Courtney Fathom Sell - Documentaries

Documentaries

His debut documentary film No Place Like Home, which documented the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast as well as the growth of New Orleans non-profit organization 'Defend New Orleans', went on to win 'Best Picture' at the 2006 'Blue November Film Festival', in Tulsa Oklahoma, and screen at numerous micro-film festivals and venues across the globe. Co-produced and featuring 'Defend New Orleans' creator Jac Currie, Sell's previous roommate from New York, the film depicts Defend New Orleans’ transition to a valid social aid project and features some of the earliest produced footage of Post Katrina Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans. The film was officially released on DVD in 2008, and was the recipient of an Aegis Award later that year.

The film is now recognized by the Danish Film Movement Dogme95 as Dogme95 #267

In 2007, Sell began work on numerous film projects including the short documentary My Dying Day. Centering around the last months of his own Father's life, a Boston Reverend who had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, the documentary went on to win "Best Short Documentary" at the 2007 'Evil City Film Festival', and gained the support of The Prostate Cancer Foundation, who aired the documentary on their official website in November 2010. Sell later wrote a detailed account of his experiences while shooting the documentary for Filmmaker Magazine, who published the article on the fifth anniversary of his Father's death.

In addition to shooting My Dying Day, Sell began to concentrate on various music based video projects, as documented in his 2007 film Long Way Back To Paradise. He continued pursuing his interest in live performance documentation with his short documentary In The Golden Blood of the Sunlight which was produced a few years later in New Orleans.

In 2009, Sell completed a short documentary entitled Under the Bridge, which is based around a community of homeless individuals from Providence, Rhode Island who created a shelter underneath the Crawford Street Bridge. Revisiting familiar subject matter such as homelessness and alienation, Sell's film features personal interviews with the residents of 'Hope City', as it was being referred to at the time, as well as document their extreme living conditions.

A collection of Sell's short documentaries were compiled and released on DVD in 2009.

In 2010, Sell co-directed a short documentary alongside filmmaker Billy Feldman entitled The Hole, based around the New York City neighborhood of the same name. The film explores various aspects regarding the conditions of the community and gives personal insight to the lives of some of the residents who still live in the neighborhood, including many members of the Federation of Black Cowboys. The area, which continues to remain flooded and partially abandoned, is now infamous for being a mafia dumping ground. On October 16, 2010, the film premiered at the 4th annual Red Hook Film Festival in Brooklyn, New York, and was awarded 'Best Documentary'. In March 2011, the film was officially released online. The Documentary screened at the 2011 Rooftop Films Summer Screening Series presented by IFC in August.

Later that year, Sell completed a short documentary on Portland based author and poet Walt Curtis entitled An Afternoon with Walt. The film was later released online.

In 2012, it was announced that Sell had completed production on a documentary based around the individuals who work on the historic Lower East Side location of Orchard Street entitled 'Down Orchard Street'. The film has not yet been released.