Celine Held

Last updated

Celine Held
Born1990 (1990) [1]
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education New York University (BFA)
Occupation(s)Director, writer, actress
Website Official website

Celine Held is an American and British film director, writer, and actress. Her debut feature film Topside , co-directed with her partner Logan George, premiered at the 77th Venice International Film Festival. [2] Her short film Caroline that she co-wrote, co-directed and starred in, was nominated for the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. [3] Her additional short film work has premiered at Sundance Film Festival and at South by Southwest. [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Held was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is a US and UK citizen. [5]

Career

Short films

Held and George's first short film, Mouse, premiered at South by Southwest in 2017. [6] Held was then named among the "25 New Faces of Independent Film" in Filmmaker Magazine's annual list with her partner Logan George in 2017. [7] Their second short film Lockdown premiered at Sundance Film Festival. [8]

Held and George's short film Caroline was nominated for the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and South by Southwest. [9] Caroline was also short-listed for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 91st Academy Awards. [10] Held also played the mother of the titular character in Caroline, a role that she reprised for Held and George's feature film debut Topside.

Topside

Held and George's first feature film Topside premiered at 77th Venice International Film Festival. [11] Topside won the Mario Serandrei Award for Best Technical Achievement at Venice, [12] and the jury award for Best Director at South by Southwest. [13] Topside has been praised by critics, landing on The Hollywood Reporter's list of the 20 Best Films From the Toronto and Venice Festivals. [14] Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter said the film is "a striking debut, cinematic and affecting." [15] Eric Kohn of Indiewire called the debut film "riveting," saying, "Logan George and Celine Held's debut is a taut mother-daughter survivor story with a breakthrough performance [at] its center." [16]

Held has also been praised for her pivotal role in Topside, with critics calling her performance "harrowing," "unnerving," and "gutwrenching." [17]

Held & George's research for their feature film debut Topside has been extensive. The pair created a documentary on homelessness 50 Moments, which premiered at South by Southwest. [18] Held & George spent time in the tunnels before filming on Topside, and credit the inspiration for the film to books The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City by Jennifer Toth and The Tunnel: the Underground Homeless of New York City by Margaret Morton. [19]

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References

  1. ↑ "SXSW 2020 Film Awards". New York University . April 15, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  2. ↑ Nick Vivarelli (July 21, 2020). "Venice Critics' Week Lineup to Include 'The Rossellinis,' U.S. drama 'Topside". Variety. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  3. ↑ Ben Dalton (April 11, 2018). "Cannes announces short films selection for 2018 Competition and Cinéfondation". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  4. ↑ Cody Corrall (September 3, 2020). "Venice 2020 Women Directors: Meet Celine Held – "Topside"". Women and Hollywood. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  5. ↑ Maria Sciullo (August 28, 2020). "Butler native and Vincentian alum to premiere movie at Venice Film Festival". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  6. ↑ Claudette Godfrey (October 25, 2017). "2017 SXSW Film Festival Selections: Midnight Shorts [Video]". South by Southwest . Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  7. ↑ Scott Macaulay (October 25, 2018). "Celine Held and Logan George". Filmmaker Magazine . Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  8. ↑ "2019 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: INDIE EPISODIC, SHORTS AND SPECIAL EVENTS ANNOUNCED". Sundance Film Festival . December 3, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  9. ↑ Claudette Godfrey (November 26, 2018). "2018 SXSW Film Festival Selections: Narrative Shorts [Video]". South by Southwest . Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  10. ↑ Sarah Salovaara (December 20, 2018). "Short Film: Caroline, Directed by Celine Held and Logan George". Filmmaker Magazine . Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  11. ↑ Eric Freehling (July 22, 2020). "'Topside' to launch at Venice". Butler Eagle . Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  12. ↑ Steve Pond (September 12, 2020). "'Nomadland' Wins Golden Lion Award at Venice Film Festival". The Wrap . Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  13. ↑ Dave McNary (March 24, 2020). "SXSW Film Festival Unveils 2020 Winners After Cancellation". Variety . Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  14. ↑ David Rooney, Jordan Mintzer, Deborah Young, Stephen Dalton, Sheri Linden, Boyd van Hoeij (September 19, 2020). "'Hollywood Reporter Critics' Picks: 20 Best Films From the Toronto and Venice Festivals'". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved October 29, 2020.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ Sheri Linden (September 8, 2020). "Topside Film Review, Venice 2020". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  16. ↑ Eric Kohn (September 8, 2020). "'Topside' Review: A Child Raised Beneath the NYC Subways Sees the Light in Riveting Debut". Indiewire . Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  17. ↑ Rodrigo Perez (September 9, 2020). "'Topside': A Mother & Daughter Struggle To Survive New York's Underground Tunnels In A Wrenching Drama [Venice Review]". The Playlist . Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  18. ↑ Hailey Hess (February 5, 2020). "Announcing SXSW 2020 Art Program Installations". SXSW . Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  19. ↑ Neha Aziz (March 2, 2020). "Logan George and Celine Held Discuss Their Drama Topside – SXSW Filmmaker In Focus". South by Southwest . Retrieved October 30, 2020.


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