Biography

I began my career as a writer and journalist. My first film camera was a Chinon Super8, rescued from a garage dumpster. Armed with that, and Eastman Ektachrome, and my baby strapped onto my back, I started making experimental films - mood pieces and diaries, really. My first documentary feature, Greetings from Asbury Park, a personal look at how eminent domain affects my family and my hometown, had its premiere on PBS in May of 2009. Presently, I'm directing Demon on Wheels, a documentary feature about an incredible man and his splendid obsession with his 1968 Mustang GT 500 KR, and how he idolizes his childhood hero, the race car champion Carroll Shelby. My narrative feature, Glow, is a coming of age and coming to America story where an immigrant Polish girl searches for love meaning and her long-lost mother on the boardwalk playland of Ocean City, Maryland, is in development. I hope to direct from my original screenplay. I've also directed a documentary short, as well as a brand film and a promotional short, those following a brief flirtation with the world of advertising. Some clips are on my site: www.celiop.com