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]
Held is a US and UK citizen.[5]
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.
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]
Held again collaborated with George to co-direct the 2024 thriller film Caddo Lake, released as an Max exclusive.[20] The film, originally titled Vanishings and later The Vanishings at Caddo Lake before being renamed for a final time before release, was filmed in 2021. The film stars Dylan O'Brien and Eliza Scanlen, Caddo Lake was produced by M. Night Shyamalan under his Blinding Edge Pictures banner.
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