THE CRITIC (Narrative Short)
Genre: Psychological Drama/Thriller
Date: The film was completed in June 2018.
Director: Stella Velon
Producer: Jean Gabriel Kauss
Writer: Stella Velon
Cinematographer: Akis Konstantakopoulos
Editor: Ivan Andrijanic
Composer: Asaf Sagiv
Production Company: The Punk Floyd Company
Case Study: The Making of ‘The Critic’
indieactivity : What is your film about?
Jean Gabriel Kauss: THE CRITIC is the story of an up-and-coming actress, who fresh off a major win at an industry awards ceremony, embarks on an interview that soon proves to be a lot more than that.
indieactivity : Tell us about the festival run, marketing and sales?
Jean Gabriel Kauss : We premiered at the 2018 Boston Film Festival and won over 20 awards, including most recently the inaugural Amazon All Voices Film Festival hosted by Amazon Prime Video (amazon.com/allvoices), in a final selection of only five winning films selected by top executives at Amazon Studios and IMDb.
Other notable wins include the UK Film Review Award presented to Stella Velon for Best Director, the Annual Grand Jury Prize (that we share with Emmy-winning feature documentary CRIME+PUNISHMENT in the feature category) and Best Short First-Time Filmmaker of the Year at the 2019 Queen Palm International Film Festival in Palms Springs, Best Short Film at the 2019 Method Fest Independent Film Festival (a festival celebrating outstanding performances in independent film making its comeback at the iconic Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills), Best Breakout Performance at Festival Angaelica + Catalyst Content, and the Women in Film Award (2nd place) at Kinofilm Manchester, among many others.
Besides its successful festival run, the film received critical acclaim garnering stellar reviews, even breaking a record by becoming “the first short to receive 5 stars on IndieShortsMag.com“, and later being elected their Editor’s Pick – “The Best Of All, From 2018!“
The movie received distribution on Amazon Prime Video (where it premiered as part of the All Voices Film Festival mentioned earlier) and is available on the US & UK stores (included with Prime). We were also part of the launch of UK Film Channel, a brand new VOD platform founded by the UK Film Review, where THE CRITIC garnered a 5-star rating by their lead film critic and Editor-in-Chief Chris Olson. And most recently, THE CRITIC was acquired by ShortsTV (US & Europe), where it just premiered (Feb 1) as Movie of the Week (Editor’s Pick).
Narrative/Dramatic Features
Director: Stella Velon
Producers: Jean Gabriel Kauss, Stella Velon
Cinematographer: Akis Konstantakopoulos
Budget: $45k
Financing: Production company/Self
Production: The Punk Floyd Company
Shooting Format: RED
Screening Format: 1.78:1
World Premiere: Boston Film Festival
Awards: 20 +
Website
indieactivity : Give the full Official Synopsis for your film?
Jean Gabriel Kauss : A starry-eyed actress with a troubled past faces her harshest critic during an interview gone wrong.
indieactivity : Development & Financing?
Jean Gabriel Kauss : Stella and I founded The Punk Floyd Company, as she and I are working on several other projects, among them a dramedy series inspired by her years as a model in New York that she created. Stella wrote the script for the short, and we produced it under the helm of The Punk Floyd Company. The production was partially funded by contributions from friends and acquaintances, and the rest was self-funded.
indieactivity : Production?
Jean Gabriel Kauss : THE CRITIC was shot in 2 days on location in West Hollywood, CA. Principal photography completed in December of 2017. The first cut was completed in March of 2018, and the film was finished and ready for distribution in July of 2018.
indieactivity : Festival Preparation & Strategy?
Jean Gabriel Kauss : We were initially approached by a few different festival distribution companies and PR Firms. Ultimately we ended up doing everything in-house including our PR strategy and campaign. Our world premiere was at the 2018 Boston Film Festival where GREEN BOOK won Best Film (and then went on to win an Oscar). That allowed for excellent exposure and lead to some invitations from subsequent festivals where we played and won awards. A few highlights from the festival run of the film are the Women in Film Award given to Stella at our International premiere and only 2nd festival screening, her Best Director win at the 2018 UK Film Review Awards, our Editor’s Pick by Indie Shorts Mag “The Best Of All, From 2018!”, the Annual Grand Jury Prize (shared with the Emmy-winning doc CRIME + PUNISHMENT) and Best Short First-Time Filmmaker of the Year at the 2019 Queen Palm International Film Festival, the Best Short Film Award at the 2019 Method Fest Independent Film Festival held in Beverly Hills, CA at the iconic Ahrya Fine Arts theatre, the Best Breakout Performance at the 2019 Festival Angaelica @ Catalyst Content and most recently the first Amazon All Voices Film Festival hosted by Amazon Prime Video in the US, where THE CRITIC was named Runner-Up (and the recipient of one of the only 4 First Prizes) in a final selection of 5 winning films, by a jury comprised of top executives from Amazon Studios and IMDb.
indieactivity : The Release?
Jean Gabriel Kauss : THE CRITIC premiered on Amazon Prime Video in the US as part of the All Voices Film Festival and subsequently in the UK (streams free with Prime in both territories). It was also acquired by ShortsTV where it premiered on February 1st as Movie of the Week (Editor’s Pick). We are also available on the UK Film Channel (which is VOD platform accessible worldwide,) and we were also distributed by Filmatique (for a limited run) as part of the 2019 Filmatique Talents showcase (for first and second-time filmmakers) curated out hundreds of submissions releases in a month-long showcase (They are currently open for submissions for this year’s showcase in case that may be of interest to any of your readers).
indieactivity : Advice from the Filmmaker?
Jean Gabriel Kauss : As the producer of the film, my advice for filmmakers is to find someone who supports your vision and enhances and maybe challenges it occasionally. The other piece of advice, I can give to anyone in the creative field as an agent having represented top talent (I used to be in the fashion photography business), is If you believe in what you are doing and find a closed/locked door, go back through the window if you have to.
I have seen so many talented individuals not getting the attention they deserve simply because they are not putting themselves out there, and that was my strength as an agent. But until you find someone to fight as hard for you as you would, you have to do the work yourself. In France we say, “impossible is not French”.
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