Courtney Balaker

Courtney Moorehead Balaker is an awardwinning filmmaker theatre director and cofounder of Korchula Productions Courtney wrote directed and produced Little Pink House an awardwinning Korchula Productions feature film about Susette Kelos historic fight to save her home and neighborhood The film stars twotime Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener Get Out Being John Malkovich The 40YearOld Virgin and Emmy nominee Jeanne Tripplehorn Big Love The Firm Grey Gardens The film has been lauded by the likes of The Hollywood Reporter The bottom lineit hits a nerve and Deadline Hollywood Keener nails the combination of anger grace and attitude that made Kelo a nationally known crusader It has won a variety of awards including the HBO Audience Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival and the Vail Film Festival Audience Award Courtneys script was selected as a finalist for the Athena List which recognizes the best screenplays with strong female protagonists Courtneys feature film production credits include The Collector Josh Stewart American Pie Presents the Naked Mile Eugene Levy and Pulse Kristen Bell Ian Somerhalder She produced Can We Take a Joke a Korchula Productions documentary featuring comedians such as Gilbert Gottfried Penn Jillette Lisa Lampanelli and Jim Norton The film has been lauded by The Hollywood Reporter The Los Angeles Times and comedy icon Seth MacFarlane among others Courtney served as a producer on America in Primetime an awardwinning fourhour PBS documentary series that examines the creative process behind primetimes most iconic and groundbreaking shows The series features interviews with Ron Howard James L Brooks Sarah Jessica Parker Larry David Norman Lear Alec Baldwin David Lynch Jon Hamm Danny DeVito Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke among others Courtney began her film career at Neo Art Logic a feature film production company with an overall deal with Dimension Films where she developed new screenplays and went on to serve as Vice President of Development Neos credits include He Was A Quiet Man Christian Slater William H Macy Dracula 2000 Gerard Butler Nathan Fillion and The Prophecy Christopher Walken Courtney spent five years in New York City directing OffBroadway plays She specialized in contemporary plays with established actors and her credits include the New York revival of Austin Pendletons Uncle Bob starring George Morfogen of HBOs Oz and Joseph GordonLevitt who went on to star in films such as Inception and The Dark Knight Rises The play has dramatic crackle writes Bruce Weber of The New York Times Other reviewers call it as funny as it is vicious The New York Daily News and a wonderful experience energized by powerful performances and taut direction The New York Post Courtney holds a bachelors degree in psychology from the University of Colorado at Denver and a masters degree in theatre directing from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Kings College London