FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Jean Gabriel Kauss, The Punk Floyd Company
Email: info@punkfloydco.com

Stella Velon Nominated In The 24th Annual Webby Awards: Best Individual Performance For “The Critic”

Fans Can Vote Online to Help Stella Velon and The Punk Floyd Company Win Internet’s Top Honor: vote.webbyawards.com

[LOS ANGELES, CA] — [April 30, 2020] – On April 28, 2020 the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences announced the nominees of the 24th Annual Webby Awards with The Punk Floyd Company earning a nomination in the Video: Performance & Craft category. The nomination recognizes Stella Velon for Best Individual Performance in “The Critic.” The short film is Velon’s critically acclaimed and over twenty-time award-winning directorial debut, also written by her, and produced by The Punk Floyd Company. As with all Webby nominees, The Punk Floyd Company is currently competing for two awards: firstly, The Webby Award, which is selected by the Academy, and secondly, The Webby People’s Voice Award, which internet fans can vote for from anywhere.

Other nominees in the same category are: Emily Hampshire (“Schitt’s Creek”), FKA Twigs (“Honey Boy”), Leslie Grace (multiple Latin GRAMMY® nominee), and writer-comedian Gastor Almonte. Some of the most prominent personalities who earned nominations include Lizzo, Trevor Noah, Tom Hanks, Jennifer Garner, Billie Eilish, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Fallon, Florence Pugh, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ariana Grande, Idris Elba, Stephen Colbert, Wiz Khalifa, Serena Williams, LeBron James, Celine Dion, Billy Eichner and Chris Evans.

Public voting is open through May 7, 2020. The Webby Awards website facilitates public voting from anyone, anywhere in the world.

Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet. IADAS, which nominates and selects The Webby Award Winners, is comprised of Internet industry experts including Instagram Co-founder Kevin Systrom, Mozilla Chairwoman Mitchell Baker, 23andMe Co-Founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki, PBS CEO Paula Kerger, Headspace Founder Andy Puddicombe, The dtx Company Founder Tim Armstrong, News Not Noise Founder Jessica Yellin, R/GA US Chief Creative Officer Tiffany Rolfe, The Ringer Founder Bill Simmons, and Target CMO Rick Gomez, Girls Who Code Founder & CEO Reshma Saujani, and Pineapple Street Media Co-founder Jenna Weiss-Berman. 

“Nominees like Stella Velon and The Punk Floyd Company are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet,” said Claire Graves, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. “It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the 13,000 entries we received this year.”

Stella Velon says: “This year, given the hardship people are facing worldwide with Covid-19, all I want is for fans to enjoy the process of voting and to have a relaxing moment as much as possible, as we celebrate our amazing industry together, this time from the comfort of our homes. The Internet has the power to bring us closer together, and this year this is truer than ever. To be part of this year’s “Webbys From Home” is especially meaningful to me, as we celebrate that and all the people and businesses, working hard to make a meaningful impact on their communities. Telling stories that matter, inspire as well as entertain has never been more important. Let’s make the Internet shine together!”

Winners will be announced on Tuesday, May 19, 2020, and honored in an Internet Celebration on Tuesday, May 19, 2020.  Winners will have an opportunity to deliver one of The Webby Awards’ famous 5-Word Speeches. Past 5-Word Speeches include: Steve Wilhite’s “It’s Pronounced “Jif” not ‘Gif’; NASA’s “Houston We Have A Webby”; and Solange’s “I Got Five On It.”

About Stella Velon and The Punk Floyd Company:
Stella Velon is an award-winning Los Angeles-based actress and filmmaker, and the co-founder of The Punk Floyd Company alongside former fashion photography agent Jean Gabriel Kauss. “The Critic” is Velon’s directorial debut, which she also wrote and stars in as the female lead, and The Punk Floyd Company’s inaugural critically-acclaimed and over twenty-time award-winning production. In addition to the recent Webby Awards nomination, Stella Velon and “The Critic” were named among the winners of Amazon Studios' first All Voices Film Festival. The festival awarded five U.S. filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds and was hosted on Amazon Prime Video. UK Film Review’s Editor-in-Chief and lead film critic Chris Olson described Velon’s portrayal of the main character of the Actress in the film as “one of the best leading performances of the year so far.”

Find Stella Velon, and “The Critic” Online:
Stella Velon
Website: stellavelon.com
Instagram: @stellavelonofficial

“The Critic”
Website: thecriticfilm.com
Production: punkfloydco.com/the-critic
Instagram: @thecrtitc.shortfilm
Vimeo: vimeo.com/punkfloyd
YouTube: bit.ly/youtube-thecritic

About The Webby Awards:
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, Video, Advertising, Media & PR, Apps, Mobile, and Voice, Social, Podcasts, and Games. Established in 1996, this year’s Webby Awards received nearly 13,000 entries from all 50 states and 70 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: WP Engine, Monday.com, Slack, YouGov, BASIC, KPMG, Adweek, Fast Company, The New Museum, and Social Media Week.

Find The Webby Awards Online: Website: webbyawards.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/TheWebbyAwards
Twitter: @TheWebbyAwards
Instagram: @TheWebbyAwards
Snapchat: TheWebbyAwards
YouTube: youtube.com/webby

###