Courtney Fathom Sell

Courtney Fathom Sell
Sell arriving at Outfest. Park City. 2012
Born	Courtney Fathom Sell (1985-01-28) January 28, 1985 Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	filmmaker, musician, composer, writer, video artist, film producer
Known for	The Hole, Don't Let the Devil in, My Dying Day, No Place Like Home, Art Star Scene Studios, Satan, Hold My Hand

Courtney Fathom Sell (born in Boston, Massachusetts January 28, 1985) is an American filmmaker, outsider musician, composer, writer and video artist primarily recognized for his prolific independent filmmaking career.^[1] He has shot a majority of his work on a Hi8 video camera and other lo-fi equipment.^[2] He has contributed numerous articles to several publications including Filmmaker Magazine and indieWIRE regarding D.I.Y. filmmaking.^[3][4] Much of his video work has been archived at Anthology Film Archives.^[5] A proponent for online distribution, Sell has self-released many of his films and much of his music for free on his official website.^[6][7]

Sell is recognized for his D.I.Y. filmmaking strategies including the development and creation of his own CGI effects and video filters.^[8] He commonly composes and records the soundtrack scores to many of his films, and an album of many of those scores was released under the title "Themes for Films" in 2011.^[9] In 2009, four of his short documentaries, My Dying Day, Under the Bridge, Long Way Back to Paradise and White Clover were released in a DVD compilation set.^[10][11] In 2010, Sell co-directed and produced the award-winning short documentary The Hole.^[12][13]

In addition, Sell has directed music videos for various bands including Xiu Xiu, notably their 2008 official video Master of the Bump from their album Women as Lovers.^[14] He has made cameo appearances in numerous projects including HBO's Treme and a commercial for Stella Artois during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.^[15]

In November of 2016, Sell's anticipated horror film Don't Let the Devil in was selected to be the official Film in Residency through Facets distribution label.^[16] On November 8th, 2016 Election Day Sell's independent record label Crude Records released the debut album of Pukwudgie, a collaboration between Sell & Matthew McAuley of ARE Weapons. The album was made available for free download.^[17]

Personal Life & Documentaries

In an interview with The Village Voice, Sell explained that after leaving Pratt Institute, he began traveling and even at one point lived in Washington Square Park for a period of time without telling any of his friends. He eventually found residence in an East Village apartment with other artists whom he frequently collaborated with including Jac Currie, founder of 'Defend New Orleans' who produced his debut film No Place Like Home (Dogme# 267)^[18] regarding the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast. Traveling throughout most of the United States by age 20, he once lived for a while in a graveyard in Northern California.^[19][20]

Frequently using close friends and family members as subjects for his work, many of Sell's films are personal and unflinching such as his documentary My Dying Day, which centered upon his cancer-suffering father's final days. The project has been supported by the Prostate Cancer Foundation.^[21] He has also worked beside poet Walt Curtis, Author of Mala Noche on a video portrait entitled An Afternoon with Walt, as well as many music based documentaries. His short Under the Bridge focused on a homeless population in Providence, Rhode Island while his piece White Clover dealt with issues of violence and drugs in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.^[22] Sell believes that his personal approach to documentary filmmaking can be therapeutic for both his subjects as well as for himself. Regarding this claim, he has stated that his once turbulent relationship with his Father was cured during the course of making My Dying Day.^[23] His unconventional production tactics and little regard for mainstream values while creating his work have been a focal point in much of his writing.^[24] His Documentary Down Orchard Street captures the gentrification, business closings and raised rents in the historic Lower East Side neighborhood in New York City. Produced by Sell, the project was pieced together by Business Owners undergoing eviction whom Sell had given disposable cameras too in order to document their experiences in the most personal manner.^{[25][26][27][28][29]} Additionally, Sell has trained under and worked beside Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker Ondi Timoner on many of her recent projects including Brand: A Second Coming regarding Russell Brand.^[30]

