''The Velvet Queen'' () is a 2021 French-language

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

. It follows

Sylvain Tesson Sylvain Tesson (born 26 April 1972) is a French writer and traveller born in Paris. He has engaged in a number of unusual travels and expeditions which are the basis for his books. Among his most successful works are ''The Consolations of the Fo ...

and

Vincent Munier Vincent Munier (born 14 April 1976) is a French wildlife photographer and documentary filmmaker. Among his most notable works are his photographs of arctic wolves and snow leopards. He co-directed a film about snow leopards, '' The Velvet Queen ...

as they attempt to find a

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

. The film was directed by and Munier in their feature-length debut, and premiered in the Cinema for the Climate section at the 74th Cannes Film Festival on 13 July 2021, with a wider theatrical release in France on 15 December and a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

in the United States on 22 December. It won Best Documentary Film at the

47th César Awards The 47th César Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, took place on 25 February 2022 honouring the best French films of 2021. Screenwriter and director Danièle Thompson presided the ceremony that was host ...

, and Best Documentary at the

27th Lumière Awards The 27th Lumière Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie des Lumières, took place on 17 January 2022 to honour the best in French-speaking cinema of 2021. The ceremony was hosted by Laurie Cholewa for the fourth time. Drama film ''Happeni ...

Synopsis

"In the heart of the

an highlands, multi-award-winning nature photographer

guides writer

on his quest to document the infamously elusive

. Munier introduces Tesson to the subtle art of waiting from a blind spot, tracking animals, and finding the patience to catch sight of the beasts. Through their journey in the Tibetan peaks, inhabited by invisible presences, the two men ponder humankind's place amongst the magnificent creatures and glorious landscapes they encounter along the way".

Release

The film had its world premiere in the Cinema for the Climate section at the 74th Cannes Film Festival on 13 July 2021. It had a wider theatrical release in France on 15 December and a

in USA by

Oscilloscope Pictures Oscilloscope Laboratories is an independent film company, distributor, recording studio and production facility. It was founded by Adam Yauch Adam Nathaniel Yauch ( ; August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012), also known by the stage name MCA, was an Am ...

on 22 December. It was released on VOD by Oscilloscope Video on 24 January 2023.

Reception

Box office

''The Velvet Queen'' grossed $151,006 in North America, and $5.6 million in other territories.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 46 reviews and an average rating of 8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Its narration might not be distracting for some, but ''The Velvet Queen'' more than makes up for it with some truly striking cinematography."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 78 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews". Brian Tallerico of ''

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...

'' described the film as "a calming, meditative experience." Paul Byrnes of ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "transcendently beautiful."

Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' also rated the film 4 out of 5, stating that "the film has a real writer whose style rises above the cliche into which nature documentary almost always descends."

Accolades

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the film was created by

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

and

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is an English comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ...

, and released on 17 December 2021 by

Lakeshore Records Lakeshore Village Entertainment, LLC was an American independent film production, finance, and former international sales and distribution company founded in 1994 by Tom Rosenberg and Ted Tannebaum. Lakeshore Entertainment is headquartered in Bev ...

. Siobhán Kane of ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' rated the soundtrack 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "naturally wonderful". Lucy Harbron of '' Clash'' rated it 7/10, commenting that the soundtrack "feels like an essential part of the Nick Cave and Warren Ellis discography."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Velvet Queen, The 2021 films 2020s French films 2020s French-language films 2021 documentary films 2021 directorial debut films Films shot in Tibet French documentary films Works by Sylvain Tesson Films about big cats French-language documentary films