Hanelle M. Culpepper
1.Hanelle M. Culpepper is a writer and director based in Los Angeles. Culpepper was born in Alabama and was known as a storyteller. Her career started when she was selected to participate in the Bill and Camille Cosby screenwriting program. Her screen play “Miss Ella� earned her a semi-finalist place in the Chesterfield Screenplay competition. Culpepper graduated from Lake Forest College with a B.A. in Economics and French and then studied at the USC’s Annenburg School for her graduate work. Since then Culpepper has worked on various projects including Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and her own A Single Rose which was successful at the Cannes Movie Festival. http://www.whirledwydeweb.com/iwf/hanellemculpepper.html
2.Hanelle Culpepper has wrote and directed a few short films including:
-The Wedding Dress- “a romantic comedy about a carefree bachelor who finds a wedding dress in his girlfriend’s closet.�
-A Single Rose- The film was inspired by the script Miss Ella that Culpepper wrote while participating in the Bill and Camille Cosby screenwriting program. This film was won several awards including Best Music and Actress (Breckenridge Festival of Film).
-Six and the City- A spoof of the television show Sex and the City, however instead of adults, the film is portrayed by six-year olds.
http://www.hillview798.com/videos/Wedding%20Dress%20Clip.wmv
3.The trailer of this moving helps the audience become acquainted with the main character, Warren. He is talking to an “expert� Bob about the wedding dress he found in his girlfriend’s closet. The small clip reveals the insecurities that Warren has with commitment and his relationship with Bob. Although this film was not on a Hollywood budget, a normal viewer would not be able to notice. The editing is perfect as it cuts from close ups of Warren to Bob which help the viewer understand facial expressions and emotions. Culpepper uses the framing and sound to help the audience become familiar with the characters.
4.Since I didn’t know of any women filmmakers prior to this class, I used Yahoo! as a search engine. I just typed in “Women filmmakers� and found Independent Women Filmmakers. Then I went through the Resumés and found Culpepper’s picture. This website had many other women filmmakers that were actors, writers, cinematographers, directors, and/or producers. It was really great to see that these women were doing more than just making movies.
http://www.independentwomenfilmmakers.com/
5.I thought that it was pretty easy to find women filmmakers. This makes me want to question, “Why don’t we see their work more often?� We obviously know that they exist. However, I guess it all depends on what kind of films you are watching and your reasons for watching them.