Sean Ellis

Born in Sydney, Australia, in 1971, Sean spent his childhood in Australia and New Zealand, before moving to Hong Kong with his family, as a teenager. Inspired by science-fiction movies and TV shows as a child, Sean started making films at age 11, using a Super-8 camera and editing equipment. In High School, Sean began teaching himself the process of making movies: writing, shooting, directing and editing short films on weekends.

Experiments with animation and special effects soon led to narrative films, featuring school friends as actors. A teenager of the 1980s, Sean was influenced by Spielberg, Lucas, Cameron, Zemeckis and Carpenter; writer-directors specializing in science-fiction, action-adventure and horror. At age 16, while at school in Hong Kong, Sean made a 25-minute live-action film using Super-8, designed to showcase his filmmaking skills. Featuring elaborate skateboard chases and a ‘stop-motion’ alien, Hong Kong Hookie secured Sean’s place in the three-year full-time program at the VCA School of Film & Television, in Melbourne, Australia (1991 – 1993).

During the course, Sean wrote, directed and edited several 16mm shorts, whilst crewing on fellow students’ films. His short films included The Courier (1991, 12 minutes), Edward's Quest (1992, 15 minutes) and Believers (1993, 17 minutes). The full-time Bachelor of Film & Television degree emphasized practical training in Screenwriting, Direction, Cinematography and Editing (video and 16mm) as well as theory.

Since graduating, Sean has written and directed numerous short films and music videos, whilst working on features, including the Australian comedy, Muggers, with D.P. Roger Lanser (1998 – Camera Department Attachment), and the New Line sequel, Son of the Mask, made at Sydney’s Fox Studios (2003 - Production Runner). In 1996, Sean visited Los Angeles, where he observed filmmakers at work, including: Paul Verhoeven, directing the sci-fi epic, Starship Troopers; Australian directors Roger Donaldson (Dante’s Peak) and Simon Wincer (The Phantom); and Kevin Reynolds, (187). Sean was also a Production Runner on the Kurt Kuenne independent feature, Scrapbook.

In 1997, Sean wrote his first feature-length screenplay, Illustrated Hero, followed in 2000 by The China Club. In 2004, Sean began writing Claws, which was selected as a finalist in the Beverly Hills Film Festival Screenwriting Competition, in 2010. Also that year, Sean directed and produced a short film based on the feature-length screenplay, which premiered at the 69th World Science-Fiction Convention in August, 2011.

In 2006, Sean moved to Los Angeles, where he interned with Angry Films (Producer, Don Murphy), and Larger Than Life Productions (Writer/Producer/Director, Gary Ross), reading scripts, writing coverage, and learning the studio development process. In 2007, Sean worked as personal assistant to Allison Thomas (Co-Producer, Seabiscuit), on the Universal Studios lot.

Since an early age, Sean has pursued his goal of writing and directing feature films, with persistence and determination. He has taught himself the filmmaking process through practical experience, and by studying successful filmmakers and their work. His goal is to write and direct feature films that tell visually exciting, emotionally engaging stories that appeal to a broad audience across many cultures. Sean is based in Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia.

IMDb: http://www.imdb.me/seanfrancisellis