Hanelle M. Culpepper - Director/ Producer

Hanelle M. Culpepper is an award-winning writer/director/producer based in Los Angeles. Before Within, she directed episodic television, numerous short films, PSAs and an educational video.

Culpepper's filmmaking career began when her first screenplay earned her admission into Bill and Camille Cosby's prestigious screenwriting program for African-American writers. But it was Culpepper's directorial debut, The Wedding Dress, that established her as an emerging director to watch out for. The romantic comedy short won awards at film festivals worldwide and appeared on both national broadcast and cable television.

Culpepper's next endeavor was the dramatic short A Single Rose which she directed after receiving a grant from the prestigious AFI Directing Workshop for Women. A Single Rose screened at film festivals worldwide and won numerous awards including Best Short, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Music. In May 2004, it screened at the Cannes Film Festival as part of the ICG Showcase, and then in 2005, it was considered for an Academy Award nomination.

Culpepper has demonstrated her versatility as a director with shorts in a variety of genres including the satiric and highly-popular Six and the City, the comedy documentary How To Stand In Line For Star Wars, and the dark drama Leila, which features a cameo by Sinbad.

The success of her short films led to professional jobs with The Discovery Channel, UCLA, The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and, finally, to her feature directorial debut, Within.

Culpepper 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 she earned a Master's degree at USC's Annenberg School for Communication. While at USC, she worked behind-the-scenes on multiple student film projects in positions from PA 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), Academy Award-winning screenwriter Callie Khouri (Thelma and Louise) and for The Sundance Institute.