Meet Courtney Sell | Filmmaker & Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Courtney Sell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Courtney, what matters most to you?
Integrity and being entirely honest with yourself. As a Filmmaker and Artist, it’s certainly easy to fall down or be lead astray on the wrong path with enticing offers from others that eventually leave you hung out to dry. While they may feel promising at first, if, in your gut you don’t feel entirely into it, it’s best to simply walk away. I’d certainly tripped up many times in the early days of my career and now I simply listen closely to my heart and soul with each project I either accept or make myself. While having such strong integrity in the realm of being an artist can be hard, whether due to financial matters or anything else, it pays off in the end. Always go with what your heart says – and I know that is cliche, but it probably can’t be repeated enough.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My life has been wrapped up in Filmmaking since I was a kid, so it’s actually quite difficult for me to separate the two at the moment. Since I was a child, I was so obsessed with cinema that I began to make films when I was about six with my Uncle’s video camera and it just kept going from there. By the time I reached Film School, I actually decided to leave after the first semester due to the fact it seemed my self-education was strong enough and my creative drive and ambition was too big to contain – I just needed to go out on the road and do it. That brought me to my first documentary when I was 19 “No Place Like Home” regarding the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. From their my documentary career never stopped. I am so inspired by the people and places I meet and see on my travels, that I find myself camping out for months on end in different locations just to document, record and learn. My body of work is pretty large at this point simply because I never stop making work. There are no off-days for me and if I’m not making a film, I could be writing, drawing or making music. I cherish my creative spirit so much that I need to just keep going in hopes that the flame will never dwindle. Over the past six years, my lifelong interest in mysticism, esoteric teachings and spirituality began to converge with my film work. My latest documentaries all now deal with esoteric thought and subject matters including the spiritual history of Hollywood, the therapeutic values of sound and music and collective consciousness. Each film is a way to educate myself as well as the audience on themes and subjects that perhaps they wouldn’t otherwise be too familiar with. It’s incredibly inspiring and as long as the work inspires others, I’m happy. I don’t need any more than that.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As a resident of Beachwood Canyon, directly underneath the glorious Hollywood sign, there are certainly many places to explore – which I have brought friends in the past. Just the rich history of the neighborhood is enough to wander around in awe. All those beautiful mystical and spiritual institutions like the Vedanta Church of Hollywood, The Besant Lodge, Krotona and so many others. Also, you can usually find me hiking around the reservoir. Regarding to food and drink, obviously Frolic Room on Hollywood blvd is a staple for me as well as Boardners. Also, water is super important to me so we’d most likely find ourselves driving out to Paradise Cove in Malibu (my favorite beach ever). There’s so much to do it’s hard to pin-point specifics. Hiking Griffith Park as well. We’d do it all!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would certainly like to thank my Family and all my friends for the support they’ve given me throughout the years. The journey has not been an easy one, but with that support, it has been remarkable and so very inspiring. Some of the people I’d like to thank specifically would be my Mother, Brother, my dear friends Marc Slanger, Maja D’Aoust, Kayma Englund, Mitch Horowitz, Ondi Timoner, Heather Taddy, Jac Currie and so many others who inspire me every day.

Website: http://www.courtneysellfilms.com

Instagram: courtney_sell_films

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneysellfilms100/

Image Credits
I have permission to all.