He dedicated his 2014 film Diary of Echoes to underground filmmaker Mike Kuchar and cites him as a source of inspiration for much of his recent work.^[31][32]In 2015, Sell completed a feature-length documentary entitled "Tracking Issues" regarding a group of friends who began making horror movies in their backyards as children. The project follows them throughout the course of their lives and was shot entirely on disposable cameras.^[33][34]

Features

In October of 2016, Sell completed a feature length horror film entitled Don't Let the Devil In which deals with Satanic themes & takes place in the Appalachian Mountains. According to Sell, the film is an homage to various exploitation films of the 70's and 80's as well as Giallo films. He coined the term "Appalachiasploitation" regarding the films style. The film is notable as it features actor Conrad Brooks most famous for his work in various Ed Wood movies such as Plan 9 From Outer Space and Glen or Glenda in his first dramatic role. On November 1st, 2016, Don't Let the Devil in was selected to be the Film in Residency through Facets distribution label and will stream on their official website for the entire month. The film is set to be released theatrically in late 2016.^[35][36]

Music

For a large portion of the past few years, he has concentrated heavily on music composition and other sound design work. These tracks have been made available for free by Sell for soundtrack use in films and videos. Many of the songs are dedications to friends as well as tracks from the official soundtrack for "Don't Let the Devil in", which Sell composed and recorded himself. In 2010, his album Themes for Films was released through Emphasis Entertainment.^[37][38][39] On Tuesday, November 8th, Election day Sell's label "Crude Records" released the debut album for "Pukwudgie", a collaboration between Sell and Matthew McAuley of ARE Weapons. It was made available for free download.^[40]

Writing

In April 2015, Sell collaborated with Filmmaker Bruce LaBruce on an essay regarding the Artists' controversial career for his official retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art. The piece details various turbulent reactions in which LaBruces' work has stirred up upon screenings and art openings among protestors including bomb threats, police raids and even physical harm to the Artist himself.^[41]

Over the years, Sell has penned essays for numerous publications including Filmmaker Magazine & indieWIRE. Beginning as a freelance Journalist, Sell has interviewed many Filmmakers, Artists and Celebrity Chefs including Andrew Zimmern^[42]and documentary filmmaker Les Blank^[43] among many others. His essays regarding his own filmmaking career are usually extremely personal & outline the struggles he has faced while creating his work.^[44]

In 2016, Sell began self-publishing numerous short stories and abstract novels. His first Anthology of essays entitled "Exorcism Pharmacy" was released in October of 2016 and includes both published as well as various unpublished works as well as a forward by Filmmaker Bruce LaBruce.^[45]

Art Star Scene Studios

In 2011, Sell co-founded the independent film production studio "ASS Studios" an acronym for Art Star Scene Studios with Writer Reverend Jen.^[46][47]An outlet for Sell and Miller to create short exploitation & camp films, all of which were directed by Sell, were often made with little to no budget and incorporate guerrilla style D.I.Y. tactics upon shooting. Many of the films take place on the Lower East Side and feature various Art Stars such as Janeane Garofalo. In January 2013 writer Jonathan Ames signed on as Executive Producer for their first feature-length film Satan, Hold My Hand. The film premiered at Anthology Film Archives in September 2013 & was released on DVD soon afterward.^[48][49] The studio held a yearly film festival entitled the Assdance Film Festival, which showcased films that have been previously rejected by other festivals.^[50][51]

In 2014, Sell announced on his official website that his participation with ASS Studios has come to an end due to personal conflict and creative differences.^[52][53]

Books

• Exorcism Pharmacy (2016)
• The Rumor Mill (2016)
• The Sun is Burning the Clouds! (2016)
• Unsolved Mysteries Hair (2016)

Discography

• Aiwass (2016)^[54]
• Pukwudgie (2016)
• Themes for Films (2011)

Filmography

References

External links

• Official website
• Courtney Fathom Sell at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview on (re)Search my Trash