A starry-eyed actress with a troubled past faces her harshest critic during an interview gone wrong.
Film Specifications
- Narrative Short
- 14 Minutes 55 seconds
- USA
- Filmed in USA
- Languages: English
- Awards:
- 2018 UK Film Review Awards | WINNERLondon
United Kingdom
December 21, 2018
Best Director (Stella Velon) - Queen Palm International Film Festival | WINNERPalm Springs
United States
Royal Gem Diamond Award, Best Short (First-time Filmmaker), Best Actress – Short Film (Stella Velon) - Manchester Kinofilm |RUNNER UPManchester
United Kingdom
November 26, 2018
International Premiere
WOMEN IN FILM AWARD
- Screening Date – Saturday, June 7
- Times- 1pm
- Location – 358 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036
- Short Film Showcase B
Director Stella Velon
Stella most recently wrapped shooting The Critic, her directorial debut, which she wrote and also starred in, and for which she has won multiple awards, among them Best Actress at the Queen Palm International Film Festival and Best Director at the 2018 UK Film Review Awards, joining an impressive list of critically-acclaimed films such as Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma and Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born.
Her work on the film has been lauded by critics calling her writing and direction “exceptional” and her performance as the main character of the Actress “one of the best leading performances of the year” (UK Film Review). The film was dubbed “a sublime piece of indie film magic” (One Film Fan) and also became “the first short film to receive five stars on IndieShortsMag.com”, among other accolades.
Stella is also developing a girl-powered comedy series inspired by her modeling years in New York City under the helm of her production company The Punk Floyd Company, which she co-founded together with former fashion super agent Jean Gabriel Kauss.
Velon has studied at some of the most prestigious drama schools in Paris, New York, and Los Angeles and spends her time between those three. Perfectly bilingual she also holds a degree in Business Management from the University of Paris X.
As a kid, she was obsessed with Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom, and Romeo + Juliet, and her latest work as a filmmaker has been influenced by the likes of Christopher Nolan and Darren Aronofsky.
Director’s Statement
The Critic is a short film about facing one’s inner demons, with which I wanted to explore the psychology of what it is like to be confronted with one’s harshest, most merciless critic: one’s own self, and how destructive that little voice in our heads can be.
As an actress myself, I also wanted to weave in elements of what is happening at the moment within the entertainment industry and explore the perils and pressures of the profession while leaving the message of the film open to individual interpretation as I am a firm believer that how we perceive the world is how we experience it.
My intention with this piece is to fire up people’s imagination, make them think and not spoon-feed the audience the answers like a lot of movies do.
Film Credits
- Stella Velon, Director
- Stella Velon, Writer
- Jean Gabriel Kauss, Producer
- Stella Velon Key Cast
- Alan Smyth, Key Cast
- Ivan Anddrijanic. Editor
- Akis Konstantakopoulos, DP
- Asaf Sagiv, Composer
