Courtney Hunt

Courtney Hunt (born 1964) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is best known for directing Frozen River, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for two Academy Awards.

Early life and education Hunt was raised in Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee by a single mother. Hunt attended The Field School in Washington, D.C. and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College before following her mother's educational path and attending law school at Northeastern University. She then graduated in 1994 from New York's Columbia University in film when she realized law was not an interest for her. Even though law was not a field she would be going into, it gave her a new perspective on the world. In an interview with Film Catcher on YouTube, Hunt stated that law school gave her the opportunity and experience of attending co-op jobs that allowed her to work for a federal judge and a criminal defence firm. Her husband would give her murder appeals from which she learned about dialogue and point of view from the transcripts which built onto her knowledge of film and how to write screenplays. Shortly after graduating from her film class, Hunt began to write and develop the story for her film Frozen River, by researching the Mohawk people. Frozen River received 2 nominations at the 81st Academy Awards, an Best Original Screenplay nomination for Hunt, and an Best Actress nomination for Leo.

Hunt is a film screenwriter and director, but she also wants to be seen as a director for hire so that filmmakers could see her in control of both aspects.

Frozen River was originally a short film and it first premiered in 2004 at the New York Film Festival. The film was originally supposed to star Skyfall actor, Daniel Craig, but he abruptly dropped out of the film. The lead role then went to Reeves.

Personal life Hunt is married to Donald Harwood, who raised nearly $1 million to fund the film Frozen River.

Filmography

Awards and nominations