The Critic

The Critic is an American psychological thriller short film written and directed by Stella Velon. It is the story of an award-winning actress who faces her harshest critic during an interview gone wrong. The film stars Stella Velon and Alan Smyth, and explores themes of fame, drug addiction, mental health and impostor syndrome. The Critic had its world premiere at the Boston Film Festival in September 2018 and it was first released on Amazon Prime Video in June 2019 as part of Amazon Studios' inaugural All Voices Film Festival, where it was named one of the five winning films. In 2020, the film was nominated for a Webby Award out of 13,000 entries worldwide in the Best Individual Performance category. Synopsis An award-winning actress with a troubled past, goes for an interview after a major win. The interview takes a wrong turn and proves to be a lot more than just that. The Critic provides a glimpse into the darker side of fame and serves as a social commentary on the value we place on art.