Hanelle M. Culpepper

Writer/Director


Hanelle M. Culpepper is an award-winning writer/director based in Los Angeles. She has recently wrapped production on her fourth short film, Leila, which stars Ismael Carlo, Akrosia Samson and Sinbad. Additionally, Hanelle is looking to set up a low-budget film that will be her feature directorial debut.

Hanelle’s filmmaking career began when she was selected for Bill and Camille Cosby’s screenwriting program for African-American writers. Through the program, Hanelle wrote Miss Ella, which was inspired by true events surrounding Hanelle’s great grandmother Ella and her adopted sister Rose. This fascinating parable of two sisters whose intertwining lives lead to tragedy was a semi-finalist in the Chesterfield Screenplay competition and Honorable Mention in the Writers Digest competition. Miss Ella also earned Hanelle a place in the IFP/west Screenwriters Lab.




Next, Hanelle realized a dream by writing and directing the short film The Wedding Dress. The romantic comedy about a carefree bachelor who finds a wedding dress in his girlfriend’s closet premiered in 2002, kicking off an award-winning trek in over twenty film festivals worldwide. It is distributed by Urban Entertainment and appeared in African-American Filmmakers, a nationally syndicated special.




In May 2003, Hanelle premiered her second short film, A Single Rose. Hanelle wrote and directed A Single Rose as one of eight women awarded a grant from the 2002 AFI Directing Workshop for Women. Featuring four original blues songs, A Single Rose has won several awards, including Best Music and Best Actress (Breckenridge Festival of Film) and 2nd Place Best Short (Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame). A Single Rose has been in over a dozen film festivals already, including AFI FEST and the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films. A Single Rose was developed from the feature script Miss Ella and focuses on the character of Rose.

 

2007 - Within (in post-production) / Director / Bigfoot Entertainment Feature
2006 - The Aunties / Director/Co-Writer/Producer / UCLA's Center for Community Health
2006 - Far Sighted / Producer / Short feature
2006 - Leila / Director/Co-Writer / Short feature
2005 - "Guilty or Innocent" Episode 115 / Director / Discovery Channel
2005 - How to Stand In Line for Star Wars / Director / Short Documentary
2004 - Los Angeles Foundation of Legal Aid / Director/Producer PSA Series




In July 2003, Hanelle completed the short film Six and the City, which went on to win an Audience Award at the Temecula Valley International Film Festival and was an official selection of the Palm Springs International Festival of Shorts along with other festivals. It is a spoof of the popular HBO show Sex and the City—but with six-year-olds! The script written by Fred Cheng brings all the fun and attitude of the adult characters into the world of kids.

Hanelle graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in Economics and French from Lake Forest College in suburban Chicago. For graduate studies, Hanelle enrolled in the Master’s program at University Of Southern California's Annenberg School For Communication. While at USC, she worked behind the scenes on multiple student film projects in every position from production assistant to producer.

Since then, Hanelle has completed a fourth short, numerous PSAs as well as television episodes. She's excited for audiences to see "Within" next year.

Following her graduation from USC, Hanelle worked for writer/director Neal Israel (Bachelor Party), writer/producer Kathy Kloves (USA Network’s Weekly World News) and for the Sundance Institute. Prior to forming Hillview 798 Productions, Hanelle was hired by Academy Award winner Callie Khouri (Thelma and Louise), who also became her mentor. Hanelle was fortunate enough to work with Khouri on her directorial debut, Warner Bros.’ Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

 
 
Filmography

2004 - How to Stand In Line for Star Wars - Director - Short Documentary
2004 - Leila - Writer/Director - Short Feature
2003 - Six and the City - Director - Short feature
2003 - A Single Rose - Writer/Director - Short feature
2002 - The Independents - Director - Sketchbook
2002 - Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Director’s Assistant - Warner Bros.
2001 - The Wedding Dress - Writer/Director - Short feature  
2000 - Ocean Park - Associate Producer - Indie feature
1998 - Insomnia - Producer - USC Thesis
1996 - Mr. October - Production Coordinator - USC Thesis
1996 - Weekly World News - Production Assistant - USA Networks  
1993 - The Big Gig - Production Assistant - USC Thesis


E-mail: Hillview798@gmail.com