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Neil Schell grew up in the small Canadian city of Regina, eagerly watching any movies and cartoons available on the two TV channels, all in black and white. He fondly recalls his parents and their friends discussing "color TV," imagining the console itself might be red, green, or blue.
Despite his misunderstandings about color TV, his family was among the first on the block to own one. Every week, neighborhood kids would gather in his parents' living room to watch the latest Star Trek episode.
Soon, Neil began visiting downtown movie theaters like The Roxy, The Met, The Broadway, and The Capitol, paying 35 cents for Saturday double features. While enjoying the Three Stooges and Topo Gigio films, his favorites included the 30th anniversary re-release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Sound of Music (which his mother took him to see), Bonnie and Clyde, Ben Hur, Planet of the Apes, Matt Helm, James Bond, Elvis Presley movies, Jungle Book, and many more.
Movies faded into the background for a time, but not a day passed without Neil dreaming of acting. With no clear path to that goal, he pursued other strengths like math and physics, earning his pilot’s license at 18—a man always seeking adventure.
Then, in 1977, at age 20, Neil was sitting in a New Westminster, B.C. movie theater watching Star Wars. His connection with Luke Skywalker was so powerful it inspired a major decision—to become an actor and make movies for real. The pivotal moment was the scene after Luke's aunt and uncle's tragic deaths, where the twin suns set, symbolizing the loss of the loving guardians who raised him. That moment revealed to Neil what filmmaking was truly about.
Neil soon joined an acting class taught by Alex Bruhanski, a New York actor newly relocated to Vancouver. Still nervous and uncertain of his abilities, Neil hadn't fully committed yet.
He then studied editing and worked on an editing team in Southern California. While taking some acting classes and appearing in a few industrials, he primarily honed his editing skills. He even worked in post-production as a lab liaison, spending long hours at FotoKem in Burbank. During this time, Neil unintentionally fell in love with the art of filmmaking.
Disliking life in Southern California, Neil yearned for B.C.’s fresh air and mountains. Returning to Vancouver, and on his brother Scott's advice, he opened an acting school focused not only on acting but also on how actors influence editors’ work—a unique approach. The Actors Working Academy was born.
Neil quickly became overwhelmed with administrative duties, managing 12 acting teachers and hundreds of students. He handed over ownership and pursued acting roles while teaching workshops across Canada. This period brought him numerous commercials and roles in productions like The A-Team (with Liam Neeson), Watchmen (directed by Zack Snyder), Fringe (produced by Akiva Goldsman), and more.
Fate intervened when, during a weekend workshop in Edmonton, Alberta, Dorothy Ghettuba, a Kenyan living in Canada working in corporate roles, became one of his students. Inspired by Neil’s teaching, she left her job, moved to Toronto, and eventually returned to Nairobi, Kenya. Years later, Neil directed 26 consecutive episodes of the Kenyan TV series Higher Learning for Dorothy, who has since risen to become a Netflix executive overseeing original series content for Africa.
A new chapter had begun. Neil’s combined skills in training and working with actors, film editing, and acting merged into a directing career. He has directed over 150 episodes in Kenya, several episodes in Canada, numerous short films, and one feature film he wrote (which unfortunately lacked final funding to complete). He is also developing an animated feature about an African superhero, soon to enter storyboarding.
Neil currently has four feature films in development and plans to begin filming the first in early 2025.
