courtney faye powell

work samples

SCENES FROM THE DIVIDE

I produced and edited the most recent film from director Alison Klayman (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry & The Brink). In the lead-up to Mamdani’s election as mayor of New York City, many of the city’s Jewish leadership, as well as pundits and politicians, worked overtime arguing that the candidate’s history of support for Palestine represented a threat to Jews. Rather than a controversy over a particular election or candidate, the film reveals a fierce battle among American Jews over identity, history, and responsibility.

Travesty

I was honored to direct and edit this television documentary, commissioned by WNET for their All Arts programming initiative. Trans and non-binary dancers explore their place in a lineage of drag and gender-play rooted in the “travesty” productions of 1870s Paris, while wrestling with the restrictions of the contemporary dance world. Watch it free, now streaming on PBS.

Narrative Films

My narrative films have been screened at festivals around the world and at the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Inaugural Film Festival at the Smithsonian.

The Come Up

I recently worked as a series editor on Freeform Network’s first docu-series, The Come Up, chronicling six young folks’ journeys through creative pursuits and into adulthood in New York City.

Kehinde Wiley
Studios

I worked as an editor for artist Kehinde Wiley on multi-screen installation art films.