📹 #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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Film Daily: Feature
Here’s why you should vote for ‘The Critic’ in the Webby Awards
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!
'The Critic' Premieres the UK Film Channel | Watch Now
Amazon All Voices Film Festival
'The Critic' is part of the inaugural All Voices Film Festival hosted by Amazon Prime Video, June 3 - 24, 2109. Watch, rate & review.
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'The Critic' + Filmatique Talents
Coinciding with Filmatique Talents 2019's Feature Film Program, Filmatique is hosting ten shorts from exciting new filmmakers from the United States, Brazil, Canada and Greece. ‘The Critic’ is part of Filmatique’s inaugural selection of only 5 feature and 10 short films.
'The Critic' + The Method Fest
The Critic will have its West Coast Premiere at the 13th Method Fest in Beverly Hills, CA
Join us on Tuesday March 26th at 5:00 pm at Laemmle’s Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre.
Film Threat Trailer Premiere
A starry-eyed actress with a troubled past faces her harshest critic during an interview gone wrong. Starring Stella Velon, Alan Smyth, Todd Karner. Directed...
International Premiere at 15th Kinofilm Manchester
The Official Trailer Is Out
'The Critic' Wraps Principal Photography
Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Stella Velon and starring Stella Velon and Alan Smyth as the two main characters, The Critic was shot on location in Los Angeles, CA in two days. Check out some exclusive behind-the-scenes photos below and stay tuned for more!
Watch the Making-Of