Frozen River is Courtney’s feature directorial debut. The original script was selected as one of six finalists in IFP New York’s emerging Narrative Feature Script Section in 2005. It was also included in the Los Angeles Film Festival’s “Fast Track” Program in 2006. Shot in sub-zero weather in Plattsburgh, New York, in March of 2007, on Lake Champlain and surrounding areas, Frozen River stars Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Jr., Michael O’Keefe, and Mark Boone, Jr.

Courtney is a graduate of the Columbia Film School (MFA). Her thesis film, Althea Faught, a short about the American civil war which she wrote and directed, was purchased by PBS and aired on American Playhouse. It also screened in numerous film festivals around the world, including the Edinburgh International Festival, Montreal Festival des Film du Monde, the Los Angeles Independent Festival, and the Tribeca First Look Series. It was awarded the highest finishing funds of any film from the Columbia faculty, and First Prize in Directing from New Line Cinema.

Courtney wrote and directed Frozen River, the short film, starring Melissa Leo and Misty Upham, which was shot in sub-zero weather on the Canadian border in Upstate New York. The film premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2004, and went on to screen at numerous other festivals, including the Los Angeles Film Festival, Nashville, Williamstown, and the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco.

Courtney also holds a law degree from Northeastern University, where she studied civil rights and constitutional law, and a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College.

Besides Frozen River, Courtney has written two other original feature scripts, one of which (Elfie Neary) is soon to go into production.

Courtney was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee.