Behind the Lens: A Sit-Down with Filmmaker, Courtney Glaude

Houston-based filmmaker, Courtney Glaude

A few weeks ago, we were fortunate to connect and have a conversation with Houston, Texas - based filmmaker Courtney Glaude. Glaude has written, directed and produced multiple award-winning shorts, including Best Short Drama for Row, at the Los Angeles Short Film Festival, and Best short for Tag at Atlanta’s Bronzelens Film Festival. His 2023 Feature film debut, The Reading, executive produced by Lee Daniels is a supernatural thriller that was recently acquired for streaming, and most recently his short film Old Gray Mare premiered at 49th Annual Atlanta Film Festival.

Atlanta Film and TV: Could you share about who you are and what you do in film and television?

Courtney Glaude: I am a Writer, Director, Producer, ultimately an indie filmmaker, up until a couple of years ago. And, I am now the Head of Creators at Tyler Perry Studios.

Atlanta Film and TV: Could you take us on your journey of how you started to where you are today? 

Courtney Glaude: I’ve always been a storyteller, even as a kid. I didn’t know I was a filmmaker, but loved telling and writing stories. Where I come from - Houston, I grew up in Trinity Gardens in the Fifth Ward, and I wasn’t told I could be a Screenwriter, or a Filmmaker. If it wasn’t sports then you needed to get a job. 

I tried college for one semester, flunked everything except Creative Writing. A counselor asked me if I ever thought about being a screenwriter? I said 'no!' The counselor then gave me a program called Movie Magic. I learned how to do Movie Magic on my own by studying the program and turning my stories into scripts and learned how to screenwrite.

When I first started in the industry, I was told that I needed a director. But, it wasn’t until I had a conversation with filmmakers Boomtown and Dr. T who advised me that I didn’t necessarily need a director. They also said what I needed was a producer, because I needed money. I eventually went out and couldn’t find anyone to put up money. After learning how to direct, and what actually directing and producing entailed, led me to a job. Once that happened, I saved my money in order to produce my short films, features, etc. 

Atlanta Film and TV: Talk to us about your deal with Tyler Perry Studios. 

Courtney Glaude: I have an overall deal with Tyler Perry, which came about a year and a half ago. I met Tyler, based on my film The Reading, which is on BET. A mutual friend of ours, Robert Boyd - who by the way is Tyler Perry’s COO, saw the movie before it aired. Boyd gave me a call, and thought it would be a perfect fit for Tyler Perry Studios. The one thing I loved about the studio is that Tyler said, 'this is more or less what I built, here are my toys. Go ahead and play, and do your thing!' 

"Throughout the time of developing with what I wanted to come out with first Perry asked me would I like to be in the development side of TPS? After that conversation, I’ve been the Head of Development since January 2025."

Courtney Glaude

Atlanta Film and TV: What inspired you to tell the story of Old Gray Mare? Was it drawn from a personal experience with dementia or influenced by someone close to you?

Courtney Glaude: Old Gray Mare, is a part of a bigger upcoming series which is called the Amygdala series. The Amygdala series is about the Amygdala and how it controls how you feel about things, and what you go through, whether it’s trauma, etc. I highly encourage everyone to find out what the Amygdala is. 

The initial thought of Old Gray Mare came from the experience where my grandmother probably had a slight case of dementia. Old Gray Mare is the journey about a grandson and grandmother, where the short form came from the feature film. The feature film is about a grandson and grandmother, where the grandson copes with the fact that his grandmother is not the same as she once was. Its also where the grandmother’s family doesn’t admit to the fact that she has dementia, and basically in the end, something tragic happens. 

I took that feature wanting to take it to film festivals. However, the feature film is already greenlit, and I wanted to test the audience's feelings about the film.

Atlanta Film and TV: Dementia is often portrayed through a medical or tragic lens, but your film seems to explore it as a psychological and emotional unraveling. What perspective were you hoping to convey?

