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Hanelle
M. Culpepper
Writer/Director
Bio
The
Wedding Dress
was Hanelle’s directorial debut. The romantic comedy about a carefree bachelor who finds
a wedding dress in his girlfriend’s closet premiered at the
2002 Pan African Film Festival, kicking off an award-winning
trek through film festivals worldwide.
It is distributed by Urban Entertainment and appeared in
African-American
Filmmakers, a nationally syndicated special.
A
Single
Rose
premiered in May 2003. Hanelle directed A Single Rose as one of
eight women awarded a grant from the 2002 AFI Directing Workshop
for Women. It has had a very successful international festival
run, screening at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival as part of the
International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) Short Film Showcase
and placing 12th for the 2005 Academy Awards. A Single Rose has
also won several Best of awards, including Best Short, Director,
Actress, Music, and Cinematography. Featuring original songs and
score by John Bigham, A Single Rose is inspired by true events surrounding Hanelle
Culpepper’s great grandmother Ella and her adopted sister
Rose. Their story
is eloquently told in the book Miss Ella written by
Hanelle’s father, Terry F. Culpepper.
This fascinating parable of two sisters whose
intertwining lives lead to tragedy has been captured in
Hanelle’s feature script Miss
Ella.
Six
and the City
was completed in July 2003.
It is a spoof of the popular HBO show Sex and the City—but with six-year-olds! The cute script written by Fred Cheng brings all the fun and
attitude of the adult characters into the world of kids.
Six and the City has made a splash on the festival
circuit earning a few awards as well. It can also be seen on
network television in Japan, on Air Canada, and soon, bringing a
laugh to patients in hospitals.
Intrigued by the
fans who lined up early for the release of Star Wars: Episode 1, Hanelle grabbed a camera and interviewed some of the fans. It
was technically the first thing she ever shot, but took years to
complete. In the meantime, feature and short docs on the same
subject were released, so Hanelle reshaped her footage into a
faux 50s style educational show called
How to Stand In Line For
Star Wars. It won Best Short
Documentary at the West Valley Indie Fest.
Leila,
starring Akrosia Samson, Ismael "East" Carlo and
featuring Sinbad and Carlos Gomez, is just beginning its
festival run, premiering at the Pan African Film Festival where
it's a finalist for Best Short Narrative.
Currently, Hanelle is in development to direct her first
feature.
Hanelle’s
filmmaking career began in 1997 when her first screenplay Mona Lisa earned her admission into Bill and Camille Cosby’s
prestigious screenwriting program for African-American writers.
Through the program, Hanelle wrote Miss
Ella. A
semi-finalist in the Chesterfield Screenplay competition and
Honorable Mention in the Writers Digest competition, Miss Ella earned Hanelle a place in the 1999 IFP/west Screenwriters
Lab. Also in 1999,
Hanelle associate produced the independent feature film Ocean
Park, which is a two-time festival winner of Best Director
and Best Picture.
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 USC’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.
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.
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