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.
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.
“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.”
“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
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.
“Velon has created a wonderful illusion of reality and deceit that encompasses real issues in modern society.”
At an awards ceremony held at the historic Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills, The Critic was named Best Short Film at the 13th Method Fest Independent Film Festival.
“...She grabs you from the start, establishes an emotional connection with the audience, and then straps you in on an emotional roller coaster ride.”
Read the article on FilmLocal.com about how 'The Critic' got made
“‟A quietly fierce, dramatically potent, and heartbreakingly palpable exercise in what could very well be one of the most impactful inward looks at the realities found within the celebrity mindset…
…and when we look at the tragedies like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Williams, et al, it’s an all-too-real portrait that what we see on the surface as “the perfect life” they lead isn’t always everything it appears to be.”
Stella Velon’s ‘The Critic’ Captures The Soul Of An Actress…
