiere at the 2019 Annual Queen Palm International Film Festival and Awards Show, ‘The Critic’ took home the Grand Jury Prize ‘Couronne d’Or’ as well as the Best of Fest ‘Queen Supreme’ Award for Best Short ‒ First-Time Filmmaker (Stella Velon)
Palm Springs Premiere: Queen Palm International Film Festival
‘The Critic’ will have its Palm Springs Premiere at the 2019 Annual Queen Palm International Film Festival. Join us on Sunday July 14th at 4:30 pm at the Mary Pickford Theatre. More info here.
As a two-time Gold Award winner as well the Royal Gem Diamond Festival Standout at the December 2018 edition. ‘The Critic’ will compete for the Grand Jury Prize in the Best Short - First-time Filmmaker & Best Actress (Stella Velon) categories.
'The Critic' Premieres on Amazon Prime UK
Final Week of Amazon All Voices Film Festival
Watch, rate, and review 'The Critic' on Amazon Prime. Your views count!