Courtney Glaude: The perspective I wanted audiences to take away from the film is a personal one. I think when we talk about dementia, we talk about it medically. When you talk about something medically, I think it separates the audience from having something personal where there are certain medical words we hear and don’t understand. When there's talk about medicines, it separates us from making it personal. I wanted to dive in and show how personable dementia can be, and show what can happen if it isn’t caught sooner. In Old Gray Mare, we go into the grandmother’s home when she is alone. A lot of times in some films, the filmmaker addresses the medical issue, and we see the person who is portraying the caretaker, as well as the care of the person. Personally, I haven’t seen a film where the person with the medical issue is in their home by themselves, and seeing what it looks like before, and I wanted to take that route with Old Gray Mare.

Atlanta Film and TV: What were your personal and cinematic approaches to storytelling and making the short film Old Gray Mare?

Courtney Glaude: Everything was personable from the story that was told to the shots we chose. I wanted people to feel like they were in the moment. For instance, I don’t go super crazy on having a lot of quality, to where everything is shiny. I wanted it to be gritty and real, even when we went into the home with the grandmother. I wanted it to feel like the viewer is around the corner and walking with her, and for the viewer to feel the grandmother’s journey. I wanted to film from that perspective to where once the viewer leaves, they’ll say,‘hey! That’s my grandmother!’ 

Atlanta Film and TV: Let's talk about the emotional toll of dementia, a condition silently reshaping millions of lives across generations.

Courtney Glaude: Dementia is not a horrible medical condition, it’s something that can be truly beautiful if it’s caught and treated in a correct way. Dementia can teach us something, because some people get angry, not realizing that a person with dementia is not doing a specific thing on purpose. A person with dementia can forget they just literally told you something earlier. It gives compassion to both sides of the coin. 

Atlanta Film and TV: What type of research did you do beforehand?

Courtney Glaude: At first, because of where the story came from was all from my experience with Dementia. However, the feature film and when I got into the story, and since I am a storyteller and I like for the stories I tell to be truthful and don’t like speaking about something that I don’t know about. I did, however, went into studying what dementia is. In the beginning, I didn’t know that sometimes people with dementia will sometimes forget how to use their bodies. For instance, they aren’t going to the restroom on themselves - it’s where their muscles aren’t connecting with their mind. A person with dementia’s brain cannot remember how to do certain things such as where the restroom is. It’s also where a person with dementia’s organs can be affected by this disease. Beforehand, I didn’t know all of those things, and how detrimental dementia can be and how you live.

Atlanta Film What conversations do you hope audiences will have after watching this film, especially those who have loved ones with dementia?

Courtney Glaude: I hope audiences have a personable tone about checking in on their grandparents. I hope that Old Gray Mare starts the conversation and compassion, if people start to see it. One of the things that I would like for viewers to do is start to recognize what dementia is, and what it looks like. What I wanted to do is paint a picture of what dementia looks like, and include a lot of familiar things, because it isn’t one story. There are a million stories, within this one story, so that I may be able to catch the one eye of a person whose grandmother may possibly have dementia. I hope Old Gray Mare starts the conversation of clarity, and gives awareness to the viewer.

Atlanta FIlm and TV: How was it working with beloved talent from TV and film for "Old Gray Mare" including: Charnele Brown (A Different World) Devale Ellis, (Sistas)Larissa Dali,(The Night Agent) and Tyler Lepley (P-Valley)?

Courtney Glaude: Charnelle is a gem, because she turns into someone who we aren’t used to - she’s vibrant and upbeat. In Old Gray Mare, Charnelle turned into an older woman. On set, she walked around, and stayed in character the entire time! This was my first time ever working with someone who stayed in character, regardless if their shooting or not. Once Charnelle shows up on set, she’s Miss Eileen, until we cut, and then she’ll go do a backflip! 

DeVale Ellis is one of those actors who I am glad I connected with. He’s one of those untapped gems, and the range he can go into is incredible! I wrote and directed Season 4 of Zatima, and had the opportunity to work with him on Season 3 of Zatima. There were certain moments where I could see the glimpse of where his talent could go. Even in Old Gray Mare, I still didn’t write something for him to show all the directions that he could go in. 

I loved Tyler Lepley. His character in Old Gray Mare is so captivating, to where the film isn’t about his character. But, it’s to where the viewers will ask, ‘what’s going on with him?’ 

All the actors I brought in for Old Gray Mare, I wanted viewers to see them in ways they hadn’t before. 

Atlanta Film and TV: How can people connect with you? 

Courtney Glaude: I’m everywhere on social media @courtneyglaude.