“In addition to playing the female lead opposite Alan Smyth in “The Critic,” which earned her the highly prestigious Webby Awards nod for Best Individual Performance, Stella Velon also wrote and directed the film, marking her directorial debut. The short psychological drama has already received abundant critical acclaim, and the film’s Webby Awards nomination follows several nominations and over 20 wins. This type of recognition makes the film industry sit up and take notice.
The nomination of Stella Velon for Best Individual Performance (in the Video: Performance & Craft Category) is something she and her fans are delighted about. Stella’s performance in “The Critic” will compete for both the Webby Award — called the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times — judged by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), and the People’s Voice, voted by fans. Voting by the public for the 24th Webby People’s Voice Award started on April 28, 2020, and ends on May 7, 2020. The Webby Awards website facilitates public voting from anyone, anywhere in the world.
A tight run-up in the contest:
With over 13,000 entries from 70 countries, the competition is stiff, but her work and performance have proven that it is award-worthy. According to Claire Graves, the Executive Director of the Webby Awards, “Nominees like Stella Velon are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the internet… It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the 13,000 entries we received this year.”
Webby awards during a time of social distancing:
Covid-19 has presented an opportunity for many artists to express themselves in a more meaningful way through the internet. Artists now have a wider global reach as more people at home crave information and entertainment. The web is where they have the most immediate access, and as Stella pointed out recently: “The Internet is a powerful tool to bring people together, to keep them informed as well as entertained, and artists have an even greater responsibility today to communicate a message of hope, tolerance, and compassion toward one other.”
Nominations have gone out to some well-known personalities from various industries in the 24-year history of the Webby Awards. They include Tom Hanks, Trevor Noah, The Rolling Stones, Billie Eilish, Idris Elba, Serena Williams, LeBron James, Celine Dion, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
There is some stiff competition among the nominees in the same category this year and include: Gastor Almonte (writer and comedian), Leslie Grace (nominee for a Latin Grammy®), FKA Twigs (singer and songwriter) and “Schitt’s Creek” actress Emily Hampshire.
Stella Velon recently asked fans to take a relaxing moment amid the global hardship of Covid-19 to help celebrate the industry, which offers them fantastic entertainment and to vote for their favorite artist from the comfort of their homes.
Velon’s early cinematic influences come from Baz Luhrmann’s “Strictly Ballroom” and “Romeo + Juliet”. Among her favorite performances is Leonardo Di Caprio’s portrayal of Arnie Grape (an autistic teenager) in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”. “One of the most moving performances I have ever seen. And the movie as a whole is so beautiful in a very simple but remarkably powerful way! I am beyond thrilled to be nominated in the same prestigious awards as one of my favorite actors and a fellow Scorpio! I am also a huge fan of Billie Eilish, who’s also nominated for a Webby. This is truly an incredible honor!”
Stella has trained as an actor at some notable drama schools in Paris, New York, and Los Angeles. As a filmmaker, she is drawing inspiration from writers and directors like Christopher Nolan and Darren Aronofsky.
The awards and accolades for “The Critic” started coming in from its first showing at the Boston Film Festival. About this time last year, the film premiered on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S. as part of Amazon’s inaugural All Voices Film Festival and went on to be named among the winners. The festival celebrated diversity and in front of and behind the camera and awarded five U.S. filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds, with Velon being one of them.
Stella Velon also won the UK Film Review Award for Best Director (in the company of some Oscar-winning heavyweights such as Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” and Bradley Cooper’s “A Star is Born”). In his outstanding review of “The Critic”, UK Film Review’s Editor-in-Chief and lead film critic Chris Olson described Stella’s dialogues as “exceptional”, the film as “a particularly poignant piece of cinema in the current social climate” and Stella’s portrayal of the main character as “a powerhouse performance” and “one of the best leading performances of the year so far.”
Among the many other accolades, “The Critic” was also awarded as the Best Short Film at the only major film festival in the U.S. that pays homage to the actor, the Method Fest Independent Film Festival (named for the “Stanislavski Method,”) held at the Laemmle’s Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills. The 13th edition of the festival celebrated legendary actors such as Martin Sheen, and among its winners were thespians Ethan Hawke, Edward James Olmos, and others. Other notable wins include the Best Actress and the Annual Grand Jury Prize at the Queen Palm International Film Festival held in Palms Springs, CA, the latter shared with Sundance and Emmy Award-Winning Hulu documentary “Crime + Punishment” in the feature category.
Stella Velon is a young star that is rising fast, who is “clearly incredibly talented, and one to watch out for” quoting Nick Bartlett from Critical Popcorn. Because of the success of the film, she is currently working on expanding the short into a full-length feature.
Drawing inspiration from her experiences as a former fashion model in New York City, she has also written a girl-powered dramedy series, for which she has partnered with fashion photo super-agent Jean Gabriel Kauss, formerly of JGK Inc., a top agency with offices in New York, Paris, and London, that used to represent some of the biggest names in the world. The show is in active development by The Punk Floyd Company, which also produced “The Critic.”
The original article can be viewed here.